Having worked as a CSR for three separate telco's, two car companies and an electricity provider, this would be a far slower system to access information than anything I've used.

Someone working a job full-time, 40 hours a week doesn't need a shiny interface, they need a fast interface. That means menus with up to fifty items, memorised TLA's and keyboard short-cuts. It's not pretty, but it get's the job done, and for a CSR that's really all that matters.