There’s an episode of the Simpsons where one of the characters is witnessing a murder, and goes to call the police. Instead of being greeted by a phone operator he’s met with an automated answering service:
“Hello, and welcome to the Springfield Police Department Rescue Phone. If you know the name of the felony being committed, press one. To choose from a list of felonies, press two. If you are being murdered or calling from a rotary phone please stay on the line.”
Okay, so it is only a cartoon, but this sort of event is becoming more and more of a reality. You get similar answering services when you phone up almost any type of customer services, and with it the endless frustration of having to navigate through the maze of options and selections. Whatever happened to old-fashioned personal service.
