Rate the average help you get at big box retail store that sell electronics on a scale of 1-10. It can be based on anything from availability to product knowledge. Just your general impression of the of their sales associates. If one stands out from the others please list the reason. Personally I don't shop at any of them because I think their prices are high and their help is more of an obstacle than anything.
It's hard for me to provide much input on personal help because I do my research and then go look at prices so once I go to a store I'm usually looking to buy what I want. Not ask some misinformed guy what he thinks (which is probably wrong).
Wal-Mart: My few experiences here (largely observational) show they largely lack any knowledge about what they're selling but they also aren't going to try as hard to sell you extra crap like overpriced monster cables.
Best Buy: More knowledgeable sales people generally, every now and then you run in to someone who really knows his or her stuff or knows when you know more and won't pester you. Otherwise you run a great risk of getting an employee that tries to sell you warranties on things that don't need them (in some rare cases it can be worth it), explains products based on things that might sound vaguely based on fact or spec sheets but aren't correct, or tries to sell you on all kinds of overpriced accessories. Want to get some wires or a Harmony remote? Look elsewhere for much better prices.
Magnolia: Don't have any
Costco: They have sales people? Don't get me wrong, I love love love Costco but I've never really had the sense that they really had sales people in the electronics section meant to help you make decisions. The employees wandering the floors there restock stuff and can help point you in the right direction to find something but that's it, and that's all I expect of them.
Fry's: Don't have any of these either.
Target: Nicer looking, nicer feeling and you don't come out feeling as violated as Wal-Mart. It's like the civilized person's Wal-Mart. Same as Wal-Mart I don't see them trying to push as much bad advice or as many overpriced accessories on you. I think the main reason might be partially due to the fact that unlike Best Buy they don't think they really know that much about the topic. Doesn't mean there aren't exceptions.
Sears: I've seen people get modest help at these stores. Usually the sales people don't seem to act like they know things they don't (like Best Buy) so it feels a bit more honest. You're probably less likely to get directed all over the place to horrendously overpriced accessories but otherwise not that helpful.
Sam's Club Same as Costco really, maybe they have a sales person that knows something but I don't really think of them as sales people nor do I figure that's what they're there for.
Kmart Same as Wal-Mart and Costco... ranging from worse than to better than Wal-Mart in the grunge factor depending on where you are.
BJ's Same as Costco and Sams. I don't even know where you go to find a sales person to help you in these places.
Costco, Sam's, BJ's and the likes are what I would consider a self help/self serve store. You don't go there for help, you go there to grab what you want and leave. If you can't find it there all you would bother to ask a sales person is "where might I find x?"
Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart are a mild step up from those in the customer help departments. They might have someone with a modicum of understanding about the topic but I really wouldn't count on it. At least in these stores they have sales people who are just that in some of these departments, rather than just someone who stocks shelves or gives directions.
Best Buy can be dangerous in that many employees seem to think they know more than they do. This can happen at any store but it seems more common at stores like Best Buy.
I agree with Pyrrho though, there's no replacement for self education. The internet makes that easier than ever before, it just takes time and some initiative and the ability to sift through the noise.
Most of the locations of these stores I've been to have been pretty consistent in these regards. How an individual store performs will still depend on the specific sales people they have and I have met very knowledgeable people in Circuit City or Best Buy stores.
