Agreed, this whole thing about 'sorry' more than once doesn't work for me, as it doesn't solve the problem, and I tell them that. I'm not interested in how sorry they are, I'm interested in a solution.
In a recent dispute with a bank that messed me around for three months (regular readers of my column will know about this) one of the snotgobblers kept saying : "I can empathise with you ......"
"You can't" I said "because you go to work to do your job and you get paid at the end of every month. I don't get paid for the time and effort I've wasted on this matter, I haven't been able to bank my fee income for three months, , so don't tell me you know how I feel."