Many customer service representatives are moved by compassion. They really want to help customers. Give them the chance to do that and you'll have to kick them out at the end of their shift to make them go home. Jam Mayer points out that Asian Pacific agents (and customers) particularly value kindness and friendliness.
It's great when managers seek to learn what motivates their reps, but I fear that many call centers take advantage of this instinct toward compassion. They provide inadequate time to serve customers properly, knowing that the compassionate representatives will make the time to follow up between calls, on breaks, or even after their shift. The condition of the biblical Israelites in Egypt comes to mind: they had to produce just as much for Pharoah, with fewer resources.
One way to avoid being overwhelmed by compassionate instincts is not to promise too much. It could break your heart to tell the customer, "I'm deeply sorry, but I'm not sure we'll ever be able to fix your problem." So many customer service agents make vague suggestions that they will get around to it later. Or they find ways to get the customer off the phone without making any promises at all.
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