The problem is 95% (or more) of pilots flying around have absolutely no idea what goes on in a control tower or radar room or even how the airspace they have operated in for years is organised! I regularly have to explain m'colleague that we can't get his/her shortcut/climb/descent because of a rather obvious (if you can be bothered to learn about it) opposite traffic stream
Although being forgotten on a heading or approaching a boundary is annoying, but then how many crews don't answer/react first time?