Nice to see s'more haiku.

There's certainly evidence of that, but I concede that there's no concrete proof.

The fact that the shop told him what BB he needs, but they didn't order it for him, suggests that they aren't willing/able to deliver this prized m952 octalink BB. More than likely, the tiny hand full of distributors that they order thru does not have any available anymore. There are many possibilities, but it seems likely to me that the shop is trying to get him to upgrade/update to a whole new crank. (Good advice, but at the retail level, "the customer is always right".) Still, finding octalink v1 BBs anywhere but ebay is a chore; even when you do find em, they tend to be roadie 105 stuff, with 109 or 118mm spindles. (OP needs a 112.5mm.) So, even if the shop is telling him "we're sorry; we can't get you that BB. You might consider a new crankset", it's totally understandable.

My dig was more at F-Bob, who overlooked the fact that the OP started this ill-fated quest at his LBS, and who doesn't even know that the shop almost certainly cannot just get some cheesy relic BB from a wholesaler. The LBS can't/won't help the OP; I chose the "go hang" quote to keep my syllable count correct.