I have spent most of the past 20 years in retailing in one form or another and spend a fair amount of time visiting bike shops as part of my hobby. As a biker/retailer, I love bike shops -- for the most part, the sector is still dominated by small independents, and they are sometimes as quirky as their neighborhoods.

I have to agree w/DeeGee (gosh, why does it pain me to say that?) -- dispensing "free advice" is part of what comes with the territory. Furthermore, anyone getting into any enthusiast-oriented business (home theater store, bike shop, fly fishing store, quilting supplies, gun shop, boating store, etc.) has GOT to know in advance that they are sometimes going to fill up with lookers on a busy Saturday.

What I've noticed is that the really deft salespeople are able to separate the time-wasters (going to burn up a lot of time asking questions) from the "serious lookers" (not going to buy today but spends a lot of money on the sport) from the "hot prospects" (ready to spend money today). Bike shops who can't figure out how to do that are on their way to going out of business, I suspect.

On the other hand, as an enthusiast, it pays to be a smart shopper. I never judge a bike shop (at least completely) on the first visit. Anyone can have a bad day, or put an untrained sales person on the floor. Also, if I really want to ride something, I call in advance and find a convenient time (for them and me) for a test ride. Finally, if I burn up a lot of sales person time asking questions I *always* buy the item in the shop instead of running home to order it off the web for $5 less.

As for the OP's story -- that kind of hard-sell, "we know what you want" attitude drives me nuts. I went into the a shop recently for some part for my commuter bike and the guy started hard-selling me a set of close-out Zipp wheels from 2007. Huh? I'm going to spend $1500 on wheels for my cast-iron, bajillion-pound touring/commuter bike?

On the other hand, this particular store is a pretty big store, and I've learned that their help ranges from world-class to spotty, depending on who's on the floor. On the positive side, it stocks a huge amount of inventory, in both bikes and parts, and that earns them some business. I go elsewhere, to a smaller "pro" shop when I know I need 100% reliable advice -- I go to the big bike shop when I need to know they have something basic in stock that I need that day.