ok, i feel a bit of a fool now. but i know a shop i will never recommend.

i should mention that while she was buying some other stuff after picking up her bike, i went to check some of the display bikes, and the ones that i checked had the same issues.

the basic problem was the derailleur cable was too tight. i think it may have been adjusted, then had a kickstand put on it, which deflected the cable a bit. then again, there were a few other issues, like the barrel adjuster was screwed on so tight i had to use pliers to loosen it, and it was obvious someone had used pliers to tighten it, as it was all chewed up. additionally, this shifter has a "trimming" index, to give a wider range of gears in the lowest ring, and that was what switched to the middle ring. and the high gear limit screw had been tightened so the third gear on the shifter was unreachable.

anyway, i took it apart today, adjusted the cable properly, and it works fine. lesson learned, i guess. check the obvious stuff first.