Picking up the phone to call and ask a business a question is so last year thanks to the new TalkTo app that allows you to text a business a question and get a fast response. This free app for Android or iPhone puts and end to phone calls to stores to check to see if they have the coolest toy in stock for a last minute birthday purchase, checking a restaurant’s reservation system and monkeying with drop down menus to find an optimal time for a date night dinner, and wondering and waiting by the phone for someone to call you back about the question you needed an answer to. All it takes is a simple text which is why I think TalkTo could be a busy parent’s timesaving lifesaver.
TalkTo – text any business from TalkTo App on Vimeo.
Local retail stores? I tried using TalkTo to contact a local Michael’s store to inquire about availability of a Rainbow Loom but since it was after business hours, I was told to expect a response when the business opens. Fair enough. It was after 10:30 pm East Coast time.
What about hotels? Tourist season is winding down in the DC area so I thought I’d try a room search by sending a query to the Grand Hyatt about available rooms. As I was emailing other area properties, I received a response 13 minutes later letting me know that rooms were available this weekend at the rate of $149/night, a rate that included breakfast. Without breakfast, the room rate was $129/night that seems like a steal for a gorgeous fall weekend in DC.
I also used TalkTo to send a message to the Ritz Carlton in gorgeous Laguna Nigel, California where I stayed for Mom 2.0 and received a reply in 11 minutes saying that they had Garden View rooms available for $545/night and Ocean View ones for $745/night. A girl can dream, right? If I was really in, or traveling to Laguna Nigel, I could have made my reservation right through TalkTo which is another time saving feature.
Restaurants? The Slanted Door in San Francisco is a hugely popular Vietnamese restaurant in The Ferry Building. It’s a place where Bill Clinton used to take daughter, Chelsea, when visiting her at Stanford and tends to be a restaurant where reservations are needed far in advance. What did they say when I inquired about restaurant reservations for Friday night? 9:30 pm was available and I knew in 15 minutes. Again, my dinner reservation could have been made directly from the app.
As you can see, the possibilities for TalkTo are endless. Rather than getting on the phone and making one call to one place of business, it’s possible to put out a bunch of queries at a time.
You can use it locally or when traveling to make reservations in advance or on the fly at any time of the day. The fact that I can text and get a response from businesses in the US and Canada makes it a huge timesaver for me since I don’t have to think about when a place might be open and remember to call during business hours. It might just be my new favorite app!
Download it for Android or iPhone for free.
I was compensated for my time in reviewing TalkTo but all opinions are my own and based on my experiences.
