apologies.. I read the article too fast, and did not read the 2000
As for the incident I witnessed. The man just asked for the IE staff member to repeat what he had said. Definitely did not warrant a "Stupid b*ll*x!".
My work involves interacting with customers, getting requirements from them to develop IT solutions for them. There are some days when I am like, "WTF are you asking me?!" and possibly want to say to them "Stupid b*ll*x!", but as part of my customer relations I know better!