I've had to spend a bit of time in retail stores over the last several days and so far I've come to one single conclusion:

The "art" of Customer Service around here is DEAD. D-E-A-D. Six feet under. Kaput. Deceased. No more. GONE!!! It's hanging out with Jimmy Hoffa and Elvis Presley.

Example one:
Store: H. H. Greg
Reason for being there: Price match on a sweet HD TV
Problem: I went in to check out some HD TV's. Originally they would do internet price matching, but I guess someone alerted corporate office to streetprices.com. After informing me that they have stopped doing internet price matching and me just accepting it, the sales person turned into an insufferable douche bag. Normally they will follow you around and ask if you have any questions to answer and do other things that are traits of good salesmen. I guess he thought I was some broke piece of white trash who stumbled in thinking he was going to hose the company. Either way, he sat at his desk checking his hours while I just kind of wandered around trying to find a TV with a comparable price. When I opted for one on clearance and he was actually forced to go in the back and see if they had one you would have thought I waved a shotgun in his face and forced him to dig his own grave. I actually decided to just tell him what he could do with both his TV and is attitude and I just bought one at Circuit City. No problems there. You would expect that someone getting a percentage of $650+ would be a little nicer about it.

Example two:
Store: Walmart (this is going to be good)
Reason for being there: Only thing open around here at 3am (multiple visits)
Problem: Getting games from the case usually becomes an hour long ordeal (sometimes longer) while they run around in circles looking for the @$$hole employee with the case key who is apparently on break for his entire shift and not responding to pages. Then they get the key. And they act like they're doing you some kind of enermous favor usually accompanied by the clerk rudely grumbling at you "I don't know anything about video games so just point at it, alright?". Hey, d!ck, you may not be able to tell people the pro's and con's of a PS3 vs. an XBox 360 but surely to God YOU CAN READ! If I say "Forza Motorsport 2 for the XBox 360" surely even you in your high school drop out planning on making a carreer out of wally world glory can look at the boxes and see the one that says "Forza Motorsport 2" capped with the corporate logo reading "XBox 360". Idiots. Last time I was there during the day I was at the Subway they put in the store and there was a group of employees presumably taking their lunches out there making total @$$es of themselves, making tons of noise and annoying everyone. And one guy had a laugh like a male Fran Drescher. Last time I worked a retail and/or grocery job like that I was forced to take my breaks in the back in the Employees Only area so we could unwind and be obnoxious without costing the company business.

Example 3:
Store: EB Games
Reason for being there: GAMESPOT DID NOT CHANGE THE DATE POSTED ON THEIR SITE FOR SKATE ON THE 360.
Problem: I went into the store and asked for a copy of skate, not knowing they changed the release date. I don't live on the internet 24/7 looking for updates so I still believed it came out today. Curse me for assuming a video game website would have the right release date for a game and even last week during their commercials they said the 11th. After standing in line for 10 minutes while the clerk attempted to explain the trade in system to a guy with obvious mental difficiencies and being patient and not doing things like sighing, grunting, looking at my watch, crossing my arms or any other manner of "hurry it up, I'm getting impatient" gesture I finally get to ask for the game. When I do I get an incredibly rude "We don't have it" followed by him actually sighting the PS3 release date and I said "I thought it was supposed to come out today". He promptly punches a few keys on the computer acting as if, he too, had been forced to do something absolutely horrible. Then he rudely informs me that the correct realease date was the 13th and they wouldn't have ituntil the 14th. So, I think I'll be buying the game at Target along with every other video game I would want.

There are about 3 or four more examples I could describe here but I don't think it's necessary. Now, to clarify in the case of the sales situations I must point out that I wasn't going in there being rude or even curt with the sales people. I was being respectful largely becuase I've worked craptacular retail jobs before. They brought their own attitude from some other source. The last one I actually got rude with when I left was the guy at HH Greg. I do believe my exact words after he sighed "Yeah, we've got one" like a child does when youhe hasto do something he doesn't wanttowas "You know what, since you know where it is why don't you shove it up your fawking @$$. I want an HD TV for my video games but I don't want one badly enough to put up with your $h!tty attitude. Where's your supervisor?" After registering a short, more-than-likely-useless complaint with the available store manager I left. I also complained to the store manager at walmart which I'm sure did absolutely no good.

I'm only 24 so I hate to sound like some kind of grizzled old tymer but I have to say it. I remember a time in this country where customer service was something which required you to develope PEOPLE SKILLS. At one point people greeted you with a smile (or at least WITHOUT an attitude) and actually tried to help you. Even if they don't go that far I'm just sick of the constant wave of people being douche bags all the time and nothing happening to make these people learn they have to stop that if they want to get anywhere in life. It just sickens me that everyone around here just seems to be getting worse. I'm going to become one of those psychotic modern hermits who stays in his house and orders everything from the internet.