TODAY I BOUGHT a new mobile telephone. The woman who served me seemed weary, which was understandable since it was after 4pm in a very busy shopping centre. Not one to suffer meaningless chatter with salespeople, I went straight to the point and asked her for the particular model and the options I was after with as much detail as I could.

I expected there to be the usual fuss to go through in order to sign up to my service carrier of choice. But there was nothing, no filling in forms or checking of identification. The woman assembled and registered my new phone with the provider, selected various options and preferences and made the transaction as smooth as possible.