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RateNow, GuideCustomer survey machines on-site: what they are, types of devices, and when to use them
Discover how on-site customer survey machines —from button-based to touchscreen devices— help collect real-time feedback and improve the experience of customers, patients, and employees.
On-site feedback allows you to collect opinions at the exact time and place where the experience happens, providing immediate and reliable data. In this article, we explain what customer survey machines are, which are the main device types (button and tablet), and when they are most relevant compared to digital feedback collection.
Diana Bardales, 2025 
5 min 
What are on-site customer survey machines?
On-site customer survey machines (smiley feedback) collect feedback from customers, patients, users, or employees through physical devices located at the exact place and time where the experience occurs.
Their main advantage is immediacy: people share their opinions without filters, remembering the interaction clearly and providing more reliable, actionable insights.
They also allow you to measure satisfaction at very specific touchpoints along the customer journey —points that often go unnoticed in general surveys. This means that if a particular moment in the experience is critical, you can gather feedback instantly and react in real time, without waiting for the entire journey to end.
These physical devices are installed right at the interaction point, for example:
- At a store exit
- In a hospital reception area
- At an airport security checkpoint
- Or in any other location where satisfaction needs to be measured
Types of on-site customer survey machines
There are different solutions for collecting on-site feedback. The most common are:
1. Button-based customer survey machines
These are highly intuitive devices with physical buttons, often showing smiley faces, allowing users to share their opinion with a single click.
Advantages: speed, simplicity, and high response rate.
Ideal use: transactional touchpoints with high foot traffic, such as airports, ports, or queues.
2. Tablet customer survey machines
These are tablets offering more complete and customizable satisfaction surveys, including closed or open-ended questions.
Advantages: deeper insights, topic segmentation, and qualitative data collection.
Ideal use: understanding the reasons behind satisfaction or dissatisfaction, gathering open comments, and measuring indicators such as NPS or eNPS.
Benefits of installing a customer survey machine
When people see a customer survey machine, their instinct is to touch and interact with it. This simple gesture generates a continuous flow of data that helps anticipate and resolve problems before they escalate.
Installing an on-site customer survey machine offers several advantages:
- Data at strategic points: Collect opinions and insights at key touchpoints in the customer experience, including “blind spots” often missed by general surveys.
- Ease of use: A quick, intuitive interaction accessible to anyone, with no explanation required.
- Anonymity: Since no identification is needed, honesty increases and participation rates go up.
- Positive image and engagement: Demonstrates active listening, builds trust, and reinforces your commitment to quality and well-being.
Customer survey machines vs Digital Feedback
Digital feedback —through surveys sent via email, SMS, RCS, WhatsApp, QR, or web— is perfect for reaching users after their experience and exploring specific topics in depth.
However, on-site customer survey machines are especially valuable when:
- A high participation rate is desired, such as in airports with thousands of daily passengers.
- It’s important to capture the customer’s opinion at the moment of interaction, enabling immediate action to resolve any detected issues.
- Satisfaction needs to be measured at specific physical touchpoints in real time, assessing each moment without waiting for the full journey to conclude.
- A simple, inclusive tool is required, suitable for people of all ages and profiles.
The ideal approach is to combine both methods:
On-site feedback covers specific touchpoints and captures real-time impressions, while digital feedback provides a broader, more in-depth view of the overall experience, helping identify trends and long-term improvement opportunities.
On-site feedback covers specific touchpoints and captures real-time impressions, while digital feedback provides a broader, more in-depth view of the overall experience, helping identify trends and long-term improvement opportunities.
At RateNow, we help companies and institutions collect, analyze, and improve real-time feedback with thousands of customer survey machines deployed across all kinds of spaces and with multichannel digital surveys. We are customer experience experts: we not only provide the technology, but also the guidance you need to get the most value from every opinion and turn feedback into real improvements.
Want to know which solution fits your business best? Contact us and we’ll advise you.
Tell us about your project and get:
Best practices applied to your industry Surveys tailored to your needs Demo of our analytics platform A customized quotationⓘ No commitment
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