Beth, I'd say it's just an individual thing. Sounds like your guy just had a bad case of sour grapes or something...
As I've alluded to before, I'm not a specialized fan, but I don't bad mouth their bikes. They just aren't for ME. But this guy is a world class jerk. He was nice when I was spending money in his shop, but once I figured out he had no clue what he was doing things changed. He turned very arrogant, and I hear he bad mouths us all the time. But like I said, I'm a lover not a fighter, so I just smile and say "ahh whatever" and give the best customer service I can.