I've run into the same thing at big box as well. If you're not careful ... their lack of knowledge can screw up your project.
In fairness:
It is a big store. There might be 100 k. items on the floor at any given time. The jobs don't pay very well and it's set up so that anybody with the IQ of a dog can perform the task. A store clerk might know the items in the particular aisle that they stock and have absolutely no idea what else is in the store. That's oftentimes the case.
The trick is to know what you don't know and freely admit that to the customer.
Next ... you take the customer to somebody on the floor who would know and hand off to them.
That way ... the customer's needs are being attended to from beginning to end.
Honestly, this is a lot of extra work. The jobs don't pay well and a lot of employees are disaffected from their jobs. They don't really care. It's a lot quicker and easier to say that we don't have that and get rid of the customer.
It's what you get when you buy the cheapest thing ?
The company i work for, among other things, runs a smaller neighborhood hardware store. You pay a little more but the gals on the floor know their stock. Little or no idea of what a 12 penny galvanized nail is correctly used for ... but they can generally tell you what aisle it's in. That's considered " good enough " by company standards.
Our grocery is a little different. You generally walk the customer to the item they're asking about. If you don't know ... you find one of the other employees that does know and leave that customer in their care. You pay a little more at our store but you get better customer service as well.
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