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In a world of automated DIY transactions, it appears the customer is less the king and more the court jester

ONLINE BANKING fraud is God’s way of telling us that this self-service thing has gone too far. This self-service thing started quite a long time ago, at the petrol station (anyone else remember petrol stations?) when they had you pumping your own gas. Then it moved to airlines – all right, all right, some of them are cheaper, allegedly as a result. Now it has swept through just about every other service that your average person uses, to the complete disadvantage of the customer. The march of self-service has so far terminated in the revolting sight which encapsulates the grisly essence of self-service law: the customer being handed a cup of tea with the tea bag still floating in it. The hospitality industry calls it choice; I call it downright insulting. No wonder our tourists have called the whole thing off.