No, Jim, you didn't slip in that insult about the 'inferior gender' and not have anyone notice it.
What you witness was not females unable to do their job, assist customers without carrying on a personal conversation.
What you witnessed is a sympton of something much bigger: the death of commonsense and the cessation of customer service.
People hired to do some jobs don't know how to do a good job, take it seriously, treat the customers well and be conscientious.
But for as many good points as you had, you lost me on that 'benign' slight.
You may say (as so many others on this site say) I have no sense of humor (or Humour for those of you inclined to drop a random U into words that please you) however the slam did not go unnoticed.

I abuse telemarketers when they call all the time.
If you don't know my name, don't call.
If you mispronounce my name, don't call.
if you need to talk to me at 8:30AM while I'm in bed on a Saturday morning, you better be in bed with me. Otherwise, I don't want to talk to you, let alone buy anything from you.