Frequently asked questions
Curious about how it works? Start here.
The short version
Grate is positive, customer-initiated, provider-controlled, consent-governed, and designed to make excellent service visible without creating public ratings or employee surveillance.
Explore the Circle of TrustFor customers
Recognize exceptional service quickly, securely, and without needing an app.
What is a Grate?
Grate is a service that turns customer gratitude into lasting, provider-controlled recognition. With a tap or scan, you can instantly recognize the person behind an excellent experience.
When should I use Grate?
Use Grate when the service is genuinely memorable—the kind of experience you would confidently recommend. Grate is positive by design and is not a venue review or complaint channel.
How does Grate work?
Tap a provider’s Grate band or plaque, or scan their provider-specific QR. Confirm the provider, choose the accolade that best reflects what stood out, and submit the recognition. The secure screen opens in your browser; no app is needed.
Do I need an account?
No. A customer can complete recognition without creating an account. Any invitation to create an account is optional and comes after the recognition moment.
Is a payment required?
No. Recognition is the heart of Grate and is always completed without payment. Where an optional payment is supported, the available methods appear clearly during that step.
Can I recognize someone later?
Yes, when you can still access that provider’s band, plaque, or provider-specific QR and the service moment remains recent enough to describe accurately.
How is my information handled?
Grate is designed around secure access, purpose-limited data, and clear choices. Customers control their own recognition activity, and Grate does not sell personal data. See the Privacy Notice for details.
For service providers
Build a recognition record that belongs to you and remains under your control.
What does Grate give me?
Grate gives customers a simple way to recognize your excellent service and creates a trusted record of those moments that you control.
How do customers recognize me?
They tap your Grate band or plaque, or scan your provider-specific QR. Each access point belongs to one provider, helping the customer confirm the right person before recognition is submitted.
Do I need to ask customers to use Grate?
No. Grate is customer-initiated. Your role is to deliver excellent service; recognition should follow naturally from the customer’s experience.
Who owns my Grate record?
You do. Your recognition record remains connected to your Grate identity and can stay with you when you change roles or employers.
Can an employer see my record?
Only when you make a clear, scoped consent decision. Permission can be limited to a purpose and audience, and it can be revoked. Employers do not gain ownership of your record.
Is Grate a public rating system?
No. Grate has no negative ratings, public complaints, or penalties. It captures positive, customer-initiated recognition of excellent service.
Can I share recognition with teammates?
Yes. For a specific shift, you can share a Grate with teammates who contributed to the service moment while keeping the original customer recognition intact.
Can Grate support my career?
If you choose to share it, your recognition record can provide one qualified, customer-driven input for development, references, or hiring. It does not replace responsible professional judgment.
Does it cost me anything?
There is no cost to receive Grates or maintain your core recognition record. Any optional physical products or additional paid services are clearly priced before you choose them.
For organizations
Understand what customers remember while respecting provider rights and responsible-use boundaries.
What gap does Grate fill for organizations?
Grate adds customer-driven visibility into the human service behaviors people remember. It complements bookings, satisfaction scores, and property reviews without turning recognition into surveillance.
Can we provide Grate bands, plaques, or QR access to staff?
Yes. Organizations can make Grate access points available as optional recognition tools. Each provider personally activates and connects their band, plaque, or provider-specific QR to their own Grate identity.
Who owns the provider’s record?
The provider always controls their Grate identity and recognition record, regardless of who supplied a physical access point.
Can participation be required?
No. Provider participation is voluntary, and recognition begins with a customer’s independent decision to acknowledge exceptional service. Employers are also not required to participate; if they do, they can review only the Grate records of employees who consent to grant them access.
What happens when a provider leaves?
The provider keeps their Grate record. Workplace access and physical equipment can change, but the recognition history remains portable and provider-controlled.
Do organizations see customer identities?
No. Employer-facing insight is designed to protect customer identity and expose only the information permitted for the approved purpose.
What insight can an organization receive?
With provider consent, an organization can view approved recognition summaries and patterns such as recognized providers, valid customer moments, accolade-family breadth, and repeat recognition.
Does it cost me anything to review an employee’s Grate record if they consent to share it?
Organizational access is a paid service because consented Grate records provide qualified customer-recognition insight that can support coaching, culture, development, and responsible talent decisions. Pricing is tiered according to the number of active employees who have granted your organization access to their Grate records, so the plan scales with current consented participation. Exact tier limits and prices are confirmed during onboarding and shown before your organization subscribes.
Is Grate an employee monitoring or ranking tool?
No. Grate does not track attendance, productivity, or negative performance, and it does not create a standalone employee score. Recognition must not be used as the sole basis for pay, discipline, scheduling, hiring, or another employment decision.
For everyone
A shared recognition system needs clear rules for trust, control, and responsible use.
Who controls Grate data?
Providers control their recognition records. Customers control their recognition activity. Organizations can access only the provider-consented information allowed for a stated purpose.
How do Grate badges and awards recognize each persona?
Grate is developing four badge paths for each persona. They celebrate meaningful participation and verified excellence without turning recognition into a score, rank, or leaderboard.
Customers: First Recognition celebrates the first completed Grate; Recognized Excellence Everywhere reflects gratitude across different service sectors; Regular Recognizer acknowledges consistent participation; and Noticed Every Kind of Excellence reflects recognition across all five accolade families.
Service providers: All-Around Excellence reflects breadth across the five accolade families; Milestone Tiers mark personal recognition milestones; Recovery Specialist acknowledges memorable service recovery; and Shared the Moment recognizes excellence delivered with a verified shift team.
Organizations: Full Family Coverage reflects recognition across all five families; Consistency Culture recognizes sustained excellence shared across a team; Verified Provider Coverage reflects broad recognition of active providers; and The Grateful Standard is the proposed annual distinction for an organization demonstrating exceptional service excellence.
Grate also plans an annual Grateful Gala to celebrate honorees—with consent—through the stories and behaviors customers valued. Only validated Grates count, every persona sees only the progress appropriate to them, and the proposed badge criteria may evolve as the awards canon is finalized.
Is Grate patented?
Grate's recognition platform, methodology, and quality-weighting model are proprietary to AIDE Global LLC and are the subject of a pending United States patent application. We do not publish the details of how badge eligibility is determined. GRATE™ and the Grate logo are trademarks of AIDE Global LLC, with applications pending in the United States and the Philippines.
Does Grate hold customer payments?
No. Where optional payments are available, they move through established payment service providers. Grate does not hold custody of customer funds.
Is Grate only for the Philippines?
No. Grate is born in the Philippines and launches here first, but it is built for service economies around the world.
What is the Grate Golden Rule?
A Grate is given only for genuinely exceptional service. That keeps recognition meaningful and protects the trusted signal of excellence for everyone.
How does Grate build trust?
Grate combines provider-specific access, qualified recognition moments, provider-controlled records, consent-governed sharing, and responsible-use limits. Together, these form the Grate Circle of Trust.