I have lost track of the combative front-line employees, not just at UA, but other airlines and hotels, who have got into the mindset that by being nasty to a customer they can get rid of them as quickly as possible. The only reason they are cowed by elite status is that it looks worse if you complain about them.

The worst thing that ever happend to me was that UA bomb lost my reservation and the UA staff demanded $6K to get me back to the U.S.
That was at MXP, just before it closed. To UA's embarrasment, it was LH staff who took pity on me and issued a lost ticket note to get me home.
I do fly UA a lot (1K), but will never fully trust their reservations to find my tickets, or expect a reasonable standard of customer service.
Only a fool would.