My first impression of this same shop I stop in occasionally was the same thing... they couldn't give me the right answers up front, so I stopped going up front. The first trip to the back, they asked what I needed and assumed I was just some guy wanting to get a quick fix cheap without paying the shop fee or whatever, maybe to get a diagnosis before I fixed it myself..... you know what I mean. I asked him what he took in his coffee and brought him one next time I stopped by.
The guy in the back and I are friends, we talk saws. If I need a part up front, I give the numbers or the guy in back gives me a used part. Ask him what he takes in his coffee and bring him one next time you stop.... goes a long way.