The best time to ask a café customer is while the coffee is still hot.
A stand on the counter does the asking, so your staff never have to. One tap opens your Google review page.
Your customers come to you and stand still at the register for fifteen seconds. That is the whole opportunity, and a stand captures it without anyone saying a word.
- Works unattended through a rush, when nobody has time to ask
- Wipes clean — it lives next to milk, syrup and steam
- Printed QR on the back for the customer whose phone is ancient
The window is the wait, not the goodbye
The moment that works in a café is not when someone is leaving — it is the thirty seconds between paying and their coffee landing. They are standing at your counter with a phone in their hand and nothing to do. A stand at eye level by the register gets tapped in that gap. By the time they have their cup they are already gone, and so is the chance.
“My staff won't remember to ask”
They won't, and they shouldn't have to. Baristas during a morning rush are not going to run a review programme, and asking them to turns a good idea into a thing they resent. The point of a counter stand is that it does the asking on its own, every single customer, including the ones your staff would never have approached. You are not adding a step to anyone's job.
What to actually say
If a regular asks what it is: “It's a review thing — tap it if you've got ten seconds, it really helps us.” That is the whole script. No explaining NFC, no mentioning stars.
Never ask for a five-star review or offer anything in return — it breaches Google's policies and the Australian Consumer Law. Ask for a review, not a rating.
Most cafés start with one of each
The counter stand does the day-to-day work. A tap card covers the times you are away from the counter.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.