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Where to place review QR codes

A QR code only gets scanned when it is in front of someone who has both a free hand and a reason to use it. This guide covers the placements that work, organized by type of business, plus the ones that reliably fail.

The three questions for any placement​

  1. Has the customer got what they came for? A code at the entrance interrupts someone who has nothing to say yet.
  2. Are their hands free? Nobody scans while carrying bags, holding a card reader or steering a pushchair.
  3. Can they see it without looking for it? If the code is below waist height, behind a plant or above eye level, it does not exist.

Placements that pass all three get scanned. The rest are decoration.

Restaurant and cafe​

  • Table tent or table talker. The single best placement in hospitality. Print in A5 and stand it upright near the condiments, not flat on the table where plates cover it.
  • Bill folder or receipt tray. The code arrives exactly when the meal is being judged.
  • Back of the menu. Works if the menu stays on the table after ordering.
  • By the till and the card machine. For counter service and takeaway.
  • Takeaway bags and coffee cup sleeves. A sticker reaches customers who were never seated.

Do not put the code on the front door or the A-board outside. People walking in have no experience to rate.

Salon and barber​

  • The mirror station. A small card clipped to the mirror or the shelf, visible during the whole appointment and unmissable at the reveal.
  • Reception desk at checkout. The natural moment to pair the code with a spoken ask.
  • Appointment card or booking confirmation. Follows the client home.
  • The waiting area. A framed A5 card works because waiting clients are bored and holding their phone. Repeat clients rate their last visit.

Dental and medical practice​

  • Reception desk at checkout, low key, no sales language.
  • The waiting room, framed on a side table or wall, at seated eye level.
  • Aftercare leaflets and appointment reminders, where the patient reads at home.

Keep the code out of treatment rooms and consulting rooms. A patient in the chair should not be looking at a review request, and it puts staff in an awkward position. Never place codes where a request could be read as pressure before treatment is finished.

Auto repair​

  • The invoice. The strongest placement in the trade: the customer is reading what was done and paying for it. See Put a review QR code on receipts.
  • The service counter, where keys are handed back.
  • A card in the car, clipped to the mirror or left on the seat with the keys.
  • The waiting area, for customers who stay for a short job.

Retail​

  • At the till, next to the card terminal, angled toward the customer.
  • On the receipt, because it leaves with them.
  • Fitting room mirrors, in clothing retail, where people already have their phone out.
  • On the packaging or in the bag, as a card slipped in at the counter.

Window stickers get seen by people who have not bought anything, so they mostly collect noise.

Home services​

You have no premises to decorate, so the code travels with the job:

  • A magnet or card left with the customer, on the boiler, the fuse box or the fridge.
  • The invoice or quote, printed and emailed.
  • A sticker on the equipment you installed, which keeps working for years.
  • The Apple Wallet pass on your phone, so you can always show the code even when you arrive empty-handed.
  • The van itself. Useful for brand recall, but treat it as advertising, not review collection.
Angle beats size

A card lying flat on a counter is read at a glancing angle and often fails. A cheap acrylic stand that tilts the card toward the customer improves scanning more than doubling the size does.

Placements that fail​

  • Toilets and washrooms. Common advice, poor results, and it associates your brand with the wrong room.
  • Behind the counter facing your staff.
  • On a busy poster wall where the code competes with five other messages.
  • Anywhere with a fold, a crease or a curved surface tight enough to distort the code.
  • Below about 1.2 meters on a wall, where nobody looks.
  • Outdoors in direct sun without lamination, where the print fades within a season.

Measure and adjust​

Each location has its own code and its own count, so give a different location to different physical sites when you want to compare them. Within one site, run one placement for two weeks, note the scans on your dashboard, then move the card and compare. See Track progress over time.

A code alone is not a strategy

The best placement in the world still loses to a placement plus a person who says one sentence. Pair every code with a script from How to ask customers for a review.