So I sent this reply to the bike store employee, about a week ago.

Thanks for your reply.

If the chain case was already broken, why didn't the mechanic say so when I first asked about it?

Thing is, the only other person to touch that case was the [bike shop] mechanic who tuned up the bike last year. So he would have had to break the case, and then get it to stick together without duct tape, so well that it held for almost a year, right up until the next mechanic opened it.

Put yourself in my position. What would you believe?

I am certain that when I bought the bike, no one mentioned that the case was so susceptible to breaking, even as soon as its second tune up. I plan to have this bike for many years, and naturally it will need many tune-ups. What you're telling me is that I must expect this difficult-to-replace part to break every time?

If this is an industry-wide problem as you say, is [bike shop] telling the buyers of new bikes with chain cases about it? Finding out this way is a very nasty surprise indeed.

I've had no reply. This demonstrates a level of indifference to customer service that has me hopping mad! I googled the employee's name and get this - she's the bike shop's "Public Relations Manager", and does PR for the shop's distribution arm as well. But what she really wants to be is a graphic artist. That's what she studied at university. (I got all this from her linkedin profile.) So cycling and PR are just sidelines for her. And it shows.

I'm so mad I want to post the whole email exchange online, especially on local cycling forums, so that everyone can see this attitude for themselves. It's also a great example of TERRIBLE PR.