are men really surprised about being complimented?

Yes. Because it happens extremely rarely. The average woman probably receives 1000x as many compliments as even the more exceptional men. I remember every single woman who has ever complimented me in public since I was five years old.

It’s four. That’s why it’s easy to remember — because it’s happened four times total. This is true for most men. Tons of men never receive a single unprompted compliment from non-parents or non-partners in their entire lives. When you’re a man, you’re very aware of the vast indifference of the universe to you — so when something breaks through that, you fuckin’ remember it forever.