Judging by the number of people with a mobile phone bolted to their ear, it might be thought that no member of the population is ever out of contact with the rest of civilisation.

That is unless you are a member of the so-called "service industry".

In my book that is any firm offering delivery, either of goods or services, if that arrangement was part of the terms and conditions of purchase.

I could be regarded as naive but I still expect a company offering delivery on a certain date to stick to the agreement.

Even then if they ring me up and explain what has gone amiss I am prepared to be magnanimous.

What drives me to the edge of acceptable behaviour is the total indifference of firms who promise service but not only don't deliver but don't tell you why.

This rush of a red mist to my eyes has been brought about by a tale of woe stretching back as far as April.

My favourite bolster, a long, firm pillow, was going through the moulting season in a big way and, since bolsters appear to be a dying breed, I decided to entrust a remake to a local company who offered collection and delivery. The van turned up to collect the bolster at the agreed time, money up front and delivery was promised for a week to ten days.

I also mentioned that I would probably have some pillows to be re-covered when the bolster reappeared. No problem.

Ten days went by and then I attempted to phone and find out what was happening. No response from the number I had been given and that continued for weeks which became months and it was not until July that I finally managed to speak to anyone. According to the person who spoke to me they had been moving premises and had also had some difficulty with the material.

So why not phone me and give me the chance to get my bolster back till life was less full of problems? I wondered. As if by magic, they said I could have my bolster back in a couple of days' time.

Rashly, I inquired how long five pillows would take to re-cover. "A week," I was told. To avoid doubt I repeated the offer - in front of a witness I might add: "A week - is that a realistic offer?" I inquired.

I was assured that this time there would be no hold-up and that if I handed over the pillows when the bolster was returned, I would have five lovely clean pillows one week later.

That was in July. It is now October and guess what? No pillows! My family have been down to stay and I had to make up beds with sofa cushions because there were not enough pillows on active service.

My daughter thought I was mad to have entrusted my pillows to the same firm who had let me down before but the bolster had been well re-covered. But I am sorry to say the same pattern followed - phone calls with no answer. No one seemed to be contactable.

Finally I managed to raise a human being and suddenly my pillows appeared to have been covered instantaneously and could be delivered on Friday or Saturday evening. "We'll phone you on the mobile."

I waited at home - another ice hockey match bit the dust. You don't really need me to tell you the rest, do you? No phone call, no pillows, no apology, just total indifference to a customer's needs.

Oh, and by the way, don't forget it is money on delivery. You should have paid it up front before we accepted the pillows. AAARGH!!!

P.S. As I finished writing this, a knock came on my door and, as if by magic, five pillows appeared. The work is good but the aggravation wasn't worth it.