Mm, I've never had a problem asking those 3 questions of any non-technical person that comes to me for help. Whether it's perceived as polite or not is entirely contained in the tone. You can say that exact terse statements very politely or very rudely or anywhere in between.
I'm somewhat privileged to have had a 20 year career in mostly competent workplaces, and I understand that in some places where engineers are held in low regard that you might get a lot of "stop asking questions and fix the damn problem already", but it never hurts to cultivate a pleasant disposition in the workplace.
I know what you mean and I agree but unfortunately most people don't.