Service yes, smile no

Our daily lives are becoming increasingly impersonal, thanks to pressure for more “efficiency”, driven by demands for more profit.
Some of us are old enough to remember being able to phone your bank directly and speak to the manager. Now you can expect to ring an automated voice at a distant call centre and “choose from the following options”.
What banks prefer are internet accounts. Then you never have to go into a branch or speak to anyone and they can cut staff.
Electricity, gas, phone companies and many big shops have adopted the automated voice answering service.The other week we phoned a big cinema in Bristol and found it was impossible to speak to a human. You could only respond to the options their computer offered.
Vending machines are another impersonal way of saving money, for everyone except the customer.
Now supermarkets and the Post Office have started installing costly new machines so you can scan your shopping or mail something special without communicating with an ever-diminishing number of staff.
This anonymity has also gripped the internet, with real people keying nasty criticisms they would never dare to say face-to-face as they hide behind jokey usernames.
One day, we will all walk around with headphones on excluding people on the street and doing all our business through computers, touchscreens and automated call centres. A depressing and damaging prospect.
Philip Welch