OK, Art. How about this explanation:

Technical support is a form of advertising/marketing. Technical support, aka the first line of attack in an advertising campaign, is a vital component of any company. An action taken by a technical support engineer can and will result in prolonged ROI for any company, in addition to gaining popularity for a company.

Far from a failure, a tech. support department is the ultimate sales, advertising and marketing tool in existence, when operated correctly.

Simon