The obligatory annual fee waiver

I tried calling my UOB visa signatures hotline last week becos in my latest bill statement, they had automatically waived off half of my annual card fee, which meant they were also charging the other 50% of the annual fee = $100. However by following the voice prompts (“to speak to our officers on fees and charges, plse press 1”), I never got to speak to the customer service officer. Instead, I was asked to key in my contact number for which the customer service officer would contact me within a week (one week? My expectation is 3 days!) So after a few days, I got impatient, and called the hotline again. This time, I pressed 2 (“to speak to our officers on other enquries”), and was told the lines are busy, I could opt for self-help or hold the line. I chose to hold, and was connected almost immediately. (Were the hotlines really busy or was I just lucky?) The customer service officer checked my account and said that the remaining $100 had been waived off as well a few days ago and it would be reflected in next month’s statement. Well, that was certainly efficient. Has the company automated the waiver of annual fees thru phone prompts? Is it due to high volume of such requests? Why not just waive the fees directly in the first place so that the fee waiver step is eliminated? Better still, dun charge annual fees. Must consumers go the ‘extra mile’ to get the fee waiver? Is the bank trying to sneak in annual fees on unsuspecting customers who will obediently pay the annual fee? Are there any non-discerning consumers who do that?