Reply #10: Most of those guys are out of work contractors, builders and etc.

[TalkingDog]

This is a pattern I've often seen, since my husband has always worked in the building trades (arch. designer) and he knows many of these folks.

The economy is in the crapper and they have to work at a "sales job" to make ends meet or to keep their houses out of hock. #1 It pisses them off (even tho they indirectly brought it on themselves) and #2 The trades are incredibly male dominated. I worked in the same office as the spouse for a couple of years and you would be surprised (or perhaps not) at how invisible I was. Now I've got a Masters Degree and am no slouch when it comes to computers (I'm the offical Geek in the family). But my input was basically ignored by all but my hubby (who knows a good thing when he sees it)

The smart men quickly figured out that I was a valuable asset, the dumb ones just continued to butt heads with me.

Home Depot snaps these guys up because #1 The men are desperate and won't ask for huge amounts of money at a sales job. #2 They are more knowledgable than the average high school student about the trades and can actually help people out with experience and creative problem solving. So they are a good asset in terms of (some) customer satisfaction.

I've run into your problem at computer stores, I've installed boards and modems and so on on our computer, but inevitably when I look for a sales associate, they head straight for my husband. He wisely points at me and informs them that I'm the smart one. I glare at them for a second and then explain what I'm doing. The are always surprised when I know what they are talking about or if I don't I admit it and ask intelligent questions.

Just be firm and direct. They lack the social skills to understand nuance.

Good luck