Already posted here user `shortsightedsid` talks about how 2 days really isn't very long to conduct "Good" customer service if you are interested in building customer relationships. A big difference between a nameless call center and personal connections is recognizing a name. Saying to Joey that you spoke with Samantha last time isn't necessarily helpful if they don't even work in the same department. Joey relies on Samantha documenting the interaction well enough that he can take off and act like he's already up to speed on the matters. Departments have their distinct advantages to the piece-by-piece solution he describes.
And even now, in my small company I'm required to field customer calls when they're technical in nature. I have my primary clients that I know quite well, I've met many of them face to face and shaken their hands but when I've got deadlines or critical issues hanging over my head I shudder each time my line rings to field another call.
The end he talks about Chess grandmasters and the dedication it takes to do it well. The analogy to me came off wrong where he advocates a jack-of-all-trades method of dealing with customer service yet insists the overall corporation should maintain a master level expertise. How does that occur without establishing a concrete set of protocols and dare I say, departments?
The idea is sound, it probably works in certain cases but overall I think the issue of customer service has been done better in the department model than the diversified one.