Patent ID: 6960988

Claim:
A system for obtaining and storing responses from a customer regarding a level of customer satisfaction, said system comprising: a plurality of tip trays, each of said tip trays having means for obtaining and storing customer responses regarding the level of customer satisfaction; and a base unit having means for collecting the responses from the tip trays when the trays are stacked on the base unit, said base unit including a battery recharger connected to a power pin; wherein each of the tip trays includes: means for reporting the stored responses, said reporting means including a data receptacle that aligns with a data pin on the base unit when the tray is the bottommost tray in the stack of trays, and that aligns with a data pin on a lower tray stacked directly under the tray when the tray is not the bottommost tray in the stack of trays; a transmitter connected to said obtaining and storing means selectively generating a signal in response to the obtaining and storing means obtaining a particularly good or bad response by a customer; a rechargeable battery connected to a power receptacle aligned with the power pin of the base unit; and a power pin that aligns with a power receptacle on a higher tray stacked directly on top of the tray when the tray is not the topmost tray in the stack of trays; wherein, when all of the trays are stacked on the base unit such that the data pins and data receptacles, and the power pins and power receptacles are in contact, the base unit collectively downloads customer responses from all of the stacked trays, and the recharger in the base unit recharges the batteries in all of the stacked trays simultaneously.