There was an article in the paper yesterday about a local high-end audio/video retail chain that's closing it's doors after almost 60 years. It was a pretty good write-up and highlighted how their bread and butter used to be a knowledgable sales staff that was very good with educating the customer on their choices. This justified (rightfully so) the premium compared to a department store where the sales people knew very little. However, with the advent of the internet, all the forums, and customers reviews, expert help is just a click away and costs nothing, not to mention one can turn around and get bargain pricing online. Alas, the chain still went in the crapper despite lowering its prices to be competitive with online retailers. The moral of the story here is that you can get far more educated information by spending some time on the internet. Whether it be Verizon, Best Buy, Sears, etc, the big stores are just employing stiffs anymore. Very rarely do you find someone that's properly knowledgable about technology. I've come across some real duds, some who totally mislead consumers (likely unknowingly due to lack of knowledge), and some that simply appear to be armed with way too much knowledge without the ability to apply it properly (these are the worst in my opinion). Sometimes I educate the sales people. Sometimes I just keep my mouth shut and nod, basically blowing them off. The worst was when I bought my LCD TV over a year ago and the arrogant kid working at Circuit City was REALLY pushing me that I needed to buy their $100 3ft HDMI cable that was specifically rated for 120Hz (complete farce). I had to tell him to stop harassing me about it.
