My experience with them leads me to say that following the books is exactly what one should always expect of SQ. And most of the time it does work well. Problems always arise when the rules don't cover it, or they do but common sense and/or discretion would override the rules.

And since whatever happens in the air is much more easily codified and formula-ised than what happens on the ground, it's no surprise that there are many more irritations with SQ from ground handling than in the air.

That said, this case seems like customer over-reaction. The SQ station at JFK has already exceeded my expectations by allowing check-in after it closed!