Its really interesting to read the CC comments about whether to introduce or not introduce yourself. I guess I must be very cynical and always shy away from it as I assume the CC would think I was making it up, or just trying to be a poseur...
Without checking the person's licence, would you still go to them in the event of an emergency? There are some fantasists out there...
Our usual route home is with bmi, who I used to work for, but its been so long ago I rarely recognise any of the pilots or CC. Occasionally if we have started chatting to one fo the CC, I'll tell them I used to work there, but rarely say what I did.