The Richard Spooner Column: Technology Rules- OK! - continued�

Having lived so long (239 this year, since you ask), I marvel at the advances in technology.

When I was a lad, the Industrial Revolution was a fledgling as Britain transformed into a country based on agriculture and handicrafts into economies reliant on large-scale industry, mechanised manufacturing and huge factories.

Birmingham was, of course, at the heart of this transformation. And today it embraces the gigabyte phenomenon with relish.

Anyway, this eventually led to another brush with technology I experienced, along with many others.

I drove into the city (not Birmingham but no a million miles from there) and parked in a multi-storey car park.

I took the ticket and proceeded happily into the shopping area to complete and few purches, including buying three books and ordering prints of family pictures taken at Christmas from my phone.

All was going spiffingly well as the pictures were processed when I realised I had left my debit and credit cards at home.

Not a problem - I had mobile banking on my phone. It was a problem. The photographic shop did not have the necessary technology to process a phone transaction.

Luckily, I had cash (just over £60 actually) so I was able to settle the debt.

On to the book shop. Again, no mobile phone facilities so I paid in cash - reserves now down to a few pence.

So stupidly I had left myself with no cash for the car park or a bus or taxi home to collect my cards.

However, I decided to return to the car park - and that 's when the real problems started. The pay machines only take cards - no cash But salvation was at hand because a notice informed me that an attendant was always present. He or she wasn 't.

And there seemed to be no facilities for paying by phone on any of the three machines facing me.

And it soon became apparent that none of the machines was working as fellow car-parkers crowded into the payment area.

I joined a lady who was waiting for a response from the help button. Eventually there was a noise from the machine that was definitely a live human voice but no-one could understand a word it was saying.

So my new companion and myself moved to another machine. After what seemed like hours, we received a response we could understand.

My friend answered many questions, including details of her ticket, but every query was followed by a long pause. By this time many people were ringing the help number displayed on the wall. No reply.

Eventually someone had a response from the emergency phone number to be told that you could insert your ticket and card at the barrier. Simple as that. But we mused why there wasn 't a notice telling us that in the event of malfunctioning pay machines.

But this was no good to me because I didn 't have a card to insert. So I called up a friend and he kindly popped into the city to lend me his card.

On returning to the car park, my new friend was still arguing with the disembodied voice uttering forth from the machine.

She seemed to be getting no-where and dismissed me when I told her she could simply drive to the barrier etc etc.

So I picked up my car, paid with the borrowed card and proceeded on my merry way without knowing whether my friend ever found her way out.

It was all totally my fault but surely it is not beyond the wit of man (or machine) to grant customers alternative ways of paying.

But then again, there was a happy outcome for the car park company. My stay, along with many other people, was an hour longer than it needed to be�