This seems unusual?

Official metered taxis appear obvious, most are Toyota Corolla Altis models and painted bright colors, with a large sign on the roof which says "Taxi Meter". Available taxis will be displaying a lit red sign in the lower corner of the passenger side windscreen.

The standard procedure here is to state your destination and your preferred route, and your requirement to use the meter. If you sense any trepidation, say thank you and move on - do not continue discussions unless you wish to negotiate an acceptable flat fare. Do not raise your voice, slam the door, kick the taxi or otherwise lose your cool as this will not really help your situation.

If you have a hard time getting a taxi to use the meter then you should agree to a flat fare before getting in to the taxi. Assume any tolls will be extra and paid by you.

Getting into a taxi before agreeing to the terms, agreed flat-fare or use of meter, can lead to problems.

Getting a reasonable taxi at a hotel can be challenging as there will be a pool of drivers waiting for flat fares to the airport. You may have to walk out to the street, or use GrabTaxi.

There are a few hotels in my neighborhood, with the taxi sharks, but I also see many UBER/GrabCar drivers and GrabTaxi's picking up guests without incident.

Bangkok streets/layout can be very, very, very challenging to navigate due to many issues: address/lot numbering, even/odd Sois not really aligning, dead-ends, one-way, divided roads. I see at least two or three tourists a week wandering on my street, staring at their Google-maps/phone, looking for their hotel, which is a good 3 Km away.