It's all in the words!
Firstly yes, a very amusing but worrying story. If the refueler is so poorly trained, what does he (or she) know about safety!
Secondly, when I read the story I had the same reaction to many others when I read the words "I sent my F/O out". If that had been worded slightly better it would not have attracted any attention at all.
SA aircrew do seem to have a bit of a hang-up with being called "captain".