Unfortunately, that is all too common with bricks and mortar audio / video shops. We did not have the competition from the Internet back when I was in the business, but mail order catalogs that offered the same lines we carried at discount were starting to kill us as early as 1987-1988. I think Audio Advisor was the big kid on the block back then. Things got progressively worse for high end audio after that and into the 90s. That is, until surround sound and the home theater craze hit. By then, many manufacturers and stores had folded.

I think we Outlaws live on a somewhat parallel universe when it comes to basic understanding of the technology and the gear. (Of course, then there's you gonk, who knows more than most manufacturers! ), so we can have meaningful conversations in forums like these.

In the Outside World, in a typical sales / customer interaction, each party has to assess what the other person's level of understanding is and adapt accordingly. There are many customers out there whose eyes glaze over when you start getting into techno speak or explain nuances between components. Conversely, there are other folks who may know as much or more than the sales staff and will often challenge them when their BS detector goes off.