Of one "Give Me" and another

Was on the phone yesterday trying to get hold of a lawyer assigned to me, who was handling my strata title release. Didn't manage to speak to her, as her calls were screened by an assistant, but really, I sometimes wonder how business could be lost over some improper telephone etiquette:

Me: Hello, may I speak to Puan So and So
Puan's assistant: Who is on the line?
Me: Alex
Puan's assistant: From where?
Me: Great Eastern
Puan's assistant: Hang on.

(after about 5 seconds)

Puan's assistant: What is it regarding?
Me: I received a letter asking me to contact your office regarding the release of my strata title.
Puan's assistant: Give me your reference number.

At this point, I was "a bit" put off by the "give me". Whatever happened to "May I have..."? But duly complied after a moment's hesitation to not retort. Have to learn to be nice to people. The legal assistant may be having a terrible day and could be totally stressed out with work, and you never know, may be working under the tyranny of a similar minded boss as in "The Devil Wears Prada", but seriously, don't they teach these legal assistants some manners?

Come to think about it, the "give me" mentality is so prevalent in society, and is not confined to the likes of the legal offices. And before I get a hell lot of hullabaloo for my remarks, this is a general statement and I have met quite a lot of nice lawyers out there. :)

Why this post? Well, hearing that "Give Me" statement yesterday reminded of when I first became conscious of the tonality in which it may be said, as well as the possible implications (yes, sometimes I think too much and may be particularly sensitive). It brought to my mind during University days, when I was in queue waiting for food in the Hall of Residence, there was this Malaysian guy in front of me, and instead of saying to the lady dishing out the food, "Could I have...", he said, "Give me..". From then on, it struck me as to the profound effects of such statements made. Incidentally, that guy in front of me is now working as a lawyer.

Seriously though, I think it could be more of a cultural thing. I noticed that the Chinese say it a lot more, especially those who were educated in the Chinese language (and mother tongue is in Chinese – hmm, why not "father tongue" ah?). Could it be the brain power processing words, translating such mundane statements from Chinese to English, resulting in a harsher than desired sounding tone? Hmm...