I run into this conceptual framework all the time. The problem begins when upper management views support, especially telephone support, as purely a cost cente

I run into this conceptual framework all the time. The problem begins when upper management views support, especially telephone support, as purely a cost center that never has downstream revenue effect anyway ("buyers don't choose based on support"). It's somewhat better if it's a paid support situation, such as annual contracts for support and maintenance. Otherwise, many entities design their support organization as a means of disposing of customer interactions as quickly as possible. This parent comment is one example. I once worked in a support organization which was managed by a non-technical person. His focus was pure metrics, especially how quickly a case could be closed whether or not there was a resolution in the eyes of the customer. As the most experienced engineer in Support and the only one to carry an Advanced Support Engineer title (most of my peers came in straight from university; I already had several years of programming/analysis experience), I tended to be given the worst hairballs of problems to reproduce, diagnose, document, and develop workarounds for if possible. During a one-on-one with this manager one day, I was told that I should improve my metrics by viewing any given problem as if it was a monkey on my back. My duty was supposed to be to get said monkey off my back as quickly as possible, whether my actions actually worked toward a true resolution or not. So, in his perfect world, there would be a frenetic exchange of monkeys upon backs, with any actual resolutions being purely coincidental. My solution was to isolate and remove every monkey at its earliest opportunity. And give it a nice snack. I continued in that mode until I left the organization. DISCLAIMER: No actual monkeys were harmed in the production of this account.