Customer Management Device for Accurate State Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing customer management systems in commercial establishments fail to accurately track and manage the states of customers waiting for services, leading to inadequate customer service provision, particularly for customers who temporarily exit the premises.
Innovation Solution
A customer management device and system that captures and processes customer images at various stages, including entry, reception, service provision, and exit, to generate and manage customer information, enabling staff to provide timely and appropriate service by distinguishing between customers waiting for service and those who have exited or returned.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional person matching between entry and exit images is used, then stay duration can be calculated, but customers who temporarily exit cannot be accurately tracked
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments customer tracking into multiple distinct states: waiting for service, received service, and exited. By using separate detection mechanisms for each state (first detection means for waiting customers, second detection means for served customers, third detection means for exited customers), the system accurately tracks customers who temporarily exit without losing service information.
2Ease of operation
If only face image collection and person matching is performed, then customer behaviors can be roughly grasped, but sufficient service information cannot be provided
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an image processing device as an intermediary that extracts face images from captured images and performs person matching. This intermediary component bridges the gap between raw image capture and service information generation, enabling automatic identification and tracking of customers across different detection points without requiring manual intervention.
3Loss of information
If customer information is provided based on queue ticket dispensing and portable terminal input, then service state information can be displayed, but customers who irregularly exit cannot be properly managed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback through automatic detection and notification. When a customer who has received service exits the commercial establishment, the exit detection means automatically detects this and notifies the information provider, which then updates the display to remove the customer's information. This closed-loop feedback system ensures accurate tracking of customers who irregularly exit without requiring manual input.
Data Source
AI summary
A customer management device for managing states of customers visiting a commercial establishment that provides articles or services to the customers in response to orders from the customers, includes: a first image obtainer that obtains customer images of customers captured at some point from when the customers enter the commercial establishment till when the customers go through reception procedures; a second image obtainer that obtains customer images of customers captured at least either when the customers receive the articles or services or when the customers make payment; a customer information manager that, based on the customer images obtained by the first image obtainer and the second image obtainer, generates and manages customer information relating to customers in a state of waiting for provision of the articles or services; and a customer information provider that provides a user with the customer information managed by the customer information manager.