Quick mini-rant-ette

I get frustrated sometimes waiting on automated answering services when I ring the bank or credit card company. I just wanna press the button for the option I want, and get put through to the call centre in Calcutta, not have to listen to all the spiel first. It bugs me a little bit more that I know perfectly well how to input my DOB on my telephone keypad using 6 digits but they still make you wait while they go "please enter your date of birth using 6 digits in the format of day day, month month, year year, for example if your date of birth is the 30th April 1970 please enter Three Zero Zero Four Seven Zero." Why are people so dim that they don't know how to express a date as a 6 digit number?

The other one which is a slightly different thing, is when a radio station wants people to text in with something and they give the text number and say "start your message with the word 'news,' that's: 'N.E.W.S.'" FFS!!!! Who doesn't know how to spell NEWS?