Fancy a good rant? Then send a text

Rant and Rave is an online noticeboard which the public can use to air their grievances or praise good service in comments which are then passed on to the companies involved.

“Edinburgh council crazy spending money on tram not roads which so many more people use,” was one of the first text messages to go live when the service launched in Scotland.

However, there was also praise for “cheerful staff” at McDonald’s on Jamaica Street in Glasgow and “lovely and helpful” shop assistants at H&M in Edinburgh.

The staff at the Howard Hotel in Edinburgh were applauded for good service at a 90-year-old’s birthday party while the National Portrait Gallery won praise as a great day out.

According to research carried out by Rant and Rave, more than seven out of ten Scots are reluctant to complain about bad service, though two-thirds believe it is more of a problem than it used to be. Supermarkets, restaurants and coffee chains are the businesses most likely to be criticised for poor service.

Website founder Nigel Shanahan said he had the idea for the website after a terrible experience at a Welcome Break service station.

“It was awful, and I thought, I bet someone at the company does care what is going on but they have no idea. I thought Rant and Rave is what the world really needs. British business is losing out and consumers need somewhere to let off steam.”

The website, which has been set up by Rapide, promises to pass all complaints on to the firms involved to allow them to improve their customer service and build on the feedback.

To log a complaint, users of the site simply text a message to the number 66099.