skiddriver, the replies you may get on a forum, as i'm sure you know, are sometimes added to increase debate. They aren't a personal attack on the initial poster. Well, not always.
At our company only recently, we have had reason to inform the pax of things which occur, which are out of the ordinary during the flight. Usually if it happens during the flight, once we arrive at destination, the commander will go and talk to the HLO or whoever, and explain the situation. This saves no end of problems from the company the next day, as our pax can often go and complain to their bosses and we then get a visit from the CP.
I can't ever remember briefing the pax about something whch is about to happen, especially about a type of departure profile.
There aren't that many different profiles we can fly and surely these guys in the back have seen pretty much all of them.
As I said, most questions can be answered by reading books or just internet.