How Google review cards actually work
What the tag stores, what the phone does, what happens to the customer's words — and every practical question people ask before they buy.
An ordinary card versus a Track Reviews card
An ordinary NFC review card
NFC tag stores a Google review URL -> phone opens that URL -> Google review form -> end
The card is the whole product. Change stores, staff, or listings and the tag has to be rewritten or replaced. Nothing about the visit is recorded.
A Track Reviews Smart Card
NFC tag stores a permanent /t/CODE link
-> resolves organisation -> store
-> touchpoint -> device
-> customer rates and writes once
-> captured and attributed
-> hand-off to Google
-> recovery + reportingThe token never changes. Everything it means is resolved in software at the moment of the tap, which is why a card can be reassigned and why the journey can still be attributed months later.
Activating a card takes three steps
- 01
Choose the store
Pick which location the card belongs to. We verify the store really belongs to your account before the card goes live.
- 02
Choose the mode
A personal card for one staff member, or a shared card for a counter, table or chair. Shared cards can ask “who helped you today?”.
- 03
Assign and tap
Assign the person or area and the card is live. Attribution starts on the very first tap — no reprint, no rewrite.
No physical card yet? You can generate a QR touchpoint, print a mini-sign and simulate a customer tap, so the 60-day Smart trial can be tested before hardware arrives.
The questions people actually ask
Do NFC review cards need charging?
No. An NFC tag has no battery. It draws the tiny amount of power it needs from the phone's own NFC reader, which is why a card works for years and survives being left in a drawer.
Does my customer need an app?
No. Tapping opens a web page in the phone's browser. There is nothing to install, sign up for, or allow.
Does the QR code do the same thing as the tap?
Yes — identical journey and identical attribution. The QR code exists for older phones, for customers who prefer scanning, and for cards mounted on a stand where tapping is awkward.
Can I change which staff member a card belongs to?
Yes, in software. The printed card carries a permanent link; who it represents is an assignment in your account. Move a card from one barber to another, or from a chair to the counter, and attribution follows on the next tap.
What if I change or re-verify my Google listing?
Reconnect the listing in settings. The card's own URL is unaffected, so nothing needs reprinting and no card goes dead.
Does the NFC link ever need rewriting?
No. Cards that encode a Google URL directly have to be rewritten whenever anything changes. Ours encode a permanent token, so the physical card is written once at manufacture and never again.
Does the card stop working if I cancel?
No. On the free Basic plan the card keeps working permanently — customers still leave feedback and still get handed off to Google. What you lose is the deeper reporting, not the card.
What if the customer isn't logged into Google?
Their rating and comment are already captured by us on submit, before Google is ever opened. A login wall or an abandoned tab costs you the public review, not the feedback.