The reverse also needs to be looked at. I am a tech support team leader for an international service provider, and many times we are put in situations where the end user suffers because of a situation beyond the technician's control. I have found the major key to providing the best support is to focus on the problem and how it affects the end user.
Many support people suffer from tunnel vision, dealing only in a limited scope, being 'specialists'.
At the same time, if a desk staffed only with generalists, strange problems take a great deal longer to solve. We need to get back to understanding that the computer systems and networks are tools that need to work for us, and not the other way around. I have to agree with Jesse about this one. Too busy, too big, I guess. The isssues are really nothing new.