Many of you have probably had the experience of being furious at a business, then going to Facebook or Twitter to complain about it. If you’re lucky, the business may even have responded to that complaint.
Now a startup called Gripe has built an app around that process, one that it says will be useful for both consumers and businesses. Consumers can write a complaint in the app, post it to the Web, then share links to their complaint on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
So after you’ve downloaded the application, you can pull it out if you’re in the middle of an unsatisfying customer service experience. The app shows the number of your social network connections -- not just friends, but friends of friends. That’s how many people you could theoretically share your complaint with. Just showing that you’re about to post a complaint should give the business some incentive to make you happy.
Of course, the idea of confronting someone that way might not appeal to you (it terrifies me). So you can also just go home and fill out a complaint and share it. Then, a business might see the complaint and try to resolve the issue. Once that happens, the resolution is reflected on the initial “gripe”.
Gripe’s revenue plan involves selling its services to businesses so they can resolve complaints, and also potentially running advertising or charging for premium consumer features.
The company launched at the Startup Battlefield, part of the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco today. Paul Carr, who was emceeing the competition, said he was worried that the app would encourage some consumers to act "like a dick."
Gripe is based in Los Angeles and has not announced any funding.