Well, according to a new survey customers are paying as much as 14.50 for a single telephone support call.

It involves eight 50-minute sessions alongside 12 weeks of access to 24-7 telephone support from trained counsellors.

Employees have access to a telephone support service for help with everything from finding a plumber to managing stress or dealing with bereavement.

The longest-standing and most successful sales consultant started in 1995 as an office assistant and some of the project management team started as telephone support agents.

An operative confirmed that she still needed the telephone support team but as the waiting time was 59 minutes she would be better off visiting her nearest branch.