Online store or bike shop

Over the years I've always brought bikes from bike shops. Sometimes this has been a great experience and others the "experts" have failed to deliver. The bike buying choices have changed a lot from when I first bought my own bikes you had no choice but to use bike stores and your choices were restricted to the brands that your local store provided. The internet has helped consumers have greater choice but undermined the bike shops ability to function profitably. I feel a sense of loyalty to my local bike stores but I often wonder if the feeling is mutual.
The attention to detail and personal service seems to evaporate the moment the bike is wheeled out of the store. I bought a Specialized road bike two years ago from a local store and had a minor gear shift problem I popped back into the store and the problem was resolved. Roll forward a couple of months and I kept getting what appeared to be nylon stuck on the gear cable. I took the bike to another local store and they explained that the nylon was from the cable its self. Specialized used a ridged coating on the gear cables to create less friction. When the mechanic had adjusted the cable there had been a lack of care in moving the cable i.e. pulled with pliers and ripped the covering. I am recounting this incident not to knock the store but to highlight the importance of the interaction between the store and the customer. When a store forgets to treat the bike buying public as people they alienate their customers. Alienated customers tend to then shy away from interacting with the stores and buy their bikes online.
Buying a bike online has gone very quickly from a quirky experience to a very slick and high-quality operation. Manufactures such as Canyon, Ribble and Boardman provide slick online retail experiences backed up by carefully engineered bikes that are delivered promptly. But what happens when you need the attention of a skilled bike mechanic? Do you package the bike up a send it on its way to the manufacturer? Canyon do offer this as an option and will do everything from a service to repairs but is this overkill posting a bike for servicing?
I'm considering buying another bike, initially, I favoured a Canyon but I have a Giant store nearby with a service department and a very attractive TCR advanced sitting in the window. What do you think is the online store the best or is it better to buy a bike from a store with the attached support?