"Repetitive tasks are automated, either through speech or DTMF, to get those tasks out of the call centres in an attempt to shorten the queues for genuine issues so customers dont complain about long queues which happen anyway because of CRAP LIKE THIS.

"Hey, I'm not really worried, it keeps me in a job : )

"Think about this. The more you bypass a menu, the more calls that are in queue, so the longer you take to be answered. In turn the company has to hire more staff which increase overheads which the company passes on either by maintaining current pricing or increasing pricing. Good work team, jog it in. "

To which we of course replied.

Over at Loosewire, our colleague, Jeremy Wagstaff, seems to have picked up the issue from Dan Gilmor who drew the most inane response from one of those companies that are making money out of the systematic fobbing off of customers. Jeremy has analysed a that, and other pathetic defences of these systems.

Here's one of the so-called reasons the last link offers to obey the machines: "The more people that [the correct word, by the way, is who, but when you view customers as ciphers, you tend to get confused] use IVR systems for easy requests (see #4), the greater the number of live agents who are available for complex requests. This leads to better and more qualified service for everyone - by using the IVR system you are doing a service to all your fellow callers.." Jeremy concludes:`"In other words, by subjecting yourself to a time-wasting maze of dumb or irrelevant choices you’re helping the company cut down the number of ‘live agents’ who actually provide a service."