Why is it that making phone calls to large organisations has become so difficult these days? In fact it can be a nightmare!

Service providers, Telco's and banks are the worst.

Robotic voices, endless option numbers to press, blaring music interspersed with ‘please hold, we will be with you shortly' – all taking up endless time when you just want to pose a simple question to an actual person.

The proverbial ‘all our lines are busy at present' is just another way of saying we are under-staffed, while the message that ‘our customers are important to us' is laughable.

As for the robotic promise of a call-back within an hour or two when you reach the head of the queue – that can be hugely inconvenient when you really do need an answer right now. Not everything in the digital age can be called progress, that's for sure.

M Guy, Otumoetai.