Re: American airlines sucks
I had to book four first class flights with American with Qantas points and their first class is a joke. they put priority on your bags but they never come out first, they know you are using points and put you in the back of first class. I had a flight from Lax to Honolulu and they ran out of food for first class so I ended up with an economy sandwich. Seat barely recline and do not have foot rest. Glad I did not pay for this
Redeeming Qantas points for American domestic first class - a rather expensive exercise, unless you had a particularly long route, and even then. You say you didn't pay for it - so someone else used their points (or someone else paid your taxes, fees and charges)?
Calling it "First Class" is mostly a misnomer, but only because their tradition is to call that class of service First and we in Australia better know it as Business (except for certain long services in the USA which actually have three classes of service - Economy, Business and First).
I'm not sure if someone here with more experience can comment, but I don't know / didn't know that FAs know what class of service you are booked in; if you are booked on an award, do they simply know you are on an award but not which program it was redeemed through? Either way, it shouldn't have significant effect on you, except possibly in rearranging your flights if things go wrong (e.g. you miss a flight). Being put in the back of First is likely just something to do with seat selection (did you select a seat), as well as maybe some others having some priority in terms of status.
Status also helps in some respect for food as it is common that AA elites are usually asked for their preference of meal first, irrespective of where they sit in the cabin. That all said and done, there are still enough meals for everyone in First, even if you don't get your choice, so for them to run out of food before you are properly catered is appalling.
For the baggage situation, it seems that happens almost anywhere in the world, with few exceptions. Maybe it works sometimes as well, though with almost every traveller in the USA carrying everything they need and more on board (with an allowance to match it), very few seem to bother with checking in bags except for the kitchen sink pax, tourists and the greenhorns.
You can probably make a decent complaint to AA with respect to not meeting the catering expectations, and make a comment about your bags at the same time. No matter how you paid for your fare, the catering did not meet the standard expected. That said, you may have to content yourself with an apology; or, if you feel like demanding some satisfaction, your options will likely be limited to AA miles or an AA voucher - you're not likely to get QFF points refunded or a cheque in the mail. Someone else may suggest a different experience with respect to this, however....