It is a general rule that front-line telephone reservations agents are quite literally the LEAST empowered personnel at any airline - they work in an environment that's easiest for a large company to monitor and audit, and can almost never use "necessity" as a bona fide justification for any action taken. Thus, I normally suggest that whenever someone encounters a situation where the outcome isn't making sense, either escalate to a supervisor immediately or try a different office who might be better equipped to resolve the problem.