Rant: 'Can I help you?' Apparently not

Okay, I realize we're not living in Mayberry. I don't expect the clerks to greet me with a hearty, "Howdy, Andy, what can I do you for today?" What I do have is an unrealistic expectation that the clerk will know more about his stock than I do.

Case in point: I was trying to find a replacement door and I couldn't find any the size I needed. When I finally flagged down a clerk--no mean trick itself--he stared at the racks of doors like a Weimaraner trying to understand a topographical map of Peru. Then he whipped out his trusty tape measure, although the door sizes were all clearly printed on labels in plain sight.

What is particularly stunning is when you travel up the chain of command of ignorance. Each successive clerk stares at the same shelves you have, comes to the same conclusions you have and then brings in his supervisor to do the same damn thing. My record is five steps up the chain of command, with the store manager being as clueless as the broom-wielding mook.

I don't believe the majority of America's workers are brain-damaged, although that would be a handy explanation. "Welcome to your new job at Wal-Mart, here's your 2x4 to the head." THWACK! It's the result of corporate America spreading its work force thinner and thinner and cutting overhead by doing away with little frills like training. The ultimate example of this is the automatic checkout stand. Thank you very much, but I think I'll draw the line there before the store starts allowing me the privilege of stocking its shelves, changing its light bulbs and sweeping up the spilled Fruit Loops in aisle 12.--F. Andrew Taylor