Feedback kiosk or QR code survey: which should you use?

What a feedback kiosk does

A feedback kiosk is a tablet or terminal placed at the point of service, often near the counter or the exit. Customers tap the screen, answer a few questions and walk on. Because the device is already there, it asks nothing of the customer except a moment of attention.

In Nexus Surveys, the kiosk opens on a welcome screen that invites customers to start. After the thank-you screen, it resets on its own for the next person. Nexus Surveys kiosks also keep responses if the connection drops.

In Nexus Surveys, administrators choose which kiosks run a survey, branch by branch, and can start or stop it. The kiosk list shows whether each kiosk is online, offline or has never connected.

What a QR code survey does

A QR code survey opens on the customer's own phone. The code can sit on a counter card, a table stand, a poster or a receipt, and customers answer when it suits them. There is no device to buy, power or clean, but each customer has to decide to scan.

In Nexus Surveys, the survey opens in a phone browser from a QR code or a web link. Each branch can have its own QR code, so answers are credited to the right location. The code can carry your brand colour.

Where each one fits

A kiosk tends to suit places with a clear path out after service: a branch hall, a service centre, a clinic reception. It also needs space, power and someone who checks the device each day.

A QR code fits places where people sit or wait, such as a restaurant table or a waiting area. It also suits locations with no room for a device, and services delivered away from a counter, such as a home visit or a delivery.

Think about who answers, too. A kiosk reaches the people who walk past it. A QR code reaches only those willing to scan, and a web link only those who receive it.

Ask while the visit is fresh, and keep it short

Feedback is most useful when it is given close to the moment of service, while the details are still clear. Place the kiosk where the visit ends, and put the QR code where the customer is when service finishes.

Short surveys suit both channels. In Nexus Surveys, satisfied customers get a shorter survey, and dissatisfied ones are asked what went wrong.

Languages and access

Where a location serves customers in more than one language, they should be able to answer in a language they read. In Nexus Surveys, one survey can be offered in each language you add, without a separate version for each, and customers pick the language at the start.

A kiosk should stand at a height that a seated person can reach, away from glare and queues. On a phone, check that the survey still reads well at large text sizes.

Comparing results fairly

Kiosk and QR code respondents are not always the same people, so a difference between channels may reflect who answered rather than the service itself. Keep the core questions the same in both channels, and look at results location by location before drawing conclusions.

Nexus Surveys captures feedback at the moment of service, by kiosk or QR code, and measures the experience location by location. In Nexus Surveys, results are compared by location, department and service, with a minimum-response threshold. Comparisons leave out groups with too few responses, and the answers behind any score can be read.

When the questions need to change, Nexus Surveys lets you edit the next version while the current version stays live, with pre-publish readiness checks.

Before you choose: a short checklist

• Map where each visit ends at every location.
• Confirm where a kiosk has space, power and a daily check.
• Choose the QR code spots: counters, tables, waiting areas or receipts.
• Agree the core questions both channels will ask.
• List the languages your customers need.
• Decide who reads the free-text answers, and how often.