This is something I’ve noticed lately. A lot of hifi shops and hifi manufacturers have helpful staff, but just as many are extremely rude and arrogant.
I’ve had people speak condescendingly about my amp when I’m demoing speakers. Same thing for my speakers. I’ve even had someone, and I kid you not, tell me my streamer has shit sound quality.
It seems like hifi shops are either extremely helpful or just downright awful. The same with manufacturers, they either recognise that there exists alternatives or everything sucks ass compared to their product.
My big takeaway from this is the “go somewhere else” part. It sucks that some places are like this but I think its important to find a good local shop for things like hifi (or most hobbies really). Online shopping is a good backup when local is not an option but I love having a no-pressure spot to test things out and talk about gear and music.
It seems like all hobby stores (woodworking, models, audio, bicycles, guitars in my experience) are often like this. Unfortunately I don’t have any of those within a 3hr drive of me anymore.