[bluepilot]

The problem with phone calls is that you have to be there to answer them. If you're doing something like taking a shower or fixing a tile on the roof when someone calls then it doesn't work. Emails, voice mails etc. mean you can deal with things in your own time which I find much better. If I'm sitting on a train I'd much rather have someone next to me texting than wittering on about all sorts of inane rubbish for the whole carriage to hear.

Voice recognition systems have their good sides and their bad sides. At least they save the cost of paying someone to put you through to the correct department. I had to call the pensions department recently. After waiting ten minutes on hold I tried the trick of not selecting any options. I still had to wait to talk to a real person who then connected me to the department I had tried to select in the first place. Then I was back on hold again so it didn't really achieve anything apart from waste time.