Well... I guess all I can say to anyone who wouldn't have booked the flight is that they must live in cities where they are far more spoiled for choice, schedule-wise. PDX is a much easier connection but AS cut their EUG-PDX schedule a couple of summers ago when the Horizon pilot shortage struck - and never added them back again. And if I'm willing to drive two hours to PDX then the AS flights won't be the first ones I pick anyway.
Compensation is a non-issue at this point; my wife has said she won't fly AS again unless forced (I left out a lot of the uglier details of her account of the entire ordeal). But to paraphrase her: people fly AS for the service and the experience, certainly not because the flight schedules or hard product or fares are better. They just aren't. When AS shows you they're willing to act just like the other guys, well, you might as well pay less and/or get the flights you really want for an equal amount of degradation.
Also: "didn't incur any costs for a hotel" is the most charming euphemism I have ever heard for spending a night on an airport floor. If a customer service agent said that to my face, I don't think it would end well for either of us.