A few years ago, I was booked on a cheap Y fare on TW from SEA-STL on Christmas eve. I showed up at the airport in the morning and remember standing in a long line to check in with people in front of me being told the flight was oversold. I got on the phone and called the NW Silver line (gee, I thought I was super special at the time) and asked them if they could get me ANY flight from SEA to STL or MCI. Nope. The TWA agent heard all this while he was dealing with the screaming/threatening people in front of me.

When my turn came, the first thing I said was, "it doesn't look good today, huh?" Within five minutes, the agent had handed me a check for $400 and a boarding pass for an AS flight SEA-PHX then TWA PHX-STL, all in F, for later that day.

I always try to be nice to agents.