Dear LPG, 

I read with interest an article that was posted on your website not long before Christmas last year and which homed in on the fact that computers are fast taking over the jobs that people used to do  (►►►).

In the few banks that are left, bank tellers are fast turning into machines with a few staff to help out, but how long will it be before the organic element is completely eliminated.   We are all noticing the disappearance of the high street bank which, I am sure suits the young down to the ground.  Internet banking saves them the bother of wasting time talking to people and it appears that in spite of all the time saving gadgets we have acquired over recent years there is still not enough of that commodity to go around. 

The high street shop advisor’s job is also on the decline.  If you can find anyone in a supermarket when you need a bit of help, they are likely to be able to tell you where what you are looking for is, but it is as if retailers are trying to force us all onto the internet for the sort of items that I would have been able to get some advice on if I was high street shopping even twenty years ago.  

Then there is the question of replacing those large, more expensive items that don’t need to be changed as often.  We older people are likely to remember going into one of the many late 20th century high street shops which sold such goods.  When it comes to buying a new washing machine, vacuum cleaner, computer, or television there are now so few places to physically go if you want to see the gadget in action or ask for a bit of advice before committing your money.  If you can find any member of staff in a shop to ask, they are likely to go to a computer to read you the nearest thing to an answer that they can find there and, while I don’t expect to get a full demonstration of what a washing machine can do, I remember when you could try the weight of a hoover or see the results of a computer printout.  I think that I speak for quite a few when I say that, for some reason we older people really appreciate having someone to ask questions to rather than a set of FAQs to consult before parting with considerable amounts of money. 

The internet tells us that 13% of the population of the UK is over 70, and I feel that that 13% are not being catered for properly. We are customers too.  

DS, Bellingham