Sometimes humans are nicer to deal with.

It has now become very possible for us to go through life without having to engage with another human being. We have technology that allows us to survive without ever having to speak to anyone ever again. All you need is an internet connection and a smart phone or a tablet and a desire to be a little anti-social.

With online banking you can pay for your mortgage or rent and your utilities with the click of a button. You can shop at your local store online and have your groceries delivered to your front door. You can pay your motor tax and insurance online. If you decide you need a break you can book a flight online, print off your boarding pass and if you want to buy something for the flight you can use the self- service checkout facility in most airports. You can do all this without having to speak a word to another living soul.

You can drive where you like without asking for directions because now you just put your destination in the satellite navigation system and follow the lady’s instructions.

This is great news for those who have a desire to live as a recluse but, like everything else in life, it’s not always straightforward. Sometimes the machinery can let you down and it becomes necessary to speak to a person, but then sometimes they can be a little broken too.

I had time to spare recently and I decided to renew my car insurance. So I went to the car and took out the insurance disc to get the details, got my credit card ready and I was all set to go.

The name of the insurance company was on the disc. So I called them and after selecting twenty different options I eventually got to speak to a human person type. She was a nice, friendly lady.

I told her my insurance was due for renewal and gave her my policy number. She then told me I wasn’t insured with them and that I must have gone through a broker. I assured her that I had an insurance disc in my hand that had her company name written on it and I was pretty certain that I hadn’t used a broker for over forty years.

She advised me that I was insured with another company who had apparently taken over some of their business. Ok, but while I was on the phone with this lady I thought it would be worthwhile to get a quote. But there was a problem. Even though I had been a customer of this company for many years they couldn’t quote me for a renewal but they could give me a quote for a new policy as a new customer.

So for the sake of it I decided to get a new quote. The nice lady asked all the usual questions but the computer was crashing on her because it kept sending her back to the old Trevor instead of the new Trevor that old Trevor had to become in order to get a new quote. We eventually arrived at a figure but then she advised me that I could get it cheaper if I did it online myself. I thanked the nice lady and hung up feeling a little bewildered.

Next I went to the company that I was now apparently insured with. I went through the same ritual with another nice lady and eventually arrived at another price. I thought that this was a bit excessive and she informed me that all the premiums had increased thanks to our nice Government people. I told her that it was too dear and that I was going to try elsewhere and the nice lady immediately reduced the price by fifty Euros. I paid that because I had spent enough time on the phone and I was losing the will to live.

After a short rest I decided to pay the Road Tax. I got on to the website and entered my PIN. I went through the various pages of data and got to the point where I entered my credit card details and suddenly all these red letters appeared on my screen. I had entered some incorrect information so the machine told me to try again. I did what I was told with the same result. Then the machine told me that it was cancelling my effort and that I would have to wait to try again because I had exhausted my time.

Well they were right about that. I had exhausted myself and apparently the machinery as well. So I just closed the lid of the lap top and put it away gently with the intention of trying again the next day. I’m actually quite proud of myself because those nice people in the insurance companies and the motor tax office have no idea how close I was to putting the lap top into the car and sending the car into the river.

There is no doubt that technology can definitely improve our quality of life but it’s far from perfect. Tesco and Morrison’s in the UK introduced the self-service checkout system but found customers felt that the voice on the machine was too aggressive and sounded as if it was shouting at them. To overcome this problem they had to make new recordings with a friendlier voice.

So, let me offer a word of caution to any of you considering the life of a recluse. Keep some human lines of communication open because sometimes they’re easier to get along with.