Not all shops are like that. Luckily, the 2 closest shops to us are directly across the street from each other-one sells Trek, the other Giant. So they have some pressure to be good to their customers--too easy to cross the street if they aren't! But even the shops around that don't have such close competition have been nothing but helpful and courteous. Is there little competition where you live, that a bike shop can get away with poor service and stay in business? So far as charging for an exam. I see why they would do that--you could go in, get a diagnosis of what is wrong, leave and buy the parts or search online, and they need to be paid for their time. Now, if they do an exam., and you buy your parts and have it fixed there, then the exam could be deducted from the cost of parts and labor.