I have never looked down on any worker or wondered why they weren't cordial, with one exception. I worked as an RN for 42 years, a highly stressful, emotionally draining career, which I had a love/hate relationship with, due to many circumstances. I always treated all of my patients or clients, if you prefer that word, with dignity and respect. Okay. There may have been a few times when I was called out in the middle of the night for some stupid reason, and asked to visit someone to check to see why they weren't as alert as usual, so I found a reason not to visit them, by politely suggesting they send mom to the ER or wait until morning if it didn't sound like an emergency. And, I confess that I was mildly annoyed due to some unreasonable demand at times, but that happened maybe 4 or 5 times over 42 years.
So, when I am the patient or client, I expect to be treated with respect and I am very disappointed when any staff member acts like I'm an annoying pain, even when I try to be cordial and respectful to them. I'm not the reason why they are underpaid, overworked or treated like shit by their employer, so it's displaced aggression to take it out on patients. So, yes. It does piss me off when a medical provider or medical office worker can't be polite and cordial to their patients/customers. The word patient literally means, "one who suffers" and anyone who is suffering shouldn't be treated poorly. You don't have to care about me after I leave your office but at least act like you care when I'm there. Sadly, healthcare has become all about profit and greed, which isn't the fault of the people who need care. It's the fault of doctors and/or CEOs who only care about money.
I spent years being talked down to by some male doctors or working with miserable women who attacked me for being an atheist etc. That even happened when I worked in QA, which to me was a low stress job. When I was fortunate, I worked with happy women and we had good supervisors who were willing to listen to us. I changed jobs way too often over minor things. I blame myself for that, due to being young, and having unreasonable expectations. Nursing can be a wonderful, intellectually stimulating, challenging, emotionally rewarding career, but it takes understanding management, decent pay and coworkers who support each other for all of that to happen. My heart goes out to nurses who work in hospitals, or hell holes as I often think of those places. I had to work in one to get experience when I first finished school and it was a nightmare, especially when I worked the night shift. Nurses should be kind to their patients, but patients should also at least try to be kind to their nurses. I've had male patients hit on me. I watched a male patient spit on a nurse, while he was on a ventilator! I've seen it all. Don't get me started or I'll never stop...
The best jobs I had were in public health, but back in those days, those jobs were hard to get and I quit too often, which was dumb on my part. I ended up working as a part time contractor in long term care for the psychological sense of freedom it gave me, not to have a boss. Of course, the owners of the company could have asked me to leave, but they knew better. As long as the state gave me excellent reviews, which they always did, they never interfered with my work. I enjoyed caring for the residents and I love documentation, which was a big part of my job.
I'm glad I'm retired because the stories I've heard from nurses over the last few years are often horrible. Hospital nurses have been attacked or threatened by patients or family members, staffing has been lowered and some workers have been given positions that they aren't qualified for in some cases. I met a nurse who was working as a travel nurse because she at least could make really good money, which in her opinion was worth the extra stress..
Sorry Athena. I'm bad about ranting when it comes to the issues that nurses deal with everyday. Their's an expression...."Nurses eat their own". Sadly that's often the case. I think it's primarily because women are often bad at uniting, which allows management to take advantage of the situation. I've got lots of wonderful and interesting memories from my former career, but I'm not sure I could do it again if I were starting out.