Automation vs. Human

Just a thought I was having, have you ever noticed that sometimes, most of the time, making any kind of transaction with a computer is so much smoother and hassle free then dealing with a person? Yes, we all hate those automated machine that ask you to press 1 for English or 2 for Spanish. But, sometimes it is just easier that way. Take for instance my cell phone providor. I will not mention their name but, I have always paid my bill online. It goes in on time, it is always the correct amount going in and I have never had a problem with it in the past 3 years. On the other hand, a few people I know that have the same provider pay their bill in the store or over the phone. They always seem to have problems. Put that human in the loop and there is always room for human error. It happens more often than you would think. That is why I pay for everything and do all my transfers on the net. People used to be worried about the security of it, but I find it to be even more secure than handing someone your credit card or giving them the number over the phone.