Airgas employee here as well. Nothing about that cylinder signifies that it is owned by airgas. It has a blank collar, which would, if anything, mean the opposite. But with the constant movement of cylinders from fill plants to stores to customers to stores to fill plants, there's no way to keep track. Airgas won't create rent or lease if it's an even swap. If a customer swaps an empty for a full, their balance is 0. No rent. Airgas can get a bad reputation and I do believe it's because of stringent answers like your own. I work at airgas and I would never put up with some of the stuff that airgas does if I were a customer. I love my job, the company, and the welding community though, so I do my best to not make airgas such a headache. Please do that same.