I do think we should be curteous, far from it (and employers doubly so); I'm not excusing their beahviour, but I am saying it many cases it pays to not be curteous (note, not being curteous isn't the same as being definitely uncurteous). It is the sort of behaviour interviewees have grown to expect.

The pursuit of protit over courteousness is bound to happen when positive courteousness has a negligible and potentially negative impact on profit.