Poor attitude by gate agents is not uncommon in the USA and is certainly not exclusive to AA. I won't bore you with the details but I was recently very disappointed (putting it mildly) by the somewhat rude attitude of a couple of Delta staff at FLL. One, a gate agent, even had the audacity of accusing me of lying! And this was on a First Class ticket! These agents are paid peanuts and I guess the provision of common courtesy has a price which is no longer paid.