On a side note, you should have called the SPE back and told him/her the examiner’s reason for not calling you back. For one, “professionalism and stakeholder interaction” is a critical element on which we’re rated. In prior years, it wasn’t “critical”, but it could have still affected their rating. “Returning messages from stakeholders ... within one business day of becoming aware” is explicitly listed in this category. Feedback would help a SPE assess their examiner here, as I don’t know any other way for them to make that determination unless they hear back from attorneys/applicants.

If it was after-final, the examiner is within the rules to deny an interview if they don’t think it will help prosecution. But they still have to call you back and say so. And while it’s within the rules, it should frankly be very rare to deny an interview. I don’t think I’ve ever done so in my career, but if it’s after final, I usually want a detailed agenda including any proposed claim amendments with the understanding that an RCE might need to be filed.