Hi tamirra,
My wife and I have travelled with easyJet many times over the last few years. We were apprehensive at first after hearing the horror stories but we changed our minds completely. We have never had any problems with bookings, check-in, boarding or treatment by staff. Of course, you might get more personal attention and better overall treatment from the non-budget carriers, but then you will pay many times the easyJet price. When you study the complaints of passengers who do find something to moan about you realise they fall ino two main groups. The passengers are either at fault for some issue such as arriving late or being over the baggage allowance and they want the airline to change the rules just for them, or they are expecting to receive the same 5-star treatment as a passenger paying to travel First Class with BA or Emirates. I've always used the analogy that you can't buy a 10 year-old Ford for £500 and then complain to the company that it doesn't drive like a new Jaguar! It seems some people do though when they book easyJet and then expect the red carpet!
I shouldn't worry about the Airline programme. I was brought up with the airlines as my father was a flight engineer and all airlines get their share of those people and incidents you see on TV. They are very rare and the TV cherry pick the one or two such incidents a day or a week. Almost all passengers leave on time and have completely uneventful journeys.
If you check-in early, don't exceed your weight allowance, are patient and generally stick to the airline's reasonable rules then you should have a trouble-free trip. Considering the low cost of the seat compared to other airlines, easyJet are excellent value for money. Unlike Ryanair and a few others, easyJet have just about got it right and I would recommend them to anyone.