This thread probably won’t get much love, but to be fair, we probably should point out the unusually good stuff as well as the bad.
Yesterday when my daughter checked in at Logan, both of her checked bags were about a pound over limit. Agent didn’t flinch and on they went. The agent asked to weigh my daughter’s rolling carry-on bag, which was about twice the allowable weight. Then she saw her (heavy and overstuffed) backpack, and asked are you carrying on that one, too?
The agent then said you may as well check the rolling bag here, because it is a full flight and almost certainly the gate agent will make you gate check it. She happily checked it, no charge for extra bag or extra weight, and wished my daughter Nesiya tovah.
Cheers to this El Al agent for being customer-centered and being flexible around their rules.