Here's Talk to the Manager, a new service for restaurants that basically funnels anonymous customer complaints to the owner and manager's cellphone. Fun, like having a constant stream of bad reviews in your pocket. Don't worry, you can block abusive customers.
How it works: signs around the restaurant display a special phone number that, when texted, goes to both the manager and owner's phones. Either one of them can then respond to the customer for clarification or to explain that the problem is being solved. A potential hotline for burgeoning Yelp extortionists?
Not so, says Talk to the Manager. Their website touts the program as the cure for restaurateurs' Yelp-related headaches, listing among its benefits the prevention of bad reviews and even claiming that the customer service generated by Talk to the Manager has resulted in positive reviews. Also, since "texting is as easy as a tweet," they say it keeps complaints of Twitter as well. Or, you know, you could just tell your server the women's room is out of paper towels to her face. Either way.
· Talk to the Manager [Official Site via Gizmodo]
· All Server Coverage on Eater [-E-]