Applications do they even read it??

OK i have been on the look out for a new job and I have put a lot of applications out there but my big question is anyone reading them?  I miss the old days when you would go into the place you wanted a job at asked them for a paper application you filled it out and handed it back to them right there you atleast know someone got it. Now you go in and ask if they are hiring and they say go online to our website and fill out the application and if we are hiring we will call you well OK I do that and i never hear anything from them so did they get my application or is it lost somewhere in the black hole that is call the world wide web? So then I took a new route I signed up at a few Job search sites I made a profile uploaded my resume and applied for a few jobs you know who calls me not my future employer but a school wanting to know if I want to go back to school and not just one school calls I got 15 calls in one day. So then I apply for a specific job like say a shift manager full time a few weeks go by and holy crap they call me and I'm so excited then they say we would like to interview you for a part-time cashier position WTF did you not read what I applied for why are you wasting yours and my time and my gas to drive out there for an interview. Really there has to be a better way to find a job and would it kill the companies to set there inbox to have a automatic message that gets sent back to me saying you received my application I mean really that's just good business and you don't have to hire a new person to do this just have your IT person set it up there probably just sitting around waiting for something to break anyway......