> This article seems to argue (and some comments here) that being rude should be normal?
No. The article is not talking about ordinary courtesies between individuals (those are mentioned briefly, but only to contrast with the article's main subject). It is talking about a tactic used by organizations.
> Why wouldn't we be nice to customers for their business?
Being nice as you and your company solve the customer's problem is great.
Being nice as you and your company epically fail to solve the customer's problem, and continuing to talk as though everything is just dandy even though it is nothing of the sort, is not great--but unfortunately it is a common tactic that organizations use and train their customer support representatives to use. That is what the article is talking about.
> hasn't bullshit/passive-aggressiveness/etc been always called out?
Not when it is cloaked in a veneer of seeming niceness, no.
No. The article is not talking about ordinary courtesies between individuals (those are mentioned briefly, but only to contrast with the article's main subject). It is talking about a tactic used by organizations.
> Why wouldn't we be nice to customers for their business?
Being nice as you and your company solve the customer's problem is great.
Being nice as you and your company epically fail to solve the customer's problem, and continuing to talk as though everything is just dandy even though it is nothing of the sort, is not great--but unfortunately it is a common tactic that organizations use and train their customer support representatives to use. That is what the article is talking about.
> hasn't bullshit/passive-aggressiveness/etc been always called out?
Not when it is cloaked in a veneer of seeming niceness, no.