Abstract:
A method and a computer-controlled, multi-function device for generating and dispensing retail cards such as gift cards and loyalty cards and for collecting customer survey information. The device includes a reader such as a magnetic strip reader for receiving payment for the gift card from the customer. A card inspector determines whether the gift card is electronically readable and if not, disposes the card in a bad card hopper. If the card is readable, the device dispenses the card to the customer. An electronic survey apparatus obtains customer information and stores it in an external server. The customer information may include customer responses to survey questions or customer contact information. An external interface enables survey questions to be automatically uploaded to the device and for responses and customer contact information to be downloaded from the device.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/961,461 filed Oct. 8, 2004. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     Not applicable  
       REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX  
       [0003]     Not applicable  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     The present invention is related to automated retail systems. More particularly, and not by way of limitation, the present invention is directed to a computer-controlled, multi-function device for generating and dispensing cards such as gift cards and loyalty cards and for collecting customer information such as customer contact information and customer satisfaction information.  
         [0005]     The issuance of gift certificates has long been a useful way for merchants to increase sales and for customers to provide gifts to other persons. The receiving persons can then redeem the certificates for desired goods and/or services at the merchants who issued the gift certificates. A drawback to this process has been the inconvenience of having to purchase the certificate at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal at the merchant&#39;s location. This process often involves waiting for a sales person to become available before the certificate can be purchased and recorded in the merchant&#39;s POS system.  
         [0006]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,421 to Veeneman et al. discloses a method and apparatus for generating gift certificates, which provides a kiosk through which a customer may purchase a gift certificate with a credit card. The customer can choose a merchant and a gift certificate value, and the kiosk prints and dispenses the certificate, and notifies the merchant. However, Veeneman still has several shortcomings. First is the large size of the kiosk, which limits its mobility and the number of places where it can be installed. Second, merchants today desire to use plastic programmable gift cards, similar in appearance to credit cards, and Veeneman is only capable of printing paper certificates. Third, Veeneman does not perform any kind of inspection to validate whether the gift certificate printed correctly. Thus, problems may arise if the customer did not receive a properly printed certificate, but was charged for it anyway.  
         [0007]     It would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus for generating and dispensing gift cards that overcomes the shortcomings of existing gift certificate systems. The present invention provides such a method and apparatus.  
         [0008]     Merchants also find that it increases business to issue loyalty cards to their customers. By offering discounts to customers with loyalty cards, the customers are provided with incentive to return to the issuing merchant each time they shop. Currently, the task of issuing loyalty cards is largely manual. The customer must fill out a form with her personal information. An employee must enter this information into the merchant&#39;s point-of-sale (POS) system and link the information to the loyalty card issued to the customer. It would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus for generating and dispensing loyalty cards that overcomes the shortcomings of existing methods of issuing loyalty cards. The present invention provides such a method and apparatus.  
         [0009]     It is also known in the art to utilize computer-based devices to collect customer information. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,075 to Plainfield et al. discloses a PC-based, interactive, programmable system that induces customers of a restaurant to enter information about themselves or to answer survey questions. The program is run on a PC, and the customer enters the information in data fields displayed on the PC&#39;s monitor. The Plainfield system is bulky, however, and is devoted to only this one task.  
         [0010]     Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,960,988 to Blink et al. discloses a multi-function customer satisfaction survey device that also functions as a restaurant tip tray and calculator. Survey questions are presented on a display screen, and a survey keypad is used by the customer to enter responses. The responses are stored in a memory in the tray. The trays stack on a base unit that simultaneously collects the responses from the stacked trays, simultaneously programs the stacked trays with survey questions, and simultaneously recharges a battery in each tray. The Blink device, however, is not appropriate for use in some restaurant settings such as fast-food restaurants, or in other retail business establishments where tip trays are not utilized.  
         [0011]     What is needed is a multi-function device that overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art. The present invention provides such a device.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     The present invention provides a computer-controlled, multi-function device for generating and dispensing cards such as gift cards and loyalty cards and for collecting customer information such as customer contact information and customer satisfaction information. By providing all of these functions in a single automated device, several advantages are realized. First, an automated device performs these functions more accurately and consistently than they can be performed manually. Second, an automated device performs these functions more efficiently because it does not require an employee to perform the functions. Third, combining the functions in a single device reduces the required “footprint” compared to two or three devices. Finally, having all of the functions concentrated in a single device produces a synergistic effect. Customers who began to use the device to purchase a gift card or loyalty card are then more likely to also answer a customer satisfaction survey. Likewise, customers who began to answer the customer satisfaction survey are more likely to also purchase a gift or loyalty card.  
         [0013]     Thus, in one aspect, the present invention is directed to a computer-controlled, multi-function device for generating and dispensing a gift card and for collecting customer information, wherein the gift card has a financial value for purchasing goods and/or services from an associated merchant. The device includes payment input means for receiving payment for the gift card from the customer; dispensing means for dispensing the gift card to the customer in response to receiving the payment; and electronic means for obtaining and storing customer information. The customer information may include customer responses to survey questions or customer contact information.  
         [0014]     In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a computer-controlled, multi-function device for generating and dispensing a gift certificate and for collecting customer information, wherein the gift certificate has a financial value for purchasing goods and/or services from an associated merchant. The device includes payment input means for receiving payment for the gift certificate from the customer; printing means for printing the gift certificate and dispensing the gift certificate to the customer in response to receiving the payment; and electronic means for obtaining and storing customer information.  
         [0015]     In yet another aspect, the present invention is directed to a method of generating and dispensing a gift card and for collecting customer information in a retail establishment, wherein the gift card has a financial value for purchasing goods and/or services from an associated merchant. The method includes providing a multi-function device in a location in the retail establishment accessible by a customer; receiving payment for the gift card from the customer though the multi-function device; dispensing by the multi-function device, the gift card to the customer in response to receiving the payment; and obtaining and storing customer information in the multi-function device. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]      FIG. 1  is a simplified functional block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the multi-function gift card dispenser and customer information collection device of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is an illustrative drawing of a front panel of an exemplary embodiment of the gift card dispenser of the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a rear-side perspective view of the gift card dispenser of the present invention, with a rear panel removed to show selected internal components;  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is a front-side perspective view of a gift card transporter in an exemplary embodiment of the gift card dispenser of the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a card slide in an exemplary embodiment of the gift card dispenser of the present invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is a bottom perspective view of the gift card transporter of  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0022]      FIG. 7  is a flow chart illustrating the steps performed by the multi-function device in a first exemplary embodiment of a method of dispensing a gift card;  
         [0023]      FIG. 8  is a flow chart illustrating the steps performed by the multi-function device in a second exemplary embodiment of a method of dispensing a gift card;  
         [0024]      FIG. 9  is a flow chart illustrating the steps performed by the multi-function device in a third exemplary embodiment of a method of dispensing a gift card;  
         [0025]      FIG. 10  is a flow chart illustrating the steps performed by the multi-function device in a fourth exemplary embodiment of a method of dispensing a gift card; and  
         [0026]      FIG. 11  is a flow chart illustrating the steps performed by the multi-function device in an exemplary embodiment of a method of collecting customer survey information. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]      FIG. 1  is a simplified functional block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the multi-function card dispenser and customer information collection device  10  of the present invention. The description herein utilizes the purchase of a gift card as an example of the functioning of the invention. The invention, however, is applicable to the purchase or issuance of a wide variety of retail cards including, but not limited to, gift cards, loyalty cards, prepaid phone cards, and the like.  
         [0028]     The device may be mounted on a wall, in a kiosk, or may be placed on a countertop within a merchant&#39;s retail establishment. A controller  11 , such as a microcontroller or microprocessor, controls the gift card dispenser. In the exemplary embodiment, a customer receives information from the controller on a display  12 , and inputs information related to the gift card on a customer input pad  13   a,  and inputs answers to survey questions through a pull-out keyboard  13   b.  When prompted by the controller, the customer makes payment for the gift card through, for example, a magnetic strip reader  14  for credit or debit cards. The controller obtains authorization for the purchase from a remote card authorization service  15 . The magnetic strip reader may also read loyalty cards or club cards entitling the customer to a discounted price for the gift card, and/or charging the purchase to a special account. For example, the reader may read a “players&#39; club” card issued by a casino. Purchases made with the players&#39; club card may earn benefits for the customer. Payment may alternatively be made in the form of a radio frequency identifier (RFID) device, a smart card, an optical reader, and the like.  
         [0029]     A card stock hopper  16  stores gift cards, which may be unprogrammed cards, cards preprogrammed with an identifier such as a serial number, or smart cards. The dispenser may program the unprogrammed cards at the time of purchase in any suitable manner, such as magnetically, electrically, optically, or mechanically. In a first embodiment, the gift card includes a magnetic strip for programming unprogrammed cards. Upon command of the controller  11 , a card transporter  17  pulls a card from the card stock hopper. The card transporter includes a transporter motor  18  and a threaded shaft  19 , which causes a card slide  21  (see  FIG. 5 ) to pull a single card from the hopper and move it along a track  22 .  
         [0030]     In one embodiment, the transporter first moves the card past a gift card programmer  23 , which programs the card with a gift amount and/or a customer identification. The customer identification may be obtained by the credit card reader  14 , when the customer&#39;s credit card is read, or the customer may enter the identification using the customer input pad  13   a.  The card transporter then moves the card past a gift card inspector  24 , which ensures that the card has been properly programmed. If the card inspector determines that the card was not properly programmed, the inspector notifies the controller  11 , which causes the card transporter to drop the bad card into a bad card bin  25 . If the card inspector determines that the card was properly programmed, the transporter continues to move the good card to the end of the track where the card falls into a good card dispenser  26 . The controller then notifies the merchant&#39;s point-of-sale (POS) system  27  of the purchase amount of the gift card and the customer identification.  
         [0031]     In one embodiment, the gift card programmer  23  programs the gift card with both the amount of the gift card and the customer identification. In an alternative embodiment, the gift card programmer programs the gift card with the customer identification only. The amount of the gift card is sent electronically from the controller  11  to the merchant&#39;s POS system  27 .  
         [0032]     For the customer survey functionality, the multi-function device  10  includes several connections  1 - 3  for uploading survey questions and downloading survey answers and other customer information from a memory  4 . A LAN connection  1  such as a USB connection or an Ethernet connection connects the device to the merchant&#39;s LAN and to a controlling server (not shown). A PC connection such as an RS232 serial port  2  connects the device to a personal computer for uploading and downloading survey information. A modem  3  connects the device to a phone line for remotely uploading and downloading survey information.  
         [0033]     The multi-function device  10  may also include a voice chip  5  for providing voice prompts to the customer through one or more speakers  6 . The voice prompts may provide instructions, or may simply thank the customer for purchasing the gift card and/or taking the survey. For additional interest, the voice chip may synthesize or store recordings of one or more celebrity voices. As an added incentive to take the survey, the device may offer the customer a discount coupon for goods or services provided by the merchant. Alternatively, the device may offer the customer a discount on a gift card if the customer takes the survey.  
         [0034]     At the end of a gift-card transaction, a receipt printer  7  prints a receipt for the customer. In one embodiment, the printer may also be used to print gift certificates instead of dispensing a gift card. If the customer performs the survey or enters other customer information such as an electronic mail (e-mail) address or other contact information, the printer may print a thank-you note or a discount coupon for goods or services provided by the merchant.  
         [0035]      FIG. 2  is an illustrative drawing of a front panel  28  of an exemplary embodiment of the multi-function device  10  of the present invention. The panel includes the receipt printer  7 , the display  12 , the customer input pad  13   a,  the pull-out keyboard  13   b,  the credit card reader  14 , the good card dispenser  26 , and a list of survey questions  29 .  
         [0036]      FIG. 3  is a rear-side perspective view of the multi-function device  10  of the present invention, with a rear panel removed to show selected internal components. The components illustrated include the pull-out keyboard  13   b,  the card stock hopper  16 , the card transporter  17 , the transporter motor  18 , the bad card bin  25 , and the good card dispenser  26 . It should be noted that the device may be implemented with multiple card stock hoppers. When mounted adjacent to each other, the device first empties the card stock hopper closest to the dispenser  26 , and then pulls cards from the next hopper. When the card slide  21  moves under the closest card stock hopper and there are no cards present, the slide moves under the next hopper, where the slide engages a card and pulls it from the hopper.  
         [0037]      FIG. 4  is a front-side perspective view of the gift card transporter  17  in an exemplary embodiment of the multi-function device  10  of the present invention. In operation, the transporter removes a gift card from the card stock hopper  16  using the card slide  21 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . Referring briefly to  FIG. 5 , the card slide includes a flexible extension  31  with a lip  32 . The lip has a height sufficient to engage a single gift card when the slide is moved under the card stock hopper. A rear side of the lip is beveled, so that when the slide is moved under the hopper, the bevel causes the flexible extension  31  to flex slightly, allowing the slide to move under the bottommost card in the hopper. In addition, the entire stack of cards in the hopper is jostled upward slightly, which reduces the tendency of cards to stick together. When the card slide is moved completely under the hopper, the flexible extension returns to its unflexed position, and the lip  32  engages the bottommost card. Two holes  34 ,  35  in the card slide are used to mount the card slide to a threaded slider  41 , which moves longitudinally along the bottom of the track  22  when the transporter motor  18  rotates the threaded shaft  19 .  
         [0038]     Referring again to  FIG. 4 , a number of springs  36  are mounted along the length of the track, and press the gift card onto the card slide as the slide moves along the track. A series of small detents in the track prevent the card from moving in reverse (i.e., the card cannot move back toward the hopper). This novel design enables the dispenser to use a simple “fish trap” design to reject bad cards. If the gift card inspector  24  determines that a card should be rejected because it was not properly programmed, or it cannot be properly read, the card slide  21  stops directly above the bad card bin  25 . The transporter motor  18  then reverses direction, causing the card slide to reverse direction and move back toward the hopper. The bad card is prevented from moving with the card slide, and when the slide has moved out from under the card, the card falls into the bad card bin.  
         [0039]      FIG. 6  is a bottom perspective view of the gift card transporter  17  of  FIG. 4 . This view shows more detail of the mounting of the card slide  21  to the threaded slider  37 , which moves longitudinally along the bottom of the track  22  when the transporter motor  18  rotates the threaded shaft  19 . Two pins  38 ,  39  fit into the holes  34 ,  35  in the card slide, and secure it to the slider  37 . By rotating the shaft in opposite directions, the card slide  21  moves longitudinally along the track in both a downstream direction (away from the hopper) and an upstream direction (toward the hopper). If a card becomes jammed in the track in a position between the card slide and the hopper, the transporter motor reverses directions, causing the card slide to move toward the hopper. The bevel  33  on the extension  31  enables the card slide to bypass the jammed card. The transporter motor then reverses again, causing the lip  32  of the card slide to catch the jammed card and clear it from the track.  
         [0040]      FIG. 7  is a flow chart illustrating the steps performed by the multi-function device  10  in a first exemplary embodiment of a method of dispensing a gift card. At step  41 , the multi-function device obtains the desired gift card amount through the customer input pad  13   a.  At step  42 , the credit card reader  14  reads the customer&#39;s credit card. At step  43 , the controller  11  obtains authorization from the remote credit card authorization service  15 . This may be done, for example, through a phone line or Internet connection. Alternatively, the merchant may already subscribe to an authorization service. In this case, the controller may send an authorization request to the merchant&#39;s POS system  27 , which obtains approval from the authorization service and informs the controller. At step  44 , an unprogrammed card is pulled from the card stock hopper  16 . At step  45 , the gift card programmer  23  programs the gift card with the gift amount and a customer identification. At step  46 , the gift card inspector  24  inspects the programmed gift card, and at step  47 , the inspector determines whether the gift card has been properly programmed. If not, the method moves to step  48  where the bad card is captured in the bad card bin  25 , and the process returns to step  44  and pull another unprogrammed card from the hopper. However, if the card was properly programmed, the method moves to step  49  where the card is dispensed to the customer through the good card dispenser  26 . At step  50 , the controller then sends the customer identification and the gift card amount to the merchant&#39;s POS system where the information is registered.  
         [0041]      FIG. 8  is a flow chart illustrating the steps performed by the multi-function device  10  in a second exemplary embodiment of a method of dispensing a gift card. This embodiment provides the customer with the ability to add more money to an existing gift card or purchase a new gift card. At step  52 , the multi-function device obtains the desired gift card amount through the customer input pad  13   a.  At step  53 , the credit card reader  14  reads the customer&#39;s credit card. At step  54 , the controller  11  obtains authorization from the remote credit card authorization service  15 . At step  55 , it is determined from the customer, whether the customer desires to purchase a new gift card or add money to an existing gift card. If the customer indicates that she wishes to add to an existing gift card, the method moves to step  56  where the customer identification is read from the existing card or the customer enters her identification through the customer input pad. At step  57 , the customer identification and the added amount of the gift card are sent to the merchant&#39;s POS system  15  where the information is registered.  
         [0042]     However, if the customer indicates at step  55  that she wishes to purchase a new gift card, the method moves to step  58  where an unprogrammed card is pulled from the card stock hopper  16 . At step  59 , the gift card programmer  23  programs the gift card with the gift amount and a customer identification. At step  60 , the gift card inspector  24  inspects the programmed gift card, and at step  61 , the inspector determines whether the gift card has been properly programmed. If not, the method moves to step  62  where the bad card is captured in the bad card bin  25 . However, if the card was properly programmed, the method moves to step  63  where the card is dispensed to the customer through the good card dispenser  26 . At step  64 , the controller then sends the customer identification and the gift card amount to the merchant&#39;s POS system where the information is registered.  
         [0043]      FIG. 9  is a flow chart illustrating the steps performed by the multi-function device  10  in a third exemplary embodiment of a method of dispensing a gift card. This embodiment provides the customer with the ability to check the remaining balance on an existing gift card prior to deciding whether to add more money to an existing gift card or purchase a new gift card. At step  66 , the multi-function device reads the existing gift card. At step  67 , if the gift card does not have the remaining balance programmed on the card, the device uses the customer identification from the card to obtain the remaining balance from the merchant&#39;s POS system  15 . At step  68 , the device then displays the remaining balance to the customer on the display  12 . At step  69 , the dispenser obtains the customer&#39;s preference through the customer input pad  13   a.  At step  70 , it is determined whether the customer desires to purchase a new gift card or add money to an existing gift card. If the customer has indicated that she wishes to add to an existing gift card, the method moves to step  71  where the added amount is obtained through the customer input pad. At step  72 , the credit card reader  14  reads the customer&#39;s credit card. At step  73 , the controller  11  obtains authorization from the remote credit card authorization service  15 . At step  74 , the customer identification and the added amount of the gift card are sent to the merchant&#39;s POS system  15  where the information is registered.  
         [0044]     However, if it is determined at step  70  that the customer desires to purchase a new gift card, the method moves to step  75  where the multi-function device obtains the desired gift card amount through the customer input pad  13   a.  At step  76 , the credit card reader  14  reads the customer&#39;s credit card. At step  77 , the controller  11  obtains authorization from the remote credit card authorization service  15 . At step  78 , an unprogrammed card is pulled from the card stock hopper  16 . At step  79 , the gift card programmer  23  programs the gift card with the gift amount and a customer identification. At step  80 , the gift card inspector  24  inspects the programmed gift card, and at step  81 , the inspector determines whether the gift card has been properly programmed. If not, the method moves to step  82  where the bad card is captured in the bad card bin  25 . However, if the card was properly programmed, the method moves to step  83  where the card is dispensed to the customer through the good card dispenser  26 . At step  84 , the controller then sends the customer identification and the gift card amount to the merchant&#39;s POS system where the information is registered.  
         [0045]      FIG. 10  is a flow chart illustrating the steps performed by the multi-function device  10  in a fourth exemplary embodiment of a method of dispensing a gift card. In this embodiment, the multi-function device  10  does not program the gift card at all. Instead, each of the cards is preprogrammed with a serial number. The gift card inspector  24  reads the preprogrammed serial number, and the controller  11  passes the serial number to the merchant&#39;s POS system  27  where the number is registered as having the value purchased by the customer. If the gift card inspector cannot read the preprogrammed serial number, the card is discarded in the bad card bin  25 .  
         [0046]     Thus, at step  91 , the multi-function device obtains the desired gift card amount through the customer input pad  13   a.  At step  92 , the credit card reader  14  reads the customer&#39;s credit card. At step  93 , the controller  11  obtains authorization from the remote credit card authorization service  15 . At step  94 , it is determined from the customer, whether the customer desires to purchase a new gift card or add money to an existing gift card. If the customer indicates that she wishes to add to an existing gift card, the method moves to step  95  where the serial number of the customer&#39;s existing gift card is read from the existing card. At step  96 , the serial number and the added amount of the gift card are sent to the merchant&#39;s POS system  15  where the information is registered.  
         [0047]     However, if the customer indicates at step  94  that she wishes to purchase a new gift card, the method moves to step  97  where a preprogrammed card is pulled from the card stock hopper  16 . At step  98 , the gift card inspector  24  reads the serial number from the gift card, and at step  99 , determines whether the serial number could be properly read. If not, the method moves to step  100  where the bad card is captured in the bad card bin  25 . However, if the serial number was properly read, the method moves to step  101  where the card is dispensed to the customer through the good card dispenser  26 . At step  102 , the controller then sends the serial number and the gift card amount to the merchant&#39;s POS system where the information is registered.  
         [0048]     When the card being issued is a loyalty card, there is generally no payment made for the card. Instead, the customer enters predefined personal information through the keyboard  13   b.  Certain personal information may be required while other information is optional. If the required information is received, the device associates the information with a unique loyalty card, and the device dispenses the unique loyalty card. The merchant may have a loyalty program in which customer purchases are rewarded with points that are redeemable for cash, merchandise, or discounts on future purchases. The loyalty card includes an identifier for the customer such as encoded information on a magnetic strip or bar code. A customer with a previously issued loyalty card may scan her card through the magnetic card reader  14  or similar optical scanner, and the device displays the number of accumulated points on the display  12 .  
         [0049]      FIG. 11  is a flow chart illustrating the steps performed by the multi-function device  10  in an exemplary embodiment of a method of collecting customer survey information. At step  111 , the multi-function device displays the first survey question on the LCD display  21  or in the separate question displays  29 . At step  112 , a customer response is received through the pull-out keyboard  13   b  or alternatively, through the keypad  13   a.  At step  113 , it is determined whether or not the customer&#39;s response matches predetermined criteria for paging the manager. For example, if the customer&#39;s choices are BEST, GOOD, FAIR, and POOR, and the customer enters BEST or POOR, the process may move to step  114  where the tray transmits a paging message to alert the establishment manager that the customer reported particularly good or bad service. At step  115 , it is determined whether the question was the last survey question. If not, the next question is then displayed at step  116 . The process then returns to step  112  and awaits the customer&#39;s response.  
         [0050]     If it is determined at step  115  that the question was the last survey question, the process moves to step  117  where the multi-function device may optionally determine whether or not the customer is a winner in a promotional program designed to provide the customer with incentive to return to the merchant&#39;s establishment. Winners may be determined at random or at an interval set by the merchant (for example, every tenth customer). If the customer is not a winner, the customer is thanked at step  118  for taking the survey. If the customer is a winner, the customer is notified of the reward at step  119 . Optionally, the device may page the manager at step  121  so that the manager can congratulate the customer and/or bring the customer a reward certificate. At step  122 , the device stores the survey results in the memory  4  until the customer information is downloaded for analysis or further action.  
         [0051]     The multi-function device  10  may also be used to collect customer information in addition to survey results. For example, the device may collect e-mail addresses for use in future direct-marketing campaigns. General comments about the retail establishment may also be collected and compiled for management attention.  
         [0052]     It should be noted that any customer information entered into the device does not remain resident on the device. The device serves as a portal for this information, but for security reasons, the information is transmitted from the device through, for example, the LAN connection  1  or the modem connection  3  to a backend server or PC  2  ( FIG. 1 ) where the information is securely stored.  
         [0053]     It is thus believed that the operation and construction of the present invention will be apparent from the foregoing description. While the system and method shown and described has been characterized as being preferred, it will be readily apparent that various changes and modifications could be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.