Why does everything have to be done 'on-line'?

I'm still trying to get a new job.  I have a job but it's a job that I really don't want to be doing for very much longer.  May be I will have a rant about my present job.  Who knows?!

Anyway, while trying to find a job - any job, a minimum wage job, a part-time job, a temporary job, a full time job, any sort of job.......................... I have come to the conclusion that; a) no body wants to employ a 57 year old, and b) if they do want to employ a 57 year old one has to first apply on line.  Grrrrrrrr......................

These days it is impossible to apply for any jobs in a 'chain' without applying on line and going through an on line screening process.  Quite often I have 'failed' these on line screening processing tests because I have been using my common sense.  It would appear that common sense is non existent these days. And to prove that theory, I've just applied to work for a 'well known' supermarket chain and (because I failed the 'on line screening at another well know supermarket chain) I answered every single question with the customer in mind.  And whoopee doooo....................... I passed the on line screening test.  Yay!

The only trouble is?............................  Are the health & safety officials going to be happy with this?

Ie, if I stop cleaning up spilled yogurt (which is a H&S issue) and trek to the other side of the store to show a customer where the baked beans are.........................  and then someone slips on the spilled yogurt and breaks a leg or worse........................ is that still going to be OK?  As far as I'm concerned the majority of customers would be perfectly OK if I was cleaning up spilled yogurt, they asked where the baked beans were and I told them to go to aisle 10???  But oh no.................. The customer always has to be given the best experience in store which means assuming they are not capable of locating aisle 10 by themselves actually physically taking them there!

Anyway now that I have worked out exactly what answers supermarkets want in their on line screening process I have passed the test to work in one.  Yay!

...............That's the good news?!

The bad news is.......................  There's 6 stages to the on line application and the 3rd stage is some sort of clearing check to make sure that I'm actually legally entitled to work in the UK?  When I clicked on the link to take me to an 'external site', the screen just popped up with a message saying that the link was broken???  Duh!  What on earth does that mean?  So being the very techie person that I am, I went back and clicked on the 'save and continue later' button.

...........And now it's later................... and when I've tried to continue with my application all it pops up with is my profile page and I can't get any further.

I'm not able to phone for help because there is no phone number.  I'm not able to attach my own CV to the job application because they don't accept personal CVs.  I am not able to email anyone because all questions should be answered in the FAQ section.

Unfortunately my question cannot be answered in the FAQ section so what do I do?

This well known supermarket that I have applied to work in..................... as a checkout operator for 9.5 hours per week (so not exactly rocket science) seem to want their staff to pander to every single whim of their customers and yet the 'powers that be' don't appear to value their staff, or people applying to be their staff, as anything more than a statistic. 

And all the blurb on the application  said that the contracted hours were 9.5 per week but if one reached the interview stage, one would probably be asked if one were happy to do extras hours????  Grrrrrr........................   NO - I'm applying for this job because I want a part time job; not because I want to be employed for 9.5 hours per week, but be expected to work at least double that????

But does any of this actually matter because I can't progress my application any further anyway and due to my potential employers not respecting their future employees, and actually providing a real life person for them to talk to..............................  do I actually want to work for a company like this???

Probably not!!!