Flo - besides the price point, they were willing to take an order and delay shipment for me so that I would be home for the delivery and also guarantee I could be in on that specific stock rollout. Small thing, but in dealing with pretty much any other major brand I haven't seen much flexibility
If you're in the Bay Area, specifically Oakland, King Kog bike shop is awesome - I went in to upgrade a gruppo and a couple other things, and they swapped out the stock bar on my bike for a nicer bar with a bit more modern drop design (this is a Cannondale CAAD9, so it's not like they took a nice stock bar off on me without permission. They were being genuinely good spirited). After patronizing the store a couple more times, I came in needing a spare bike shipping box to move, and they gave me one and didn't give me a hard time about not buying anything that trip in.
And if you're in Amsterdam, Maats Cycling Culture is a good alternative to Rapha. Lot of similarities, but I appreciate the locally run nature of the shop, and I'm now friends with the owners and they're always fair to me and give honest appraisals of gear knowing how I buy.
Chasing PB Podcast
Latest interview with Eli Hemming on Targeting a US MTR spot in Tokyo