totally agree with the OP. I had a lot of indifferent and sometimes outright incompetent gate agents in ATL. Seems more common in ATL vs. other airports. Mumbled announcements, ignoring passengers, messing up standby issue during IROPS are regular problems in ATL. I guess it may be hard to hire the right people in ATL given the size of the airport? I do find the red coats to be very helpful (if there is one) and rebooking agents in the Skyclub or after immigration are great. Maybe these jobs are preferred and GAs who know what they are doing are moving into these positions quickly in ATL?