'It was only when Ms. Robey was in the act of switching phone numbers to Verizon from AT&T that the wireless carrier buckled, she said.'

Often the only people empowered to help are those in the customer retention department.

The standard response of 'before I can help you I need to ask you a few questions...' is another way of saying 'I am going to offer you no help whatsoever but keep you on the line anyway...'