Bad service from cheap airline

I arrived at 16:05 for a 16:40 flight that I had electronically checked into the previous day, all I had to do was drop my bags off. I was told baggage drop was closed and absolutely nothing could be done, I would have to catch the next available flight, 2hrs later. Strange thing is, a friend of mine arrived at the same airport, 20 minutes before her flight departure and managed to get her bags checked in.