It might just come down to the 'culture' of the particular branch of Richer Sounds the Kanoe visited. I've never experienced any such problems with RS in the past, but I wouldn't have been all that impressed either, if I had. I do like the fact that on their 'Contact Us' page on the RS website, it says:
"As a final last resort, which hopefully will not be necessary, please contact the office of Julian Richer, our Founder, at julianoffice@richersounds.com. Julian will oversee your correspondence and arrange for one of our senior team to help."
So it might be worth dropping a short email to the founder of RS, just to let him know about the poor service received at that particular branch.