Why even have a Database?

I stay amazingly perplexed and annoyed at the state of DBs in this world. By now I'm sure it's no shock to many companies that DBs exist and that they can be used to store data. What I'm also very sure of is that a lot of them just don't get it. They look at DBs as a repository for things they'll never need again or something, I guess, instead of using them to make their business run smoother and their customers

I stay amazingly perplexed and annoyed at the state of DBs in this world. By now I'm sure it's no shock to many companies that DBs exist and that they can be used to store data. What I'm also very sure of is that a lot of them just don't get it. They look at DBs as a repository for things they'll never need again or something, I guess, instead of using them to make their business run smoother and their customers happier with their experience.

To illustrate...

1. Why does my cell phone company have me enter my phone# while I'm on hold if the person I get on the phone is just going to ask me for it anyway? Doesn't that system talk to hers? If not, then what's the purpose of having me give my #? And if I'm calling from my cell phone, why can't that system talk to the other one and just pick up my #? They know it's me calling because it shows up on my bill.

2. Why is it when I go to the store and pay with my card I have to tell the cashier that it's a debit card? I already pushed the debit button on the card reader... can't these systems talk to each other?

3. When I go to the Dr's office, why do I still have to fill out my address and other info every single time I go in, so they can attach it to my chart? Are you kidding me? You have my info in the computer... why can't you pull it from there?

4. When I take on a new job... why do I have to put all my info in 30 different places? Are you seriously telling me that you can't write a quick little something in say InfoPath or some equal technology so I can put all my info down once and then all the forms read from it and print out? Is this really such a foreign concept? I've been complaining about this for years, and I have yet to see anyone do it. There are so many technologies that can do this type of thing it's just ridiculous that it isn't the standard.

So far I think I've seen one company that really uses its DBs effectively... at least from a customer's point of view. And that's Discount Tire. You can go to ANY Discount Tire anywhere and they'll have your entire history available. They don't bother you with making you give your info again, or ask you stupid questions about your phone # or address. If you need to update your info, just tell them and they'll do it right there. It's excellent.

I know there are other companies out there that use their DBs well, and their customers even benefit from it, but there are far more who don't. I'm just wondering... why do you even have a DB if you're not going to use it to make your business more professional?