The one by me I used to frequent, was EXACTLY like that too. It was such a cool shop, that if anyone had a question, they could ask a fellow custie, and usually get a good response. I had a question once about my wheels, and a total stranger(local LBS shopper and rider himself), who was standing by me, as i was waiting to talk to the mechanic there, asked what the problem was? I told him, and VERY COOLY, he says" oh buddy, all you have to do is this and this and this, here, let me show you", and proceeded to do just that. The mechanic looked over and said "I see you've met (we'll use Pete here) Pete? great guy and very knowledgeable, he mustve taken a liking to you, he only does that to people he likes"." Turns out, he(dude) had the same Bianchi I did, and liked the La Vie Claire team too, so we hit it off i guess you could say. Rode a few times, and then he moved away, but was very very cool.

Also, that same shop had a few tables in it, where, on any given day, you could go in there, and see about 15 folks sitting around, talking bikes, and cycling, and answering questions you might have. They were the coolect cats there. Never an attitude with you, never a "you're such a dummy...blah blah blah". It was ALWAYS" hey, you've asked a great question, lemme show you how to do that". Never asked for a dime in return, just a sort of "pay it forward" thing. You see them around enough, and they you, you become fans of the sport, and you want to help each other out, thats how it is. They were never paid a cent by the LBS, just there to help out fellow riders, THAT was one of the biggest reasons I always shopped there, and ONLY there.