Today I walked into a best buy to buy some propellers for my drone which was a simple purchase. It was under $20 too, but the item was behind a locked case. So I asked an associate to help me. When she brought me to the section, she was actually puzzled on what I wanted. I mentioned the propeller and she started guessing and grabbed at first the battery charger accessory. I mentioned it was the item next to it and she then grabbed the other item on the other side which was a case. I eventually literally pointed right up close to the item and she grabbed it.
During the checkout she then asked how to say that word again and I mentioned “propeller” in which she expressed she has never heard of before. While I thought this was a very basic term like how you would ask for a “tire” per se, it showed me that the company doesn’t feel that having specific product experts in these departments matters much. Maybe they assume the consumers are educated enough to know what they want.
It make you wonder, do you need product experts in stores nowadays? Or simply assume people have say a smartphone and search engine on demand to learn whatever they need on the spot necessary?