You are very lucky. I had so many issues with external monitors. I have regularly seen coworkers fiddling with dongles, cables and trying different monitors.
The issue seems also software related because if you would try the same screen or dongle with another MacBook it works fine, but it keeps failing on the malfunctioning MacBook. It is infuriating because the interface provides zero feedback.
The most annoying bug for me is when you "unplug in the wrong order" and the MacBook screen does not wake up when not plugged to an external monitor. You have to go back to your monitor and replug it and then "unplug in the correct order".