Tablet or QR code: two ways to build a kiosk
A feedback kiosk has one job: let a customer rate their experience in a few seconds, at the moment it ends. Dedicated terminals do this with big buttons, a sturdy case, and a reporting dashboard. Strip away the hardware and the requirements are simple — a screen or a printed code, one question, and somewhere the answers are collected.
A tablet kiosk is a tablet on a stand showing the question, so customers tap without taking out their phone. It's the lowest-effort option for the customer, which makes it good for busy exits.
A QR kiosk is a printed sign with a QR code, so customers answer on their own phone. There's no device to charge, clean, or steal, and nobody can monopolise the screen. Print the question in large type above the code — 'How was your visit today? Scan to rate' — and a short link underneath for anyone whose camera won't read it. Many businesses use both: a tablet at the main exit, QR signs everywhere else.
Turning a tablet into a kiosk
- 1
Create the question as a link
Set up a one-question rating poll or Feedback Flow and copy its link. On Onetapvote the question opens in one tap with no login, which is exactly what a kiosk needs.
- 2
Lock the tablet to that page
Use the built-in single-app mode — Guided Access on iPad, app or screen pinning on Android — so customers can't wander into other apps or the browser's address bar.
- 3
Keep the screen on
Turn off auto-lock and keep the tablet plugged in, with the cable run through the stand. A kiosk that goes dark after two minutes collects nothing.
- 4
Test the hand-over
Answer the question, then hand the tablet to a colleague. They should see a fresh question, not your thank-you page. If they don't, add a home-screen shortcut to the question link and have staff tap it between customers — or use a QR sign at that spot instead.
- 5
Mount it where staff can see it
A locking counter or floor stand deters casual theft and keeps the screen at a comfortable height. Within sight of staff is the best security you'll get.
Placement and the one question to ask
Put the kiosk where the experience ends, not where it starts. A customer who hasn't finished can't rate the whole visit.
- Retail: at the exit or beside the till, after payment.
- Clinics and salons: at the checkout desk, on the way out.
- Gyms and venues: by the door people leave through, at eye level.
- Service counters: right where the transaction finishes.
- Ask one question on a 1–5 scale: 'How was your visit today?' or 'How did we do?'. Big options, no scrolling, no required text.
- If you want detail, add one optional follow-up for low scores: 'What could we do better?'. Every extra step loses people who were happy to give you one tap.
Avoiding duplicate taps and abuse
Kiosks attract two kinds of bad data: one person tapping repeatedly, and bored visitors — often children — pressing buttons for fun. You can't eliminate either, but you can make both easy to spot.
Shared tablets and personal phones need opposite settings. On a QR kiosk, where each customer uses their own phone, limit responses to one per device so nobody can vote ten times. On a shared tablet, a one-per-device limit would block every customer after the first, so allow repeat responses there and rely on the checks below.
- Keep the tablet within sight of staff. Most abuse happens at unattended screens.
- Watch the timeline. A burst of identical ratings seconds apart is one person, not a trend — exclude it.
- Offer an optional comment. Real feedback often comes with words; button-mashing doesn't.
- Compare response counts with your transaction count. More ratings than customers means something is off.
Reading the results
Look at the trend, not single days. Track the average rating and the share of low scores (1–2) each week. A falling average with a rising share of low scores is a real problem; one bad afternoon usually isn't.
Slice by location and time. If you run more than one kiosk, give each its own link or QR code so responses stay separate. Time of day often explains more than anything else — one understaffed shift can drag down a whole week.
Read every comment attached to a low score and act on the most common theme. Then say so on the sign: a short 'You told us, we changed it' line shows customers the kiosk isn't decoration.
When a real kiosk is worth buying
Dedicated feedback terminals earn their cost in a few situations: footfall heavy enough to wear out a consumer tablet, outdoor or wet locations, sites without reliable Wi-Fi where the device has to store responses offline, and organisations that need managed devices across many sites with central monitoring.
For a single shop, clinic, restaurant, or gym, those conditions rarely apply. A tablet you already own, or a QR sign printed today, gets you the same one-tap answer in under 30 seconds, with nothing to install. Start there. If you outgrow it, you'll know exactly what the hardware needs to do.