tube amp bluez

so my b-52 is in the shop.  i took it to the fret mill in roanoke, va to get it retubed.  it's a small shop in the middle of downtown roanoke, meaning there's no parking to be found except for a parking garage about 2 blocks away.  needless to say it was a lot of fun huffing that 53lb. head down the street.  i had been emailing one of the shop's employees the week before about pricing and installation.  they seemed like a good deal.  the price was fair and the they responded quickly and politely.  my reception at the store has been...different.  the tubes weren't really a problem.  they had everything in stock and put them in fairly quickly (this is my first time changing tubes so i wanted to see how it was done).  putting the tubes in looks like a piece of cake, since there's no biasing necessary.  i'll definitely handle a switch on my own in the future.

the problem is the aforementioned reverb failure.  i figured i'd try and get that fixed as well.  there amp tech came into the store while the tubes were being putting in, and i told him about the problem, and how i figured it wasn't a tube related issue since the footswitch didn't light up.  he and the tube guy fiddled with it for about 5 min. before telling me that I'd have to leave the amp with them until they had time to open it up and take a look.  when i asked for an estimate on how long it might take, the amp tech said "not long".  so they wrote me up a ticket and i left ampless.  i called the next day, but wasn't able to get a hold of the amp tech or the tube guy.  the guy who picked up the phone said something about their amp tech being "a week behind" and that he wouldn't be in to work until the following monday (makes sense, your behind so you take a week off work!).  i told them to call me back as soon as possible to update me.  it's been 3 days and i've heard nothing, not even an email.  needless to say i'm pretty disappointed that what was supposed to be a simple fix is now a week (possibly two or three) long ordeal with practically no communication from the fret mill.

i don't want to turn this into a rant but i have been generally dissatisfied with the guitar shops in this area.  i refuse to go to rocket music in blacksburg after being treated like i was an idiot and overcharged for a simple setup job that took nearly two weeks to finish.  i'm getting a similar vibe from the fret mill.  with the exception of one employee who talked to me in a very friendly manner (although not addressing any of my problems), the people there hardly acknowledged me, much less provided any helpful information or advice.  i mentioned to the amp tech that i had found a broken line 6 flextone ii head in my neighbor's garbage and was wondering if he'd take a look.  he said he wouldn't, which i guess i can understand seeing as i have no idea what's wrong with it.  but still, an amp tech that refuses to work on amps?  i'm fully expecting this repair to take entirely too long and cost entirely too much, and i'm guessing it will be my first and last trip to the fret mill.

so i guess i'm wondering two things:  is anybody else in the area frustrated with the available services for their guitar/instrument needs?  is customer service at guitar shops just bad in general, or is it just me?  the second thing i'm wondering is: are tube amps worth the trouble these days?  i'm absolutely in love with my b-52.  i think it delivers great tone, despite a few hiccups which i have been able to live with.  yet i find myself more and more tempted to invest in a solid state head, just to avoid the hassle of repairs (even though solid state is no guarantee of that).  with my budget as low as it is, i feel like i should really be learning to do a lot of repair work on my own, but i'm not sure it's worth risking causing further damage.  if i were to get a solid state head, i'd likely get one of the following:

line 6 spider iv hd150 (2x75 watts)

  

ibanez tbx150h toneblaster xtreme (150 watts)

crate fw120h flexwave (120 watts)

any thoughts/recommendations?

rock on,
z