I always ask that the phlebotomist or nurse use a finer diameter needle. If they do it right, you nearly can’t feel it at all.
I got used to needles when I was a kid in the early 1950's. I had chronic earaches, and our family doctor had to make house calls because we didn't have a car. I was constantly getting penicillin shots in the butt from one of those big stainless steel syringes that they had to sterilize to use again. No disposables back then, and they used real penicillin. We also had the Polio vaccines then too. Intramuscular, and your arm ached like a toothache for hours afterwards, and felt like it was made out of lead.