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 destination is fixed in the tag. If where it should point changes, the tag may need to be rewritten or replaced. Some cards count taps, but the customer's experience isn't captured as feedback the business can act on.
A Track Reviews Smart Card
NFC / QR opens a permanent Track Reviews link -> resolves the right business and location -> customer rates their experience and can add a comment -> feedback is captured and attributed -> easy Google review handoff -> reporting and recovery
The card's link never changes. Its business, location or staff assignment is controlled in Track Reviews, so the physical card can be reassigned without being rewritten.
Designed around Google's review rules
Google prohibits discouraging negative reviews or selectively soliciting positive ones. Here is exactly how a Track Reviews card behaves.
- Every customer receives the same Google review opportunity.
- Track Reviews does not filter customers according to their rating.
- Negative reviews are not discouraged or blocked.
- Private feedback gives the business an additional opportunity to respond.
Google review content remains on Google and stays subject to Google's terms. Feedback captured through a Track Reviews card is first-party feedback given directly to your business.
Activating your first card takes about a minute
- 01
Scan and sign in
Scan the QR or tap the card, then sign in or create your Track Reviews account.
- 02
Find your business
Search for your business on Google and confirm the right location.
- 03
You're live
Your card is ready to use. Assign it to a staff member or counter later if you want to.
Already set up? Scan another Smart Card, choose the business/location it belongs to and add it in one step.
No physical card yet? Create a QR touchpoint and test the customer journey before your Smart Cards arrive.
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. Genuine Track Reviews Smart Cards keep working on Basic. Customers can still leave feedback and continue to Google; paid plans unlock the deeper reporting, recovery and Smart management features.
What if the customer isn't logged into Google?
Their rating and any feedback are already captured by Track Reviews before Google opens. If they don't complete the Google review, you still keep the first-party feedback.