Proximity-Based Employee Feedback Solicitation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for gathering customer feedback in retail stores often fail to capture insights from unsatisfied customers who do not make a purchase, and may lack details about specific employee interactions, leading to skewed perceptions of customer satisfaction.
Innovation Solution
A system using communication devices worn by employees and customers to detect proximity and interactions, triggering feedback requests after a purchase or store exit, which includes employee identifiers and interaction details, and aggregates feedback for management reporting and bonus systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If feedback is solicited only after customer purchases, then feedback collection is simplified, but feedback from dissatisfied non-purchasing customers is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification and tracking of customers through communication devices before the purchase decision is made. By detecting proximity to store employees and logging interactions in advance, the system ensures that feedback can be solicited from any customer regardless of purchase outcome, preventing loss of dissatisfied customer insights.
2Ease of operation
If traditional feedback methods are used, then feedback collection is straightforward, but employee interaction details are not captured
Solution Approach 1:
Communication devices worn by both customers and employees serve as intermediaries that automatically detect proximity, identify interactions, and log detailed information including employee identifiers and interaction duration. This intermediary system captures employee interaction details without burdening customers with manual information provision, maintaining ease of operation while preventing information loss.
3Device complexity
If manual feedback collection is used, then system complexity is reduced, but feedback timing and accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service feedback collection where communication devices automatically detect customer proximity to employees, track interaction details, determine purchase outcomes, and solicit feedback without human intervention. This automated self-service approach maintains low system complexity while significantly improving measurement precision by eliminating manual errors and ensuring consistent data collection.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If feedback is collected without employee identification, then customer privacy is protected, but actionable insights are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses anonymous identification copies rather than direct personal information. Communication devices capture employee identifiers and store them in an anonymized format that links feedback to specific employees for actionable insights while protecting customer privacy. The copied identification data enables precise tracking of employee performance without exposing sensitive personal information.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments are disclosed to detect whether an interaction has occurred between a customer and one or more store employees. By analyzing a how long a communication device used by the customer was within a threshold range of one or more devices worn by store employees, an interaction between the customer and one or more store employees may be identified. Employees whom the customer interacted with may be identified by processing transmission parameters broadcasted by the devices worn by the store employees. Thus, all employees in which a customer interacted with while visiting a store may be identified. The customer may be asked for feedback via the communication device upon detection that a customer has completed a transaction and/or left the store. Using the solicited feedback provided by the customer, various types of reports may be generated.