I fail to understand why OP think it was appropriate to ask NZ to status match his A3*G (easiest among *A carriers even after the revamp) due to 1 incident. If NZ did this every time someone had an issue, their Gold membership would explode. Don't you think they need to protect that membership number so that they can afford to provide the relevant service to those who fly NZ the most? A3*G provides one of the cheapest means to get into the NZ lounges. I have used my NZ*G card to get into the A3 lounge in Athens in the past and know how basic their offering was so I can tell you why I think using A3*G in a NZ lounge is quite a steal already.

I would be quite happy to take whatever refund they were willing to offer.