But in those days if something was obviously wrong you could ask to speak to someone more senior, and typically at least the duty manager in the branch had the

But in those days if something was obviously wrong you could ask to speak to someone more senior, and typically at least the duty manager in the branch had the authority to do something about an obvious problem. Now it seems if the computer says no, you just get a practised smile and some variation of "I'm very sorry, but there's nothing I can do to help you today."