This route, in that direction, is notorious for this. It is always worth printing your own boarding pass and keeping a low profile until you get to the gate, so they can find some other volunteer for this treatment. At Kowloon it would have been a Cathay agent saying this to you - which is really rich since their own coffin business class makes family travel an undiluted experience in separation. I've never understood why the once-a-year families on cheap tickets should be seen to trump regular flyers for whom it is a matter of employment rather than enjoyment.