As an NW Plat flier, it takes me on average 10 - 15 minutes of call waiting and conversation to add my OAL frequent-flier number. I don't hesitate to politely discuss with the agent about this inconvenience, then usually make my seat-selection at this time rather then bother to do so online. If Delta doesn't mind the cost of the agent's time, I'm happy to take my time and support someone's employment. If the agents are nice, I'll catch up on what's going on with Delta. Sometimes its kinda refreshing to chat with the inside staff, and relieves my frustration about Delta's relative lack of online capabilities. I'm not kidding - I really do this most everytime. Of course when I book on NW/CO/AF/UA/AA I almost never need to talk to an agent.