Last week on NW33 AMS-SEA I got bounced around in coach throughout the day of the flight and asked 6 people about getting my original/better seat or upgrade... it wasn't until the gate agent that I got something along the lines of give me your boarding pass and I'll see what I can do... ultimately got a WBC seat and I am only elite on Alaska.
I wouldn't say that they're rude or that that they lie, but that the mannerism is fully a euro/dutch thing. Their approach is more of a: if you wanted business class, you should be paying for it...