Think part of the problem isn't just poor customer service but lack of enough people, quality or otherwise. About 3 yrs ago I was flying from VA Beach to South Korea on United. Showed up at the airport 2 hrs early and there was a huge line. Turns out the flight was delayed getting in the night before, crew had to get rest and takeoff time was delayed by 1.5 hrs. Ended up waiting 2 hours just to get to the front of the line because only one agent was on duty. By the time I got up to the front I was so mad I didn't care how nice the agent was, all I saw was red. They ended up screwing me anyway with bad advice and stranded me in LAX.

Bottom line is, even if I had poor customer service and moved on w/in 20 mins I'd still have been a lot more satisfied.