and with whom did you deal for the sale? upper management, owner, or flunkie? not all employees are created equal. maybe the big boss has no idea of what went on? the employee may be turning away business left & right.

and for what it's worth, (some - qualifier!!!) bike shop employees are not any more involved in their job for more than a few bucks at the end of the week. I don't believe it's an occupation that people do (successfully) without a 'love of the game' attitude. not many become financially well off, and if one can pay the bills and come out a few bucks ahead at the end of the season, it's considered a going concern.

for supplemental information: Sheldon Brown-Bicycle Technical Information this has been a great help to me.