Google reviews for cafés: NFC stands vs QR

A review stand has one job: turn "the colada here is the best in Hialeah" into something a stranger can read next week. How it does that — a tap or a scan — matters less than where it stands, but the difference is worth knowing.

What a tap is good at

NFC is the faster of the two when it works: the guest holds their phone near the stand and the review form opens. No camera, no aiming, no app. On modern iPhones and Android phones it works with the screen on and unlocked, which is the usual state of a phone at a counter.

What a scan is good at

A QR code works on every phone with a camera, including older ones, and it works from a distance — from a table, from the pickup shelf, from a photo someone took of your counter. It also works when a case is thick or the phone is in a wallet.

So: both, on the same stand

There is no reason to choose. Our stands carry both, pointing at the same link, so whichever the guest reaches for gets them to the same place. The dashboard counts taps and scans separately, which tells you something useful after a month: where your guests actually engage.

Where the stand goes

Three of them, in three different moments: the door, on the way out; the counter, next to the card reader while they are already stopped; and a table or the pickup shelf, while they are waiting. The counter one usually wins, but not always — bakeries tend to see the door do better.

What is allowed

Asking every guest for an honest review is fine. Paying for reviews, or only asking the ones who look happy, is not. A stand asks everyone the same way, which is the safest version of the request.

What it costs

The Reviews bundle is $149 installed: three stands with your logo, your Google profile claimed and filled in, and the tap dashboard. Bare stands you place yourself are $29 each, or $69 for three.