Their premise was that if businesses asked customers to use their own phones to fill out a survey, the feedback would be fresher and the response rate higher than with traditional, paper-based survey forms.
The Newton company recently raised its first outside funding: $750,000 from Kepha Partners, a Waltham venture capital firm, Angel Street Capital in Providence, and Mike Sheehan, chief executive of the Boston ad agency Hill Holliday.
Survey On The Spot offers an iPhone app and mobile-friendly website for collecting information from users. Subscription fees start at $40 per month for each location.
The company’s customer list includes 7-Eleven, 99 Restaurants, Not Your Average Joe’s, and Carrabba’s Italian Grill. Most use it to gather information from customers, but some use the surveys as part of store inspections or for gathering employee feedback.
“When you’re collecting data quickly, as opposed to the next day or two days later, you have the ability to fix problems before they affect more customers,’’ Kimmel said. “Certain kinds of complaints’’ - like undercooked food - “can automatically go to the manager of the restaurant, and they can deal with that right away.’’
Survey On The Spot’s technology has recently been adopted by veterinary clinics, tire stores, hospitals, and a Whole Foods Market in Scotland.
The new funding “gives us an opportunity to build a team,’’ said Palmer, who was a cofounder of uLocate, a start-up that became Where Inc., which was acquired by PayPal last year. “Up to this point, it has been just the two of us, working with outside contractors.’’
Events to watch for
Here’s my list of 12 of the bigger events in Boston this year, some home-grown, others major national conventions:
■Jan. 27: MITX’s E-Commerce Summit. Boston’s e-commerce community now has its own one-day gathering. Agenda features speakers from Staples, Wayfair, Gemvara, and Shoebuy.com.
