I know what you mean about service. I took my bike into a certain shop on Robson to get serviced on the weekend (bought it there, free service), and felt like
I was invisible. The owner was on the phone talking about some real estate deal he had going on. Didn't even acknowledge the fact that I came in the door. They forgot to put the covers back on my valves, and charged me for a tube I didn't get.

As for the new bike, I am leaning toward a 'cross/touring platform. I want to go faster than on my MTB, but racing isn't in the plans right now.