I understand I.T. and I.T. departments very well. Unless an issue is assigned to an actual individual, it's likely to get lost in a blackhole of nothingness, which will be defined by the I.T. department as "process and procedure." Ostensibly these processes are put in place to streamline and ensure shit like this doesn't happen; in practice, they're put in place to cover asses and pass the buck. Believe me, I've seen many an email find the trash bin due to a lack of ownership and accountability.

There are ways to fix it, usually with Even More Processes, but since it is impossible to require someone to give a shit about something not their own, it's required to ensure that they have ownership and accountability for a task or project. It's the only way to ensure it'll move forward, and even that can be a crapshoot. I.T. people love - absolutely love - to bitch about the issue that "All of my projects are Critical and my first priority, so which Critical project is more Critical than all the other Criticals?"

Dizzying logic, that.

I've personally found that, along with continual process improvement, continual education is a good path forward. Everyone in the organisation - and I mean everyone - needs to be taught to understand that, ultimately, everyone - including them - is in sales. Everyone exists to make the customer's experience a good and happy one. Everyone. It doesn't matter if you're front line sales, first line support, the dude who prepares computers to be distributed to employees, or the chap who waters the office plants. Everyone plays a role to ensure that the customer's (and potential customers) are happy, comfortable, and wanted. I.T. nerds often don't understand that. (I use the term fondly; I consider myself one)