Patent ID: 8473304

Claim:
A method for a first service provider to obtain validated customer feedback information about the first service provider, the method comprising: providing a customer with access to a digital ratings device that comprises a mechanism for digitally recording initial customer feedback information from the customer, generating temporal data, and uploading the initial customer feedback information to a third-party validator, wherein the temporal data comprises a location at which the initial customer feedback information is provided; providing the customer with an opportunity to use the digital ratings device to provide the initial customer feedback information, wherein the digital ratings device associates the temporal information with the initial customer feedback information; and uploading the initial customer feedback information to the third-party validator, wherein the third-party validator validates the initial customer feedback information to obtain the validated customer feedback information by checking the temporal data to ensure the initial customer feedback information was provided at premises of the first service provider and that the customer is a verified customer of the first service provider.