Running a small business you realize how valuable each hour is, and you try to use that time wisely. And lately, I’ve fallen into various traps that sap this most precious commodity.

Consider the automated phone systems companies use to “speed up” service. I have not found one automated system that does that - not one. From the bank to the credit card institutions to the phone companies, inevitably, you are thrown into a morass of never-ending questions that lead you to the same place - begging the robot on the other end of the line to get you a live person.

A particular pet peeve with these systems is they require you to enter account numbers, PIN numbers and other information - either verbally or via touch tone - before they connect you with a service representative. Then, that person asks you for the same information all over again. Why input it in the first place if you’re just going to have to repeat it? Some phone systems don’t even let you proceed from the first question if you can’t supply your account number.

These companies are also wising up to the fact that the more savvy among us immediately press “0” to talk directly to a customer service rep. My credit card company has now eliminated that capability, saying “the option you have chosen is invalid.”

Automated phone systems are everywhere now - even the smallest of service providers, such as my local plumbing company, are using them. This makes accomplishing the easiest of tasks, such as repairing cable service, a nightmare.

Imagine that each of these calls takes on average 15 minutes. Say you have to perform about 10 of these a day for various tasks - whether it’s balancing your checkbook or checking your 401k balance or ordering long-distance service. That’s 150 minutes - almost three hours - just sitting on the phone.

Suddenly systems that were designed to be more efficient look incredibly inefficient. Even if you get acquainted with the call-in procedures, there’s still the tedium involved in the whole setup.

My request to the companies that use these systems is to really test them with customers. Have folks try to get something done in fewer than five minutes and you’ll see immediately that there are serious flaws.

As for small business owners, I would recommend scheduling a time when you’ll tackle these calls in bulk because doing so piecemeal disrupts your schedule and eats away at those precious billable hours.