"Poor quality manners of the reception staff"

I visited a patient today. I needed to ask where he was. To begin with, I would expect the receptionist at the main desk at the entrance to say 'Good afternoon. Can I help you ?' When I said that I wanted to visit so-and-so, I merely got a look, followed by a curt 'In-patient or out-patient ?' when I would have expected 'Is he/she an in-patient or out-patient ?. Then they barked out 'Name ?' not 'What is his/her name ?' All this rapped out curtly as if I was some sort of supplicant. Minor elegancies of manner reassure everybody and elicit good manners in return. I said 'Thank you' though it was hardly merited by the rude, short way in which the receptionist spoke. I may say that it is quite different from the manner of the receptionist I spoke to when last at St. Mary's.