Payment Retrieval System with Embedded Review Link

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Solution Overview

Problem

In online marketplaces, customers often lack motivation to provide feedback after service transactions due to inconvenience, and vendors face challenges in receiving timely payments and reviews, which hampers service quality improvement and transaction frequency for the marketplace operator.

Innovation Solution

A system that allows vendors to retrieve payments simultaneously with an email link to customer reviews, enabling customers to provide feedback without logging in, using a payment code and URL link, facilitating easy access and minimizing effort for all parties.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If customers are required to log in to provide feedback after service transactions, then feedback submission can be tracked and verified, but the operational complexity and time required for customers increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefeedback verificationVSAvoidfeedback submission process

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by sending the review request with embedded authentication credentials (cookie and token) along with the payment confirmation email. This allows the customer to access the review form without manual login, as authentication is pre-established through the payment verification process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses an intermediary mechanism where the payment confirmation email serves as both the communication channel and the authentication carrier. The embedded cookie and token act as intermediaries that bridge the payment verification system and the review submission system, eliminating the need for separate login procedures.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If feedback collection processes are simplified to increase customer participation, then more reviews are obtained, but the ability to verify that reviews are from actual customers diminishes

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereview collection volumeVSAvoidcustomer verification

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements a feedback loop where the review submission process itself provides verification. When a customer submits a review through the pre-authenticated link, the system receives the review data back with the embedded authentication credentials, confirming the reviewer's identity. This creates a self-verifying feedback mechanism.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables self-service verification where the customer's own payment confirmation email serves as the verification mechanism. The embedded authentication data allows the customer to access the review form directly, and their submission automatically verifies their customer status without requiring additional intervention from support staff or complex verification steps.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Speed

If vendors receive payment immediately after service completion, then vendor cash flow is improved, but the opportunity to collect feedback simultaneously is lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepayment delivery timeVSAvoidfeedback collection timing

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system merges the payment delivery process with the feedback collection initiation. The same email communication that delivers payment confirmation to the vendor simultaneously delivers the review request with authenticated access to the customer. This combines two previously separate processes into a single integrated action.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary action by pre-configuring the review request with authentication credentials before sending it to the customer. This allows the review process to be immediately accessible when the customer receives the email, eliminating any delay between payment confirmation and feedback submission capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Productivity

If customers are contacted multiple times to request feedback, then feedback rates increase, but customer annoyance and system complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefeedback submission rateVSAvoidcommunication system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system ensures continuity of useful action by making the review submission process continuously accessible through the embedded link in the payment confirmation email. The review form remains available for the customer to complete at their convenience within the authenticated session, eliminating the need for multiple discrete contact attempts.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Data Source

PatentUS7873551B2Method and apparatus for payment retrieval and review collection

Publication Date: 2011.01.18 U HAUL INTERNATIONAL INC

AI summary

A method for conducting a review including the step of detecting a payment request from a vendor; generating a review based on the payment request; and, transmitting a reference to the review to a customer, wherein the reference provides a link to retrieve the review. A system for performing the method is also described.