Lainey, I've often wondered the same thing. A few years ago I was at a place that gave out numbers and you were called by your number to assure they serve people in the order they arrive. I walked into the business and started to pull out a number, only to be told by the person at the counter that she was just finishing and I didn't need to take a number. Less than a minute later a man walked in and grabbed a number. I immediately felt uneasy, as he seemed quite rushed and irritated. The person at the counter finished up and waved to me to come up to the counter. The man angrily protested, since he obviously had the next number (although couldn't have failed to notice that I was there first). The employee assured him that it was my turn, to which he replied by saying, "If she's too dumb to get a number, she shouldn't get a turn!" So in this case I didn't have to wonder---definitely deliberately rude!

Oh, and now I take a number even when they tell me not to.