"Let's just say if you get a traffic jam, the poor customers will have to wait," he said.

Such penalties fall more heavily on the poorest customers who must bear a fixed cost per transaction.

And how should new local competitors, like the long-distance carriers or cable companies, share in the burden of providing residential phone service to poor customers?

For many years, his parents ran the corner shop, selling everyday necessities to the often very poor customers.

It is not clear why that is the case; perhaps the material was aimed at older or poorer customers.

"We apologise for a very poor customer and betting experience," it said.

Difficult as this is for the industry, consider the poor customers.

Since they were strangers, or maybe just poor customers, he let them pay him for their drinks.

This would require companies to spend more of their turnover - currently less than 1pc - on supporting poorer customers.

Though nearly as poverty-stricken in appearance as his poorest customers, the old man was rich, if reports were true.