Caveat: Prior to the situation described below, it had been a few years since I stepped foot at a US airport; it had been 10+ years since I have flown AA.

I recently flew LGA-YYZ in paid F. My driver dropped me off at the curbside check-in and unloaded the bags. I approached the counter and checked in for my flight. The guy doing the check in handed me the boarding pass and told me (and I paraphrase here) that [bold]he will take care of my bags, and whether I recognize him by providing a gratuity is up to me.[/bold]

Hmm... I was somewhat floored by the suggestion, yet quickly gave him a few bucks to make sure he really does take care of my bags. Let's face it: if I was at a seedy diner and the waitress offered to make sure there was no "special sauce" in my grilled cheese sandwich, and then suggested an upfront tip, I would have likely ponied up as well (this assuming I was there, because there were no other choices at hand in the first place).

All that said, is this normal / common?