Home Depot used to hire knowledgeable former tradesmen who had retired from or for other reasons left their professions. About ten years ago HD started cutting costs by replacing those guys with people who know less than I do about items in their departments. About the same time I noticed the same thing happening among service writers at car dealerships. Except for recall repairs, we haven’t taken our cars to a dealership in six or eight years.
A few years ago I went into one of those stores to get a filter for my heating system. I can’t remember the size, it was either 16 x 20 or 20 x 25. I walked into the store with the old one in my hand and asked the young man where his air filters were located.
He said: “OMG - what kind of vehicle are you driving, a bus?”