User Guide

Using the Gripe App on your Phone

Step 1: Download the Gripe App
Step 2: Set-up your Gripe Card

Your Gripe card puts the power of your network and memberships at your fingertips, so you can quickly show it to whoever you are speaking with.

  1. Load your Reach and Influence
    • Link your Facebook and Twitter accounts
    • Gripe calculates your reach (i.e. your friends and followers)
    • Plus, your influence (i.e. those you can reach through your friends and followers)
  2. Show your memberships and affiliations
    • Check off all the sites that you are a member of to see them on your Gripe card
    • All business managers are familiar with and respect these sites and their members

Word-of-mouth is powerful and the Gripe card lets you carry yours in your pocket.

Step 3: Find the Place

What you want is to load your Gripe card with the place name and the person who can or should have helped you with your problem.

  1. Find the Place
    • Gripe is location aware, so finding a place is as easy as picking from the places around you.
    • Or, change location and perform a search to find a place you aren’t near now
    • The name/address of the place will appear on your Gripe card
  2. Fill in the Name/Position of the manager
    • For instance “John Smith, Assistant Manager”
    • Having this name appear on your Gripe card is powerful
    • It means your gripe or cheer can harm or benefit them personally
Step 4: Give the Manager a Choice (Optional)

The idea here is not so much confrontation, as explanation of what Gripe is and how it can help (cheer) or hurt (gripe) the manager's reputation and their business, depending on how they handle your problem. Of course, if you don‘t want to talk to anyone, you can proceed directly to step 5.

  • Explain that you’d much rather share a cheer than a gripe
  • But that either will spread quickly to your reach and influence, and beyond
  • And, that a copy will also be e-mailed to company headquarters by Gripe

Then let ’em know that it’s up to them, and as simple as pushing the gripe or cheer button for you!

Step 5: “Start a Gripe” or “Start a Cheer”
  • Explain what happened
  • Add photos or videos to strengthen your point of view
  • Explain what it’ll take (or took) to make you happy!
    • More detailed instructions…
  • Start a Gripe
    • Say what happened, including as much detail as possible so that people can really identify with your situation.
    • Add in a photo, because, after all, a picture is worth a thousand words
    • Make sure to include what it would take to make you happy. A reasonable demand will make it much easier and more likely for your gripe to be resolved.
  • Share a Cheer
    • Say what happened, including as much detail as possible so that people can really identify with your situation.
    • Add in a photo, because, after all, a picture is worth a thousand words
    • Make sure to include what the business did to earn your cheer. The idea is to promote businesses who do the right thing and encourage them to keep it up!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I need Gripe on my phone?

Because problems arise, and showing your Gripe card and word-of-mouth power (or womp! as we like to say) is a great way to get problems resolved on the spot!

What is word-of-mouth power (womp)?

It is your ability to get your gripe or cheer heard by many people, starting with your friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter, and spreading from there to those you influence through them. Give Gripe a try and trust us... You are more powerful than you think!

What is my Reach & Influence number?

Reach is the number of friends and followers you have on Facebook and Twitter.
Influence is the number of people you can influence through your friends and followers (i.e. their friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter).
Reach and Influence is the total number that shows your womp!

What if I'm not confrontational and don't want to show my Gripe card to a vendor?

You don't have to. Instead just go ahead and file a gripe (or cheer) and we'll take it from there, posting it on Facebook and Twitter so it starts spreading, and contacting the merchant on your behalf to make them aware that there is a problem.

Do you really contact the merchant on behalf of every user who submits a gripe?

We make a concerted effort to obtain a contact e-mail address and to send the merchant a copy of every gripe. After all, our goal is to get every single gripe heard and resolved!

Why should I use Gripe instead of sending feedback to the company directly?

Every gripe is a dynamic web page that keeps spreading and becoming more and more powerful. In addition, we will send a copy to the company on your behalf. So you get the best of both worlds!

Can I link to a gripe or cheer from my blog?

Absolutely! Every gripe's web address is permanent.

What if people abuse your system to harm companies?

Gripe uses your real name from Facebook and your main account from twitter as log-in. Who would send a fake gripe to all their friends and followers?

And, even if someone creates a fake account just to submit gripes, their message will not reach anyone's ears, because fake accounts have no friends or followers.

Is Gripe truly free for users?

Yes. The only fee we charge today is a one-time nominal fee to merchants wanting to claim their account on Gripe. This is so we can verify their identity and prevent fraudulent claiming of merchant accounts.

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