One of my KE flights was a free-for-all. There was a mob of people pushing toward the gate so I stepped aside, found an unoccupied gate agent and asked where Prestige (business) Class boarding was. She escorted me past the mob directly to the gate. ^

Zone boarding, while not perfect, is light years ahead of situations like that. I def give a big ^ ^ ^ to the DL agents that reject those attempting to board ahead of their zone.