Customer registration for coronavirus tracking: an opportunity to use your website

Por G. Lara & M. Soutto

Customer registration for coronavirus tracking: an opportunity to use your website

For the control of the coronavirus epidemic, the authorities in different countries have established a series of regulations. In this post we are going to analyze how to comply with the obligation to have a customer or visitor registry to monitor the Covid-19 pandemic.

The idea behind the customer registry in different businesses is to be able to trace any contacts in case of an outbreak. The authorities can require the business owner to provide a list of clients or visitors for a specific timeframe. Now the question is how to comply with this obligation and what we have to consider.

In this article we are going to analyze the key points of how you can implement this customer registration in compliance with the law and at the lowest possible cost. Even better, we can turn this new situation into an opportunity for the digitization of your business.

At the time of this article, customer registration is mandatory in parts of Spain, like the region of Cantabria [1] for a series of businesses such as:

• Hotels and tourist accommodation
• Hairdressers
• Beauty centers
• Manicure, pedicure and waxing salons
• Saunas
• Gyms

And this extends to more territories. In addition to the spanihs region of Cantabria, it is now mandatory to register clients in other regions of Spain: the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Basque Country, Andalusia and Asturias.

It affects different regions every month and it affects different sectors: hospitality in general, nightlife venues such as discos, banquet halls, etc.

We offer you a solution to comply with this obligation and at the same time turn it into a opportunity for your business.

What information do I have to register?

The data of the people who access your business that you need to register to facilitate the tracking and follow-up of contacts of Covid-19 cases are also different in each region but basically they are:

• Date and time of access, if possible entry and exit
• Full name
• Phone number

How can I keep a client record?

Client registration can be done in many ways, but we must not forget that we are treating personal data of clients and there are specific regulations for this. It is our duty to protect personal data and treat it appropriately.

Legal considerations for data processing in a customer registry

In Europe, Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 establishes the rules applicable to the processing of personal data by the institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union. Its provisions are in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Directive on data protection in criminal matters.

With regard to the Spanish legal system, the normative reference is Organic Law 3/2018, of December 5, on the Protection of Personal Data and guarantee of digital rights.

In order to register customers by storing their data, the first step is always to request the user's consent. The consent for data processing is established in the law as "unequivocal", this excludes the use of the so-called tacit consent. Therefore, the use of a written statement, or the marking of boxes on an internet application are in accordance with the GDPR.

IT security considerations for data processing in a customer registry

The next thing to keep in mind are the three pillars of personal data processing:

• Confidentiality: ensures access to information only to those people who have the proper authorization.
• Integrity: is to keep the information exactly as it was generated, without being manipulated or altered by unauthorized persons or processes.
• Availability: is access to information and systems by authorized persons at the time they require it.

This is known as the CIA Triad: "Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability" these are the basic principles of information security [2].

User experience considerations

We know that when we use a website or a mobile application it gives us an experience, but we also interact physically with it. You can have both the website and the mobile app in the palm of your hand, which creates a stronger bond with the person who uses it and strengthens loyalty with your customers.

When we use a desktop computer we are further away from the screen so the emotional connection is lost, but perhaps it can be more functional in certain cases.

According to statistical data, people are more willing to spend money from a mobile, therefore we are predisposed to fill out a form more easily, so the mobile would emerge as the best method for our clients to have a pleasant and comfortable experience.

Manual vs automatic customer registration

This is a case in which information technologies can help us. Automatic customer registration has many advantages over manual.

An example of manual customer registration would be to write down the names of customers who visit your establishment in a notebook. Keeping the customer information on a physical medium such as a notebook can affect confidentiality, as all customer data would be exposed in plain text. It could also jeopardize the integrity of the data, since it could be crossed out or altered. The consent of the users for their data processing would also be difficult to demonstrate. And if the health authorities requested the data, it would be difficult to filter by date and transmit this data.

The best option is to use information technology services and we suggest you use your website to implement the mandatory customer registration. It is likely that your website already uses a database system and it is not difficult or expensive to implement.

Advantages of an automatic customer registration:

• You will be able to obtain the unequivocal consent of the client for the treatment of their data (mandatory by law).
• The data will comply with the principles of confidentiality, integrity and availability.
• In the event that the health authorities (trackers) need any data, you could send it safely and in seconds.

Turn mandatory customer registration into an opportunity for your business

If you use your website as a platform to implement the mandatory customer registration, we could take the opportunity to improve the relationship with your customers.

Google recently published that in the United States 80% of consumers expect to be able to reserve a table or order online at a restaurant. [3]

Turn mandatory customer registration into an opportunity for your business

Customers demand digital services related to your business.

If when visiting you they have to register for mandatory reasons of the pandemic, you should offer to subscribe to your business and you will be able to offer them more services that will help you to retain your customers.

The design of the customer registration system through your website has to be:

• simple and fast
• with systems that the user knows, such as QR codes and forms
• easy to send data to authorities (trackers)
• the data should only be stored for the time stipulated by the authorities (1 month generally)

Conclusions

In this context of a pandemic, in some parts of the world the law requires many businesses to register customer access to their establishment for subsequent coronavirus case tracking. This is an opportunity to digitize your business and use information technologies to implement this procedure. If you use your website you will reduce costs and you will be able to retain your customers.

Advantages of using your website to implement mandatory COVID-19 customer registration:

• You will comply with the Data Protection Law.
• You will not have to pay another monthly or annual fee, just the renewal of your annual web hosting.
• Possibility of integration with the Covid Passport in the future if necessary.
• You can control capacity in real time.
• Identify peak times.
• Loyalty programs such as raffles among attendees, discounts after x visits, etc. 
• You will comply with the principles of data security: confidentiality, integrity and availability.
• More visits to your website improves brand recognition.

Contact us and let's put information technologies to work for your company. It is the future.

REQUEST A QUOTE

Sources

• 1 Spain. Cantabria region. "These measures, which extend the obligation to register clients to catering and leisure establishments in which access to interior areas is allowed, take effect from 00.00 tomorrow, Saturday June 26" https://www.cantabria.es/web/comunicados/detalle/-/journal_content/56_INSTANCE_DETALLE/16413/15300970
• 2 Information security https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_security
• 3 Google Small Business en LinkedIn. Google commissioned Ipsos COVID-19 tracker, US ~n=302 online consumers 18+. Jan 28-31, 2021