In his book Trust,  Francis Fukuyama argues that the higher the trust within a society the further it advances, which is why Japan and the United States have fared far better than low-trust Rwanda and Bosnia.  BT, the British telecoms company operates on the extremities of low trust. In order to try to install a broadband line, I have so far rung seven separate numbers, each for a department that is banned from liaising with another and disempowered from solving issues. The departments go under such names as Broadband; Narrowband; Customer Service; Technical Support; OpenZone; BTFon and others. For the record, the numbers were 08001114567; 08006901991; 08456007030; 08000223322; 08081006778; 0800800150; and a 7th I have lost my note of.

The issue remains unaddressed.  My bet is that BT’s very senior management will shortly undergo a complete overhaul.

Click here: Democracy Kills

p.s. It turns out that BT boss Ian Livingston was paid a £1.2m bonus last year.

p.p.s And a 9th number 08007830056