I find in my travels, and most gate agents I spoke to agree with me, that business travellers and other frequent travellers are most understanding when there are problems. That is because we know who's really at fault -- it's almost never the gate agent -- and we don't fly off the handle. On the other hand the infrequent traveller assumes the gate agent is there to beat upon.
Just my $.02. Last time my flight was cancelled, I sat patiently in line, smiled at the gate agent, and asked nicely what the problem was and they told me. Everyone else in the line screamed (literally), demanded phone calls, swore to never fly the airline again, assumed it was some conspiracy to get THEM personally....
