I've worked in clothing & outdoor pursuits retail & even the days when you couldn't care less you check the stock,clean the mirrors,rearrange stuff to catch the eye. Also trying stuff on getting a feel for the garment,generally increase your product knowledge... I imagine if I worked in a shop with instruments they wouldn't look like the ones mentioned! Where's the pride of the staff? A daily checklist would have on it things like tune & dust the instruments-rust on strings is out of order. The only music shops I have personal experience of have staff who are musicians working there probably not getting paid much but allowing a certain lifestyle to be maintained..the same is not true in other retail businesses where a young inexperienced person is hired to stand behind a till & sell add-ons. If the shop wants to sell it's stock IT has to make the effort to get us through the door...then provide the product & service. I'll only not buy from local shops if the item I want is absolutely unavailable from them. In the higher price you pay in a shop, you are paying for that service,relationship, being able to touch & try...& it feels great walking out with a new bit of gear!