My complaint is more one of convenience than anything else.

I have lived without a home phone for so long now that I no longer consider myself handicapped by it. In fact, it is just one of those little things that I have become used to doing without and the convenience of having one never really occurred to me until recently when my neighbours had theirs disconnected due to moving house. It was then that it suddenly struck me how annoying not having a home telephone could be at times.

For example, I was forced to use a service centre recently.

I was forced to use a service centre recently because I was unable to use my own phone for many reasons: the battery drained while it sat unused on the bench; my SIM card had run out and hadn't been replaced; I wasn't at home so couldn't pick up messages or make calls. The service centre was the only option left, but there were no chairs available when I got there (in fact, it appeared that no one had been sitting on them for some time).

My complaint is more one of convenience than anything else.

I’m not so much angry as I am disappointed. The reason for this disappointment is simple: I have a key to my home, but if I want to use it, I have to get in touch with the front door staff. This isn't something that's new; it's been going on since they installed the system over two years ago. It just never occurred to me that there would be anything wrong with how things were done before—I assumed that if something was inconvenient or annoying, then it was my own problem and not anyone else's.

That assumption was wrong and now I’m paying the price for believing in a lie told by some people who once meant well but now stand revealed as charlatans of the highest order...

This was because when prompted to select a particular number, even after having pressed it, it just kept prompting me to press the particular button I had pressed and continued to about a hundred time's.

Pressing the button is okay, but when prompted to select a particular number, even after having pressed it, it just kept prompting me to press the particular button I had pressed and continued to about a hundred time's.

There was no choice but to wait until this process stopped. So I waited for a long time until it stopped. By then my finger was exhausted of pressing buttons and my patience had expired completely. The problem with this phone is that there are no numbers or letters on their keys; they all look like small dots on each key which makes them difficult to read especially in low light conditions. If you look closely at these small dots you will realize that each dot has two colors: one color represents one number/letter while another color represents another number/letter (but not necessarily consecutively).

Out of pure frustration and exhaustion only then did I realise that it was not a touch tone telephone and it would not matter if I stood there and pressed that number for all eternity, It would still continue to prompt me. Eventually hanging up the receiver in despair, I was beginning to wonder if I really should reinvest in a fixed line!

You can't use a public telephone box

You need to be able to see the number you are dialling

You need to be able to hear the number you are dialling

You need to be able to press the correct number of buttons

When you are dialling a number from directory enquiries, you will be given the number to dial. You need to: You must not use a public telephone box.

Thinking better of it and managing to use my neighbours phone I decided I had lived long enough without one to justify the cost and hassle involved with getting reconnected. Yet all the while I'm still thinking it slightly unfair, that I am denied something due to what I regard as a minor detail.

You may be thinking that I'm being slightly unfair, but I'm not. I have lived long enough without one to justify the cost and hassle involved with getting reconnected. Yet all the while I'm still thinking it slightly unfair, that I am denied something due to what I regard as a minor detail.

I was reminded of this while watching an episode of The West Wing where President Bartlett is discussing how he feels about people without telephones in their homes with his staff member Toby Ziegler: "You know what? It's not fair!"

It's not fair on Toby either as he has been trying to get his parents reconnected for years but they just won't do it! His father says its "too much trouble" and his mother doesn’t want her new neighbours knowing she lives alone (even though she does).

Even though you may be technically handicapped you should still be entitled to certain services.

While the idea of a phone may seem frivolous, it is a vital tool for communication. The telephone is used not only to communicate with friends and family, but also for emergencies, business transactions, and entertainment.

If you are handicapped in some way that makes it difficult or impossible for you to call someone on the phone by hand (for example, if you are unable to dial the number), then this should not prevent you from being able to use the telephone at all times as long as you have access to one.

Conclusion

The fact of the matter is that if you're disabled then you should have access to services and equipment necessary to enjoy your life as much as any other person. So, therefore, it seems only fair that all telephone companies should be made aware of this and perhaps some sort of standardised system be introduced so that all landline users can benefit from a service which would make them feel more at home in their own homes.