Gregory's Server@aral That's the thing, right now, beyond all MDs having me take sizable amounts of extra time & some money for travel to circumvent phone call making requirements for appointment making (most saying after initial appointments are made, you can switch to online scheduling). I've got more than a few stores with discount systems that require active smartphones be brought with people to stores to use them, sometimes they can be ducked by printing out those loyalty coupons, but in a growing number of places, mainly grocery stores, this option doesn't exist.
This in effect creates a set of taxes for people who can't by reason of disability, poverty or privacy choice, in said stores, of about 15-20%!
Also most online retailers require phone numbers for even putting in orders, and so far at least one medical insurance company (I believe it's the largest one in the USA) does so for reporting errors/problems with their website.
*For about a 20-30 year span I agree that phone numbers were connected to physical addresses so for ordering packages this could've been an aid to security of goods &/or an antifraud measure but that time ended over 20 years ago now & this isn't a shrinking but growing trend for retailers in my experience!