There are good and bad shop owners and employes all over this country. I live in an area that has more shops than just about anyother in the country. And I will tell you that there are good shops and bad ones here to. Having guided out of a lot of them over the years I have found here are good employes just as there are bad customers.
I know one shop that has changed big time and it is do to the person running the front of the store. You walk in now and you are greeted and asked if you need help. If you tell them you do not need help they say "just let us know if you do". In years past you could go into that same store and you might get waited on in a month or two or if you had a lot of money. Good to see the change.
I went onto a shop this past year as I lost my bottle of fly floatant. That was all I needed and my son and I went in and bought one bottle. The owner was less than nice from the start.(I was not from out of state) Even though I tried to be nice to him it was more like I was a pain in his neck than someone buying something. Granted I was not buying a rod but I was spending money. The thing that set me off was the floatant was $3.95 a bottle and I gave the guy $4.00 and started to leave I had forgot that area had a tourist tax.(Most of Montana does not have any sales tax) As I was walking away the guy Yells "Hey buddy you are short here" I was short 3 cents. Now I don't know about you but for 3 cents it would not have made it worth my while to yell at a customer for those 3 pennys. I went back and gave him his 3 pennys and I also told him that I was a fly fishing guide and outfitter and that I would be sure and tell everyone that I knew about how nice he and his shop was. I then left. Nope I wouildn't go back on bet.
There are a few other in this area that think that if you don't have money they don't want to talk to you. But there are a lot of them that are just good down home people to. It is up to each of us to find out which is which. Part of being a shopper I guess? Ron