So last July (2011) O went to Mt. Airy, NC and well I had a squad car tour and our driver "Don" (Wouldn't you just know that his name'd be "Don") told us about Frances Bavier and how she wasn't as nice in real life as she was on TAGS. But then he said that a year ago he gave Betty Lynn a squad car tour and told her about how Frances was mean and called andy near her death to say she was sorry, but you know was a bit mean and Betty said "No that's not at all true she was really nice and bring cookies to the set to eat and stuff and never said a mean thing."
Who do I believe?
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I would be more inclined to believe an actor who was actually on the set rather than a taxi driver on the other side of the country. I've also read comments by George Lindsey saying how sweet Frances Bavier was.
Here's my own speculation– I believe Andy had quite a temper and would rub Frances the wrong way. Of course, as the name sake of the show, Andy was more influential amongst the witnesses so he would be more often considered to be "right" and Frances was left to be the "difficult" one. I read that there were times that she didn't even want to speak to Andy (after his Obama commercials, I wasn't happy with him either and I stopped watching the show for a time) so I can sympathize with Frances. The fact that she later apologized to Andy indicates that there was some tension and she felt she contributed to it.
Andy Griffith seems to be a complex man. As with all of us, he is a bundle of contradictions. He could lose his temper enough to punch a wall but also loyal and accommodating to a fellow actor who had had a stroke. By all accounts, TAGS set was pleasant and fun. The fact that he is well regarded by his fellow actors suggests that his good qualities generally prevailed over his negative traits.
I will conclude by noting that Andy kept Frances on the show and she stayed so things couldn't have been all that terrible.