This is to file a complaint about denial of boarding and disgusting lack of customer service. We arrived at the Phoenix airport very early, we checked ourselves in as required, since US Airways has no check in staff at the Phoenix airport. There was no one to speak with or provide direction to us. We went through security and found our gate. We specifically went straight to the gate because I wanted to find a US Airways representative to speak with to see if we could get help switching seats so that I could sit with my son (this was his first time flying). When we got to the gate, there was still no US Airways personnel in sight. No one was behind the gate desk a half hour before departure and no plane was yet at the gate. So we sat down and ordered something to eat in the area immediately next to the gate. We heard no boarding annoucements whatsoever even though we were literally a few feet from the gate, just behind a dividing wall. When we returned to the gate desk about 15 minutes before departure, there was no one there, again no one at the gate desk, but the plane was now there. As we tried to figure out what was going on, a US Airways staff woman came in from the boarding tunnel. When she saw us, she said "I just backed up, I already did my last call..." I said you have got to be kidding me, we are here, the plane is here, and you are telling me you are not going to let us get on the plane???" She said she closes the doors 10 minutes before depature time. This was news to us--of course, with no personnel available, any such information was never conveyed to us, and as she said that she locks the doors 10 minutes ahead, I looked down at my watch and it was 10 minutes ahead just right then. The woman clearly had no care whatsoever and no customer service bone in her body. She could not have been at that gate more than 10 minutes, clearly showing up at the very last minute to quickly load passengers, lock up, and get herself back out of there asap, that was clearly her only goal. We had our advance reservations and our boarding passes--I assume her computer told her that there were 3 passengers that had boarding passess that had not yet boarded. There was absolutely no reason whatsoever for her to lock those doors early and tell us that we were blocked from getting on that plane. It was a disgusting disregard for customers and exactly the kind of non-service that makes people avoid flying. The "customer service" desk was pretty much the same. No regard and no help, just hand us a slip and tell us to call an 800 number. So, instead of being home on Sunday night by 9:30 as planned, we were trying to find a hotel and airport shuttle, needing to spend an extra night in Pheonix. American airlines deserve to go bankrupt and NOT BE BAILED OUT if this is the type of "service" they provide. It would really be nice for flying to be a peasant experience but it seems to never be anymore. I would fly a lot more often if it wasn't such a dehumanizing, annoying, and unreliable experience. There are a lot of people who would be thankful to have a job and would bring a pleasant attitude. These airlines need to get rid of the robot drowns and learn what customer service is!