Two separate visits (to the Durham branch), two separate conversations: Me: Do you have any raspberry canes, please? Assistant: [Pause] Ermm. No. We do have bamboo canes. _______ Me: Can you tell me where masking tape is please? Assistant: Masking tape? D'you mean duct tape? Me: No. Masking tape. Assistant: Gorilla tape? Me: No. Masking tape. You put it on glass to keep paint off it. Assistant: Dunno.I'll ask [contacts someone on two-way radio] _______ The staff in this branch are, basically, shop assistants who don't know anything about DIY, tools, paint or gardening. They have an unhelpful, casual attitude bordering, in some cases, on rudeness; they make you feel that you're being a pest if you ask a question (to which they're almost certain not to know the answer); there seems to be no proper staff supervision or performance management at all. A disgrace; shameful - don't go there if you can go somewhere else.