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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.
What is in-situ smiley feedback?
In-situ smiley feedback is an opinion-gathering system that uses physical devices —such as buttons or tablets— installed at the very place where the experience occurs. It captures the ratings of customers, patients, users or employees in real time, at the exact moment of interaction, without having to wait for the entire customer journey to be completed.
What types of smiley feedback devices are there?
There are two main types:
Smiley Feedback Buttons: physical devices with satisfaction smileys that allow users to give their opinion with a single click. They are ideal for high-traffic environments such as airports, ports or queues, where speed and simplicity are key.
Smiley Feedback Tablet: tablets with more complete surveys that include open and closed questions. They allow qualitative data to be collected, indicators such as NPS or eNPS to be measured, and the reasons behind satisfaction or dissatisfaction to be understood.
What is a smiley feedback terminal used for?
A smiley feedback terminal is used to measure customer satisfaction at specific touchpoints in the customer journey that are usually left out of general surveys. It generates immediate and reliable data, allows problems to be detected in real time and acted upon before they escalate, and conveys an image of active listening towards customers or employees.
When is it better to use in-situ smiley feedback instead of digital surveys?
In-situ smiley feedback is especially recommended when:
A high participation rate is needed, such as in spaces with large crowds.
It is a priority to capture opinions at the exact moment of interaction.
You want to measure satisfaction at specific physical touchpoints without waiting until the end of the customer journey.
A simple and inclusive tool is required for audiences of different ages and profiles.
Can in-situ smiley feedback be combined with digital surveys?
Yes, and it is highly recommended. In-situ feedback covers physical touchpoints and captures immediate impressions, while digital feedback —via email, SMS, WhatsApp, QR or web— provides a deeper and more global view of the complete experience. Combining both methodologies makes it possible to identify trends and improvement opportunities both in the short and long term.
What advantages does smiley feedback offer compared to other survey methods?
The main advantages are:
Immediacy: opinions are collected in the moment, without memory bias.
Simplicity: the interaction is quick and intuitive for any user profile.
Anonymity: by not requiring identification, sincerity and participation increase.
Blind spot coverage: it measures spaces and moments that general surveys tend to ignore.
Where are smiley feedback devices usually installed?
Smiley feedback devices are installed at key interaction points such as store exits, hospital receptions, airport security checkpoints or any space where satisfaction needs to be evaluated in real time. RateNow, for example, has thousands of devices deployed in all airports in Spain.
What is RateNow and how does it help with smiley feedback?
RateNow is a customer experience expert company that offers solutions for collecting, analysing and improving feedback in real time. It provides both physical smiley feedback devices and multichannel digital surveys, and supports companies and institutions with specialised advice to transform opinions into real improvements. It has a presence in all airports in Spain and in multiple types of spaces.
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