The only plausible reason would be that those 4 guys were not QR staff but the Ground Handling staff and hence they must have been pointing to the QR staff.
Kinda happens in most places, the handling company will always refer you to the airline...
Anyways, I'm not making excuses for their lapse, but hope you have a good journey the next time you fly QR... holla me and i will ensure you get treated well... ;-)