I don't expect my LBS to lend me tools. Good mechanics can be very possessive of their tools. I've been doing most of my own repairs for only a year or two, but it's painful to watch someone else handle the tools I depend on. I imagine it would be worse for a person who also earned a living off the tools.
If I need a tool, I generally buy it (in which case they give me a quick lesson on how to use it) or pay them to do it. The LBS has done small repairs for me for "free" and given me some small stuff for "free." I put "free" in quotations because I spend enough $$$ there that I pay for everything one way or another.
Why not just buy a chain tool or a multi-tool that you could stick in your seatbag? As someone else said, if it happens once, it could happen again. Be prepared for the next time.
As to "bad attitudes" in bike shops, that hasn't been my experience. The LBS's here all seem to have better service than the average retail place. An LBS with a bad attitude is an LBS that won't be in business long. (But an LBS that gives away its services for free too often also is an LBS that will be out of business too soon.)
Last edited by Daily Commute; 04-08-05 at 04:27 PM.