Patent Publication Number: US-2005140494-A1

Title: Customer management system using IC cards

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to customer management systems using IC cards for achieving improved customer information management.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Monitoring customers&#39; preference is one of the most difficult but important issues for product dealer companies, who desire to achieve improved customer satisfaction. This is especially difficult for a company running a lot of stores or branch offices; although the company&#39;s attention is often paid to provision of uniform services in all of the stores, the number of customers is usually different for each store.  
      One approach for gaining better understanding of customers is to have frequent contact with customers. This is often achieved by issuing member cards to customers. Member cards are typically designed to store customer information, such as store visiting frequency. This allows the company to provide special services for frequent customers, and to thereby achieve customer satisfaction. Such member cards are useful to better understand customers.  
      Member cards storing customer information are also useful for achieving efficient customer management, as disclosed in Japanese Open Laid Patent Application No. P2001-22838A. Such member cards are usually comprised of an IC card incorporating an IC chip.  
      A dealer company often desires to understand customers&#39; store choice with respect to the stores owned by the dealer. When multiple stores owned by the same dealer company are available, customers naturally select one that provides relatively high quality services. However, it is not easy for the dealer company to capture such customers&#39; preference, because reputation on the service quality is usually exchanged only among customers. It would be advantageous if a system is provided which allows a product dealer company to gain a real-time understanding of the reputation with customers concerning the individual stores that the product dealer company owns.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide a system that allows a dealer company running multiple stores to easily understand the reputation of the individual stores from the customers&#39; viewpoint.  
      Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that allows a dealer company to gain better understand the reason(s) why a certain customer stops visiting a certain store.  
      Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system that allows a dealer to appropriately deal with customers who stop visiting a certain store, and to thereby avoid customer satisfaction being unachieved.  
      In an aspect of the present invention, a customer management system is composed of: an IC card; a plurality of terminals respectively provided for branch offices; a plurality of reader/writers respectively connected to the plurality of terminals; and a management server including a customer management database, the management server being communicatable with the plurality of terminals through a network. The IC card includes a region for storing favorite office information indicating at least one favorite branch office. The plurality of terminals are each designed to program the IC card using associated one of the plurality of reader/writers to register a desired favorite branch office selected out of the plurality of branch offices as one of the favorite branch office(s) within the favorite office information, and to transmit registration information representative of the desired favorite branch office to the management server in response to completion of programming the IC card. The management server is programmed to update the customer management database in response to the registration information so that the customer management database contains an association of a customer owning the IC card and the favorite branch office(s) indicated by the favorite office information.  
      It is preferable that the plurality of terminals are programmed to provide a prompt to input a registration reason for the desired favorite branch office, and to transmit the registration reason to the management server, and the management server is programmed to update the customer management database in response to the registration reason received from relevant one of the plurality of terminals.  
      When the reader/writes are each designed to obtain the favorite office information from the IC card, and to output the obtained favorite office information to associated one of the plurality of terminals, the plurality of terminals are preferably programmed to be responsive to an unregistration request indicative of one of the at least one favorite branch office to be unregistered for unregistering the indicated favorite branch office from the favorite office information within the IC card.  
      When the plurality of terminals are programmed to the unregistration request to generate an office unregistration message indicating the unregistered favorite branch office, and to transmit the office unregistration message to the management server through the network, the customer management server is preferably programmed to inform one of the plurality of terminals associated with the unregistered favorite branch office, that the unregistered favorite branch office is unregistered from the favorite office information.  
      It is also preferable that the plurality of terminals are programmed to provide a prompt to input an unregistration reason for the unregistered one of the at least one favorite branch office, and to transmit the registration reason to the management server, and the management server is responsive to the office unregistration message to inform the one of the plurality of terminals associated with the unregistered one of the at least one favorite branch office that the unregistered one of the at least one favorite branch office is unregistered from the favorite office information.  
      In this case, the management server is preferably responsive to the unregistration reason for transmitting address change information to the one of the plurality of terminals associated with the unregistered favorite branch office, when the unregistration reason is related to a change of an address of the customer owning the IC card  
      When the plurality of terminals respectively include customer databases storing customer data, the management server is preferably programmed to issue a request for outputting customer data associated with the registration information received through the network in response to the registration information, and to update the customer management database based on the customer data outputted in response to sad request.  
      It is also preferable that the plurality of terminals are programmed to indicate the IC card to update the favorite office information, and to assert a flag disposed within the customer management database when updating the favorite office information is unsuccessfully completed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing an exemplary structure of a customer management system in one embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing a configuration of an IC card in this embodiment;  
       FIG. 3  is a customer management table stored in a customer management database;  
       FIG. 4  is a store management table stored in a store database;  
       FIG. 5  is a registration reason table stored in a registration reason database;  
       FIG. 6  is an unregistration reason table stored in an unregistration reason database;  
       FIG. 7  is a customer table stored in a customer database;  
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart showing an exemplary register process of “favorite” stores in this embodiment;  
       FIG. 9  is a flowchart showing an exemplary unregister process of “favorite” stores in this embodiment; and  
       FIG. 10  is a flowchart showing an exemplary operation of database update in this embodiment. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      In one embodiment, the present invention is applied to a customer management system for a vehicle company, which uses member cards for customer management. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to a customer management system for a vehicle company, and applicable to a customer management system for any kind of entities issuing member cards to customers or clients.  
     System Structure  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of the customer management system in this embodiment. The customer management system is provided with a management server  1 , a management terminal  2 , store terminals  3   a , card reader/writers  3   b , customer terminals  4  (one shown), and a network  5 . The management server  1  contains four databases in a storage unit: a customer management database  1   a , a store database  1   b , a registration reason database  1   c , and an unregistration reason database  1   d . The management terminal  2  is connected to the management server  1 , and used for managing the databases provided within the management server  1 . The store terminals  3   a  and the card reader/writers  3   b  are provided for respective stores  3  at which the vehicle company sells products. The store terminals  3   a  each include a customer database  3   c . The customer terminal  4  is provided for operation of a customer. The customer terminal  4  is designed to be connectable to a card reader/writer  4   a.    
      The four databases within the management server  1  contain necessary information for overall customer management of the respective stores  3 . The customer management database  1   a  contains overall customer information, including information on “favorite” stores of customers. As described later, the customer management system is designed to allow customers to register their “favorite” stores, selected out of the stores  3 , into the customer management database  1   a  in accordance with the customers&#39; choice. The contents of the customer management database  1   a  are linked with those of the customer databases  3   c  within the store terminals  3   a . The store database  1   b  contains information on the stores  3 . The registration reason database  1   c  stores therein information on the reasons why the customers register specific stores as the “favorite” stores. The unregistration reason database  1   d  stores therein information on the reasons why the customers selects specific stores to be excluded from their “favorite” stores.  
      The management server  1  may be composed of a general-purpose computer including a storage device, an information processor, and an interface unit. In this case, the storage device is used for storing the customer management database  1   a , the store database  1   b , the registration reason database  1   c , and the unregistration reason database  1   d . The information processor is configured to perform various processing procedures, including updating the databases, in response to data received through the network  5 . The information processor is also configured to operate in response to indications received from the management terminal  2 . The interface unit is used to provide communications for the management server  1 .  
      The management terminal  2  is provided for operation of the used as a man-machine interface of the customer management system. The management terminal  2  may include various input devices, such as a keyboard, a microphone, and a touch panel disposed on the display screen.  
      The store terminals  3   a  are provided for operation of the staff of the stores  3 . The store terminal  3   a  are connectable to the management server  1  through the network  5 . As is the case of the management terminal  2 , the store terminal  3   a  is used as a man-machine interface of the customer management system. The store terminal  3   a  may include various input devices, such as a keyboard, a microphone, and a touch panel disposed on the display screen.  
      The store terminals  3   a  are connected card reader/writers  3   b  for accessing IC cards  6  (one shown), which are used as member cards issued by the vehicle company. The reader/writers  3   b  are designed to obtain data from the IC cards  6  and to forward the obtained data to the management server  1 . Additionally, the reader/writers  3   b  are designed to program the IC cards  6  with data received from the management server  1  and the store terminals  3   a.    
      The store terminals  3   a  are also designed to store customer information in the customer database  3   c.    
      The customer terminals  4  are other man-machine interfaces provided for operation of the customers. General-purpose information processor devices owned by the customers, such as personal computers and PDAs (personal data assistants) may be used as the customer terminals  4 . The customer terminals  4  may include various input devices, such as a keyboard, a microphone, and a touch panel disposed on the display screen.  
      The network  5  provides communications among the management server  1 , the store terminals  3   a , and the customer terminals  4 . A wide area network, such as the Internet may be used as the network  5 .  
     IC Card Configuration  
       FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary configuration of the IC cards  6 . The IC cards  6  each include a non-volatile storage device  60  for storing information on the customer owning the IC card  6 . The information stored in the storage device  60  includes favorite store data  60   a , point data  60   b , a card ID  60   c , product purchase history data  60   d , after-sales service history data  60   e , and an electronic guarantee certificate  60   f.    
      The favorite store data  60   a  is representative of the “favorite” store(s), which is selected by the customer who own the IC card  6 . The storage device  60  incorporates a region in which the favorite store data  60   a  is contained, and the region is allowed to be accessed only in response to operation of the customer. It should be noted that the customer may select a plurality of stores as his/her “favorite” stores.  FIG. 2  indicates the case when Stores A and B, denoted by numerals  60   a - 1  and  60   a - 2 , are selected as the “favorite” stores.  
      The number of the favorite stores may be limited to be equal to or less than a predetermined maximum value; the IC card  6  may be designed not to allow the storage device  60  to store the “favorite” stores more than the maximum value. Configuring the IC card  6  with the maximum allowable number of the “favorite” stores allows each store to provide appropriate services in response to the customer&#39;s choice with respect to the “favorite” stores. For example, a certain store may provide a sales campaign in which the certain store provides a special service for a customer who selects the certain store as his/her “favorite” store.  
      The point data  60   b  represents the amount of the purchase points that the stores  3  donate to the customer. When a customer purchases a vehicle or orders a charged maintenance/inspection service, the customer is given purchase points for the expense thereof. The stores  3  provide cash back or a free additional service for the purchase points.  
      The card ID  60   c  is used to identify the IC cards  6 . The IC cards  6 , which are the member cards issued by the vehicle company, are each given a unique ID. The IC cards  6  each store the ID as the card ID  60   c.    
      The product purchase history data  60   d  represents the purchase history of the customer. When purchasing a vehicle for the first time, a customer is given an IC card  6 . When the customer who already has the IC card  6  purchases another vehicle, the product purchase history data  60   d  is updated to include information on the newly purchased vehicle, including the purchase date.  
      The after-sales service history data  60   e  represents the history of maintenance/inspection services provided for the vehicle purchased by the customer. When the vehicle experiences a periodic inspection or an accidental maintenance/inspection or repair, the after-sales service history data  60   e  is updated to include the log of the periodic inspection, the maintenance/inspection, or the repair.  
      The electronic guarantee certificate  60   f  is information equivalently valid as the guarantee certificate in paper form. The electronic guarantee certificate  60   f  is used to certificate the guarantee when a vehicle of a customer who has the guarantee certificate in paper form at home experiences failure at a distant place.  
     Database Contents  
       FIG. 3  illustrates contents of a customer management table  11  stored in the customer management database  1   a . The customer management database  1   a  contains customer name data  11   a , customer IDs  11   b , purchasing store data  11   c , vehicle information  11   d , and maintenance/inspection information  11   e , which are correlated with one another.  
      The customer name data  11   a  are representative of the names of the customers. The customer IDs  11   b  are used to identify the customers.  
      The used store data  11   c  are composed of information on the stores used by each customer. If a certain customer uses a plurality of stores, the used store data  11   c  include information on all of the used stores. Specifically, the used store data  11   c  are composed of store name data  12   a , store IDs  12   b , register/unregister flags  30   d , and number-of-use data  30   e . The store name data  12   a  represent the names of the stores  3  used by each customer. The store IDs  12   b  are used to identify the stores used by each customer. The register/unregister flags  30   d  represent whether each store is registered as the “favorite” store or not by the associated customer. When a certain customer registers a certain store as his/her “favorite” store, the associated register/unregister flag  30   d  is asserted. Correspondingly, when the certain customer unregisters the store as his/her “favorite” store, the associated register/unregister flag  30   d  is negated. When a certain register/unregister flag  30   d  is asserted to represent that the associated store is selected as the “favorite” store, the asserted register/unregister flag  30   d  is associated with a registration reason within the registration reason database  1   c ; this allows extracting the registration reason associated with the asserted register/unregister flag  30   d  from the registration reason database  1   c.    
      The vehicle information  11   d  is information on the vehicles owned by the customers.  
      The maintenance/inspection information  11   e  is information on the maintenance/inspection services provided for the vehicles owned by the customers.  
       FIG. 4  illustrates contents of a store management table  12  stored in the store database  1   b . The store database  1   b  contains store name data  12   a , store IDs  12   b , store address data  12   c , managed customer number data  12   d , and favoring customer number data  12   e , which are correlated with one another. The store name data  12   a  represent the names of the stores  3 . The store IDs  12   b  are used to identify the stores used by each customer. The store address data  12   c  describes the addresses of the stores  3 . The managed customer number data  12  represent the number of customers managed by each store  3 . The favoring customer number data  12   e  represent the numbers of the customers who have the IC cards  6  indicating that the customers register the respective stores as their “favorite” stores.  
       FIG. 5  is a registration reason table  13  provided within the registration reason database  1   c . The registration reason database  1   c  contains reasons why the customers select the respective stores as their favorite stores, including geographical reasons  13   a , interpersonal reasons  13   b , and product-related reasons  13   c . The reasons described in the registration reason database  1   c  are correlated with the asserted register/unregister flags  30   d.    
       FIG. 6  is an unregistration reason table  14  provided within the unregistration reason database  1   d . The registration reason database  1   c  contains reasons why the customers select the respective stores to be excluded from their “favorite” stores, including geographical reasons  13   a , interpersonal reasons  13   b , and product-related reasons  13   c . When specific stores are selected to be excluded from the “favorite” stores, the associated register/unregister flag  30   d  is negated, and the reason is described in the unregistration reason database  1   d  to be correlated with the negated register/unregister flag  30   d.    
       FIG. 7  illustrates contents of a customer table  30  provided within the customer databases  3   c  of the respective store terminals  3   a . The customer databases  3   c  each include customer name data  11   a , customer IDs  11   b , customer address data  30   a , customer age data  30   b , customer sexuality data  30   c , register/unregister flags  30   d , vehicle information  11   d , maintenance/inspection information  11   e , and number-of-use data  30   e.    
      The contents of each data and information within the customer databases  3   c  are as set forth above. It should be noted that the register/unregister flags  30   d , which indicates that the respective customers select specific stores as their “favorite” stores, are also stored in the customer databases  3   c  in addition to the customer management database  1   a  within the management server  1 .  
     System Operation  
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart showing the operation of the customer management system in which a customer registers a specific store as his/her “favorite” store. The registration of the customer&#39;s “favorite” store may be achieved by using the store terminals  3   a , or the customer terminal  4 . In this embodiment, the operation is described with an assumption that selected one of the store terminals  3   a  is used for the registration, which is provided in the store  3  where the customer visits. It should be noted that the customer terminal  4  may be used for the registration of the “favorite” store in place of the store terminals  3   a.    
      The register process of the “favorite” stores begins with executing a predetermined operation on the store terminal  3   a . The predetermined operation may be initiated by allowing the store terminal  3   a  to read information stored in the IC card  6  of the customer. In an alternative embodiment, the store terminal  3   a  may be configured to automatically display a login screen for a “favorite” store registration web page in response to the connection of the IC card  6  with the card reader/writer  3   b . It should be noted that the registration operation may begin with accessing a login Web page used for the registration of the “favorite” store from a customer terminal  4   a  when the customer terminal  4   a  is not connected to a card reader/writer  4   a.    
      At Step S 101 , the customer terminal  3   a  displays a login screen through executing a login screen generating program in response to establishment of a connection between the IC card  6  and the card reader/writer  3   b . The connection between the IC card  6  and the card reader/writer  3   b  may be achieved through a wired or wireless link; the connection may be achieved through inserting the IC card  6  into a slot disposed in the card reader/writer  3   b , or through approaching the IC card  6  to the card reader/writer  3   b  to establish a wireless communication link therebetween.  
      At Step S 102 , the customer is prompt to input a customer ID and a password. The customer ID and the password are forwarded to the management server  1  through the network  5 . The management server  1  authenticates the customer using data stored in an authentication database (not shown).  
      At Step S 103 , the store terminal  3   a  accesses the registration web page in response to the authentication being successfully completed. In an alternative embodiment, the customer management system may include a dedicated Web server providing the registration page, and the store terminal  3   a  may access the dedicated Web server to obtain the registration page.  
      At Step S 104 , the store terminal  3   a  determines whether or not the store selected by the customer is allowed to be additionally registered as the favorite store. The number of the “favorite” stores that have been already registered is compared with the allowable maximum number of the “favorite” stores for the customer. When the number of the registered “favorite” stores already reaches the allowable maximum number, the procedure jumps to Step S 105 , and the store terminal  3   a  generates an error message on the display screen thereof, which informs that the number of the registered “favorite” stores has already reached the allowable maximum number. If not so, the store terminal  3   a  accesses the store database  1   b  to extract a list of stores that are not registered as the “favorite” stores at Step S 106 .  
      The customer may use the list generated at Step S 106  to select his/her “favorite” store in accordance with his/her choice. When the customer uses the list to select his/her “favorite” store, the procedure jumps to Step S 109 . The customer is also allowed to select his/her “favorite” store without using the list. In this case, the customer is prompt to select a search button disposed on the screen to access a store search page at Step S 108 . Typing in a search keyword allows selecting a desired store as the “favorite” store.  
      At Step S 109 , the management server  1  issues an inquiry on the registration web page for prompting the customer to confirm the “favorite” store to be registered. Responding to the inquiry allows the customer to confirm the “favorite” store to be selected.  
      At Step S 110 , the management server  1  issues another inquiry on the registration web page for prompting the customer to input the reason why the customer selects the registered store as his/her “favorite” store. When the customer desires to input the reason, the procedure goes to Step S 111 . At Step S 111 , the management server  1  accesses the registration reason database  1   c , and generates a list of items of the reasons for selecting the “favorite” stores. The customer is allowed to input the reason for selecting the “favorite” store by selecting one or more items out of the listed items. After the reason is inputted, the procedure proceeds to Step S 112 . The customer is also allowed to manually input the reason by using the keyboard. When the customer manually input the reason, the store terminal  3   a  forwards the inputted reason to the management server  1 , and the management server  1  updates the registration reason database  1   c  to include the inputted reason. This effectively allows the vehicle company to better understand factors on which the customers&#39; store choice depends.  
      When the customer does not desire to input the reason at Step  111 , the procedure directly jumps to Step S 112 .  
      At Step S 112 , the store terminal  3   a  judges whether the IC card  6  is ready to update information stored therein. The judgment depends on whether or not the IC card  6  is connected to the card reader/writer  3   b  (or the card reader/writer  4   a ). If the IC card  6  is connected to the card reader/writer  3   b  (or the card reader/writer  4   a ), the information stored in the storage device  60  of the IC card  6  is updated to include the newly registered “favorite” store.  
      When the IC card  6  is not ready at Step S 112 , the store terminal  3   a  generates a message including an unsuccessful update flag that indicates the information stored in the IC card  6  is not updated yet.  
      At the step S 114 , the store terminal  3   a  transmits the information about the additionally registered “favorite” store through the network  5  to the management server  1 ; the transmitted information is composed of the message including the unsuccessful update flag if the information stored in the IC card  6  is not updated yet. The management server  1  updates the information stored in the customer management database  1   a  in accordance with the received information. When the management server  1  finds the unsuccessful update flag in the received information, the management server  1  stores the unsuccessful update flag so as to be associated with the additionally registered “favorite” store. When the IC card  6  gets ready through being connected to the IC card  6  to a card reader/writer  3   b  or  4   a , the information stored in the IC card  6  is updated in response to the unsuccessful update flag. After the updating is completed, the unsuccessful update flag is negated.  
      The customer management system may be designed to add or modify the registration reasons stored in the management server  1 . In one embodiment, the registration web page may be configured to add or modify the registration reasons, and the management server  1  may add or modify the registration reasons in response to requests received from the store terminals  3   a , the customer terminal  4 , or the management terminal  2 . This is achieved through performing a process identical to Steps S 112  to S 114 .  
      The aforementioned operation allows the customer to register his/her “favorite” stores in both the IC card  6  and the customer management database  1   a . The registration of the “favorite” stores allows the respective stores  3  to provide special services for the favoring customers. The registration of the “favorite” stores is also effective for the staff of the vehicle company; the staff of the vehicle company achieves better understanding of the customers&#39; preference through analyzing the information stored in the customer management database  1   a , including the reasons why specific stores are selected as the “favorite” stores. In other words, the staff of the vehicle company can understand the reputation with the customers about the stores  3 ; one typical reputation is that a certain store is often registered as the “favorite” store after customers newly buy vehicles. Another typical reputation is that another store is registered as the “favorite” store due to the popularity of the reception staff.  
       FIG. 9  is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary unregister process of the “favorite” stores. The unregister process of the customer&#39;s “favorite” store may be achieved by using the store terminals  3   a , or the customer terminal  4 . In this embodiment, the operation is described with an assumption that selected one of the store terminals  3   a  is used for the unregistration, which is provided in the store  3  where the customer visits. It should be noted that the customer terminal  4  may be used for the unregistration of the “favorite” store in place of the store terminals  3   a.    
      The unregister process of the “favorite” stores begins with by executing a predetermined operation on the store terminal  3   a ; the predetermined operation may be initiated by allowing the store terminal  3   a  to read information stored in the IC card  6  of the customer. In an alternative embodiment, the store terminal  3   a  may be configured to automatically display a login screen for a “favorite” store unregistration web page in response to the connection of the IC card  6  with the card reader/writer  3   b . It should be noted that the unregistration process may begin with accessing a login Web page used for the unregistration of the “favorite” store from a customer terminal  4   a  when the customer terminal  4   a  is not connected to a card reader/writer  4   a.    
      At Step S 201 , the customer terminal  3   a  displays a login screen through executing a login screen generating program in response to establishment of a connection between the IC card  6  and the card reader/writer  3   b . The connection between the IC card  6  and the card reader/writer  3   b  may be achieved through a wired or wireless link; the connection may be achieved through inserting the IC card  6  into a slot disposed in the card reader/writer  3   b , or through approaching the IC card  6  to the card reader/writer  3   b  to establish a wireless communication link therebetween.  
      At Step S 202 , the customer is prompt to input a customer ID and a password in the login screen. The customer ID and the password are forwarded to the management server  1  through the network  5 . The management server  1  authenticates the customer using the data stored in the authentication database (not shown).  
      At Step S 203 , the store terminal  3   a  accesses the unregistration web page in response to the authentication being successfully completed. In an alternative embodiment, the customer management system may include a dedicated Web server providing the unregistration page, and the store terminal  3   a  may access the dedicated Web server to obtain the unregistration page.  
      At Step S 204 , the store terminal  3   a  reads the favorite store data  60   a  from the IC card  6  through the card reader/writer  3   b , and displays the “favorite” stores listed in the favorite store data  60   a  on the display screen. At Step S 205 , the customer is prompt to select one or more “favorite” stores to be unregistered from the favorite store data  60   a  using the displayed list.  
      After indicating the “favorite” stores to be unregistered, at Step  206 , the management server  1  issues an inquiry on the unregistration web page, prompting the customer to input an unregistration reason(s). At Step S 207 , the management server  1  tries to confirm that the unregistration reason(s) is inputted, and issues a warning message on the display screen of the store terminal  3   a  when the unregistration reason(s) is not inputted at Step S 208 . When the unregistration reason(s) is inputted, the procedure jumps to Step S 209 .  
      At Step S 209 , the store terminal  3   a  judges whether the IC card  6  is ready to update information stored therein. The judgment depends on whether or not the IC card  6  is connected to the card reader/writer  3   b  (or the card reader/writer  4   a ). If the IC card  6  is connected to the card reader/writer  3   b  (or the card reader/writer  4   a ), the information stored in the storage device  60  of the IC card  6  is updated at Step S 210  to unregister the “favorite” store(s) selected by the customer from the favorite store data  60   a  within the storage device  60 .  
      When the IC card  6  is not ready at Step S 209 , the store terminal  3   a  generates a message including an unsuccessful update flag that indicates the information stored in the IC card  6  is not updated yet.  
      At the step S 211 , the store terminal  3   a  transmits to the management server  1  the information about the “favorite” store to be unregistered from the management server  1  through the network  5 ; the transmitted information is composed of the message including the unsuccessful update flag if the information stored in the IC card  6  is not updated yet. The management server  1  updates the information stored in the customer management database  1   a  in accordance with the received information. When the management server  1  finds the unsuccessful update flag in the received information, the management server  1  stores the unsuccessful update flag so as to be associated with the additionally registered “favorite” store. When the IC card  6  gets ready through being connected to the IC card  6  to a card reader/writer  3   b  or  4   a , the information stored in the IC card  6  is updated in response to the unsuccessful update flag. After the updating is completed, the unsuccessful update flag is negated.  
      The customer management system may be designed to add or modify the unregistration reasons stored in the management server  1 . In one embodiment, the unregistration web page may be configured to add or modify the unregistration reasons, and the management server  1  may add or modify the unregistration reasons in response to requests received from the store terminals  3   a , the customer terminal  4 , or the management terminal  2 . This is achieved through performing a process identical to Steps S 209  to S 211 .  
      In a preferred embodiment, the management server  1  is designed to generate a data table indicative the registration and unregistration reasons for each store. The management server  1  is programmed to generate an evaluation sheet for each store, including the degree of the customer satisfaction. This allows a sales manager of the vehicle company to provide directions for each store  3  on the basis of the evaluation sheet, and to reduce service differences among the stores  3 .  
       FIG. 10  is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process of updating the databases provided within the management server  1 . Although the process illustrated in  FIG. 10  addresses unregistration of the “favorite” store(s), this does not mean that the databases within the management server  1  are updated only when the unregistration of the “favorite” store(s) is requested; the registration of additional “favorite” stores is performed in the same manner as the unregistration.  
      At Step S 301 , the management server  1  receives an unregistration request from the associated store terminal  3   a  (or the customer terminal  4 ). At Step S 302 , the management server  1  extracts the unregistration reason(s) indicated in the unregistration request. At Step S 303 , the management server  1  analyzes the unregistration reason(s) to determine whether the unregistration reason(s) is related to a change of the customer&#39;s address.  
      When the unregistration reason(s) is related to a change of the customer&#39;s address, such as a change of the house or a change of the place of work, the procedure proceeds to Step S 304 . At Step S 304 , the management server  1  transmits address change information informing the change of the customer&#39;s address to the store terminal  3   a  provided for the store experiencing the unregistration from the “favorite” stores. Upon receiving the address change information, the relevant store terminal  3   a  updates the customer database  3   c  in accordance with the address change information.  
      When the unregistration reason(s) is not related to the change of the customer&#39;s address, the procedure proceeds to the Step S 304 .  
      At Step S 305 , the management server  1  determines whether the unregistration reason(s) is directed to one that requires any action for customers, such as unregistration resulting from lack of skills. If so, the management server  1  transmits a warning message to the store terminal  3   a  of the relevant store on the basis of the unregistration reason(s) at Step S 306 .  
      In the case when the address change information is transmitted at Step S 304 , or when the management server  1  determines that no action is required, the process proceeds to Step S 307 . At Step S 307 , the management server  1  updates the relevant databases stored therein.  
      Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been changed in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.