Sounds like someone could book a flight <10 days out and then cancel / reschedule... Beats going through the standard process and not knowing if you'll actually get a passport in 3 months
I'm curious about the 3 hour wait - was that from start to finish, or was it a 3 hour wait to pick up your expedited passport?
My personal best was 4 hours from start to finish... just moved, couldn't find passport (or birth certificate) the morning of my flight for a friend's wedding... bumped the flight to later that afternoon and made it in time for the rehearsal dinner.