I'm sorry that you've been through it. I did read the whole thing and I'm glad you have friends in the other shops so that you could figure out what was going on in the first place! A real newbie would have no idea and just simply give up on riding.

It's a shame the first LBS wasn't kosher with their practices and that it took Specialized to come in a save the day. I understand that they wanted to rebuild the relationship with the first LBS, but I think at some point they have to give that up and just admit that it's not going ot work and to try to save the relationship with the customer -- you.