Well, hopefully this isn't true. I have sold specialized before, and the district rep was also a good friend and riding/racing bud. I've seen this guy bend over backwards with customers for things like saddles, gloves, stems and the whole range of bikes. Of course, not every rep is good, nor do they always go the extra mile, but hopefully the rep that deals with "Erik's" will talk to the shop owner(s) and the employee about customer relations. But I'll take a second to say, that stories like this one are double edged for me, on one hand, that "greater than thou" attitude is one reason I finally left the cycling industry, but the other hand, it makes me want to go back just to give people overall positive buying experiences, no matter what they are buying. Good shops build good cycling communities, and that is good for all of us.