[Pxtl]

That's good to hear. I stopped going to best buy when every question I had for staff was answered by the staffer reading the card on the shelf. I go to a meat-space store when I don't know what I want and I need knowledgeable salesmen to help me. The BB in my neighborhood never ever had that, so I stopped shopping there.

[lotsofpulp]

People don’t want to or are unable to pay for a knowledgeable salesperson, hence why they do not exist for simple things such as consumer electronics.

[Pxtl]

Depends on the product. Look at home Depot / Lowe's / Rona where it's absolutely expected that there will be staff with contracting experience who have advice on what products to buy and how to use them.

[lotsofpulp]

I do not expect to find experienced professionals working a $15/hour job at Lowe’s or Home Depot. There might be some who are out of the game due to injury or age, but not as a norm.

[jstarfish]

It varies by region.

In Atlanta and thereabouts Home Depot is a minimum-wage job ($8/hr?) with no real benefits or employee discounts so you just get bodies to stock shelves. I've had much better luck in California ($15/hr?) where most of the employees seemed to be ex-contractors or otherwise experienced.

[Pxtl]

Yeah, here on Ontario most of the Home Depot staff are old guys who've got plenty of experience with the stuff they sell. At worst, their knowledge is out-of-date from current best practice.