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Much the way TalkTo uses text messaging to connect consumers with local businesses, so TalktotheManager aims to foster a closer connection between restaurants and their clientele. Specifically, as a substitute for comment cards or other less reliable means of collecting feedback, TalktotheManager lets restaurant patrons anonymously text their comments directly to the manager. Restaurants begin by signing up with Seattle-based TalktotheManager and receiving a dedicated phone number for the service. They can then download preprinted stickers and signs to encourage their patrons to text feedback to that number. Both owners and managers can be notified each time a customer sends a comment, and they can use the service to send a response. Bottom line: Restaurants have a new way to intercept and address negative comments, in particular, before they end up on a review site like Yelp. TalktotheManager pricing is USD 29 per month. Only 43 percent of US mobile subscribers have a smartphone, TalktotheManager notes, but all cell phones can send and receive text messages without the need for any special app. Businesses around the globe: time to make text messaging your new best customer-contact friend? Spotted by: Murray Orange