The HD near me is the same way--most of the employees are well trained. I was in there last week to pick up a doo-hickey and when one employee couldn't find it he went and asked another, who ended up finding it for me. It's nice to not hear, "If you don't see it then we don't have it".
Most of the people my husband works with are "tool-twitchers" and home improvement freaks. ( My husband used to have a "Binford Tools" mug from the old Tim Allen series) Most of the guys and gals at the store will happily spend time, and are genuinely interested in your project.
Tia