Obviously the partner is the jerk in the story but "Oh, we threw most of them away" and "I could just say ‘fuck you’ and walk out” aren't hallmarks of great support and probably contributed to the escalation of what started as a simple request for a manual.
It took John (the protagonist's boss' boss) to calm the user and put them on track to express their real concern and having it resolved.
> ..."Oh, we threw most of them away" and "I could just say ‘fuck you’ and walk out” aren't hallmarks of great support...
Eh? Addressing your first point, the guy asked:
> I just got this monitor, where’s the manual?
Which was honestly and directly answered with "We threw most of them away. We have hundreds of monitors and no need of all the manuals.".
The next statement out of the guy's mouth should have been "I need a copy of the manual.", which the support fellow answers with "I'll run back and get one for you. I'll be back in a jiffy.". Instead, the guy flips the fuck out in the middle of the explanation.
One might even imagine that had the guy not flipped the fuck out, the words "I can go get a copy if you like." would have rapidly followed the completion of the "How Things Are and Why They Are That Way" explanation. [0]
Addressing your second point... from the fine article:
> "Part of me thought, “I am a contractor here. I could just say ‘fuck you’ and walk out”, but I stood and took it."
The fellow who just flipped the fuck out is absolutely not a mind-reader. Even if he was, he flipped the fuck out before this thought entered the support guy's head... so the guy would have to be a time-traveler for this thought to have triggered his tantrum.
[0] As someone who both does support, and has periodic need of support assistance, the "How Things Are, Why They Are That Way, and What I (as a support guy) Can Do About It" style of conversation is my absolute favorite. It's clear, to-the-point, and informative.
It took John (the protagonist's boss' boss) to calm the user and put them on track to express their real concern and having it resolved.