It's a great shame if something like this is happening. KLM used to be *really* good at this.
Back when I originally qualified for SE (by flying, rather novelly), and then much more for GE and PE, I would go to check in, only to find that I'd been pre-assigned one of the 2+3 aisle seats, or, if that wasn't available, one of the exit rows. Most of my KLM flights were LHR-AMS, and 9 times out of 10, I would be in a 738 with one of the nice big business class seats. Which made it a rather nice way to fly, all told!
And the one time it didn't happen (due to an aircraft change), at VIE, the check-in agent, entirely unprompted, leapt over the desk, and ran over to the ticket counter to make sure I got an upgrade.
These were the touches that made KLM a special airline, as far as I was concerned.
But then it all started to go wrong. Europe Select was the start of it. It's rather sad, really.