I had a bizarre situation at EWR. I go to gate with boarding pass, and ask to make sure if I am on the waiting list for FC. The agent takes a breif break from her animated conversation with her co-worker, looks at my boarding pass which says Elite on it, and says "yes you are on the waitlist, but first has checked in full." I got to the PC to console myself, and ask the PC agent the same question. She takes my boarding pass, and, unlike the first agent, types something in her computer. She tells me that I have already been upgraded. This was less than 5 minutes form when I was at the gate, obvioulsly I had already been upgraded when I was at the gate, the agent was just too lazy to check and see if I had been upgraded.