I was in KMart the other day, needing to purchase some lawn chairs they had on sale. The price was not marked, and the chairs were way to heavy and bulky to take over to the self-scanner machine attached to a column in the aisle.
I went over to a young male employee who was kneeling on the floor in the garden department, opening some cartons of water hoses and said "Those lawn chairs don't have a price marked on them. Do you know how much they are?" Instead of hopping up and checking on the situation, he said, "No. I sure don't know how much they are," and kept right on opening his carton! I drifted back over to the chairs, thinking he'd finish the carton he was working on and then hop up, but HE JUST WENT RIGHT ON OPENING BOXES!
I was too hot,tired and disgusted to complain.
Every time I go into the Ace Hardware near here, there are several sales people lined up waiting to ask customers as they walk in the store if they need help. Not an occasional clerk --- all of them do this. If you tell them you know what you're looking for or just want to look around, they come by now and then to make sure you still don't want any help. The only thing I can think is that this isn't by accident, that the business is run a certain way because the hardward down the street isn't like that at all. There the clerks stand around and talk and act like they don't know the customers are there.