What's so freaking hard about keeping a list?

I have had two occassions in the past few months where I asked local businesses to put me on a "notification list" for something, only to be told both times that they didn't do that, for similar but different reasons.

One was a doctor's office who was waiting for a piece of equipment to be returned from being repaired, which I was to come in and have a test done on. They didn't know when the machine would be returned, but instead of compiling a list of patients due to be notified when the machine was returned (myself included), I was told that I'd have to "keep calling in to see if its back yet." They gave me the excuse that they had far too many patients to worry about in their clinic and wouldn't have time to do such a thing as create, maintain and then call a list of patients waiting for this equipment to return. In addition to the poor customer service experience this gave me, I also wonder if a busy clinic fielding endless "is it back yet?" calls (especially when its still not back yet and at least one more call will be required from that patient) eases or compounds the workload for the staff there compared to keeping a list?

The other was the local theatre who told me that only single tickets remained for the show I wanted to see, but to check back closer to the show date as the promoter sometimes releases tickets they won't need but which have been set aside for them initially. Again, I asked to be put on a list to let me know if that indeed happened. The told me that they couldn't do that since they have "eight people working in this office", inferring that it would be impossible to coordinate a single list when there are eight people dealing with the public at any one time. Lets pretend for a minute that simple and effective database and email programs DIDN'T exist that could solve this problem in one fell swoop. Even if we were stuck back in the 1950's, surely there is a spot on a wall to clip a central clipboard of "contact these people if the promoter releases tickets for show X".

In each case, these businesses placed the onus for contact and follow-up on me as a customer or client, when there is no reason they couldn't have managed that process themselves. And, in each case, it has caused them any potential business I could have given them in these regards, as I haven't and won't undertake a game of phone-call lottery with them.

Are there any processes our practices in your business that unreasonably place responsibilities on your prospects or customers? Is it costing you sales? Are you or your staff using excuses to avoid making simple administrative changes in your business that would eliminate them?