How many men does it take to show a woman around a hardware store?

It's generally a bad idea for me to go into a hardware store when I'm not in the best of moods. This is what I did Wednesday after being sold a crappy computer (which thankfully was refunded on Thursday- I'll save you the story). As I walked down the aisle of said hardware store, going to the Nuts and Bolts and bolts aisle, which is where I knew I needed to go for one of my items, I approached two male employees who were chatting. They simultaneously looked up and instead of saying "May I help you find something?" I got a presumptuous "What are you looking for?", because of course, female in a hardware store = lost. As it turns out, I did need a dowel pin which I didn't immediately know the location of. So Man #1 takes the cab out of my hand (which I did not ask about) and said "I don't think we have any of these", to which I replied "I've bought one here before". This comment was ignored while the man asked Man #2 "Do we carry these?"
"Yes, in Nuts and Bolts".
Man #1 leads me to what I know is not Nuts and Bolts, but hey, he's the employee, right? He searches the boxes and Man #3, who was present during questioning walked by and says "Nuts and Bolts is down one aisle". So finally Man #1 shows me the cabs (which, remember, I wasn't in want of directions for) and takes me to another room, shows me the door and says "dowels are up there". I walk up the stairs and yes, I see dowels, but not dowel pins. Man #4 walks in, "Are you looking for something?"
Yes. I am.
"I'm looking for dowel pins, is my only option to make one out of these?"
"We should have some this way".
Another aisle.
"Looks like all we have is these big ones and you need about a 5/16". I'll go ahead and make you one".
Nice enough offer, but I look down and on the shelf is a whole bag of 5/16" dowel pins. Man #4 laughs as I pick up the bag and later I can hear him jovially telling this tale to Men #1, 2 and 3.
"I told her I'd make her one and then she sees a whole bag of 'em!"
Leaving the store made me think of the women out there who say "I actually like being treated like a lady". Women have said this to my face as if it's a convincing argument that all this feminist stuff I'm into is actually just making my life harder. I can't help but wonder, If I was a man, would I have been asked "What are you looking for?" or would I have been given the statement "Let me know if you need any help." The question puts me in an awkward situation. I guess I could have said "Well, I'm looking for a cab and a dowel pin, but I know where the cab is, and perhaps I can ask you about the dowel pin if I can't find it myself." Phew! But I guess I can't come up with a long winded answer unexpectedly.
If I had gotten the statement, I could have said "thanks" or "ok" or "sure enough" if I was feeling peppy. Then I could have found the cab, maybe found the dowel pin myself or else asked ONE employee to help me find it instead of being led around by four men who were more lost than I was. So, in the end, being treated like a lady was less beneficial (as, in my opinion, it usually is).
Now I know you skeptics are going to say "you can't prove you'd be treated differently if you were a man." True, it's difficult to turn back time in order to take testosterone shots and re-visit the hardware store as a man to see what they say. But as they pound into your head in Intro to Women Studies, "the personal is political". My personal gut says I got the Lady Treatment.
Do any of the women who read this blog have an experience where you suspect you were treated differently as a woman? Men, how are you treated in a traditionally male environment- perhaps like you need less help? Or more help if you are in a traditionally female environment? Anyone want to comment besides Abbie?