Patent ID: 7720711

Claim:
A method for guiding a customer in the use of a customer service machine having a plurality of stations at which a customer performs an activity in accordance with a sequence of pre-determined steps in furtherance of a transaction to be completed at the machine, comprising the steps of: detecting the presence of the customer by a proximity sensor immediately adjacent one of the plurality of stations, wherein each of the plurality of stations has a corresponding proximity sensor; determining by a processor whether an activity is to be performed in accordance with the sequence at the one station where the customer presence is detected in accordance with a current one of the pre-determined steps; providing a first visual indication by an indicator adjacent the one station encouraging the activity when the activity is to be performed in accordance with the sequence and the one station is a next station in the sequence, wherein each of the plurality of stations has a corresponding indicator; and providing a second visual indication by the indicator deterring the activity when the activity is not to be performed in accordance with the sequence and the one station is not the next station in the sequence.