I did have to sweet talk my way into a lounge exactly once, at an outstation.
I showed up at the lounge 4.5h before departure time, and at first they told me to come back 30 minutes later. Being FB Plat flying J didn’t seem to matter, it was not a PP issue.

The fun part is that it was during Covid. There were 3 pax at most inside, and almost no F&B anyway.