To help refocus this thread back to the topic, it is my understanding in several cases some of the procedures described here (airline employees sitting up front, etc.) are the result of union labor negotiation - perhaps even making up for pilots and other financial givebacks over the years. So while the argument may be made for customer service, pilots perhaps should not individually be the target of this discussion.

Anyway, discussions are always more meaningful for everyone when we're all trying to express our thoughts about the topic at hand. Thank you.