Dear OP,
I will do my best to play Devil's Advocate here so kindly excuse any bias in either direction.
In regards to your complaint, I will ditto all previous posters and also add that all airlines, regardless of size follow two common guidelines and it is in the passengers best interest to read these and know them. The first is the Terms and Conditions and the second is the Conditions of Carriage. While your agent may have given a vague guarantee of a free change however in reality quite a few airlines operate a fee system for date changes and for refunds of tickets and some airlines may offer neither on certain selected fares or all fares. It is in the customers interest to read the fare conditions before booking and ask the agent to also tell you the fare conditions, it is common sense and anything less is just negligent on your part.
In regards to the rude service, I will not say this is common practice in EK as many experiences I have had have been positive, both airside, groundside and inflight, however this does not excuse poor customer service directed towards you by EK call centre staff. I would raise a complaint by using Emirates complaint form under the Contact Us section on their website and they are pretty decent about replying quickly if you make it known that your problem is serious and needs immediate attention by a concerned person.
Again as I am new and I am not very familiar on the essence of playing Devil's Advocate, kindly excuse any bias in any direction. I have simply looked and answered your post neutrally.
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