My visit to Sam Ash today

Today I went to a local music shop, Guitar Center, and Sam Ash looking for a practice amp. Everything went pretty well at the first two places. The fun begins when I went into Sam Ash. (It helps to imagine 'Dude' as a cross between Sean Penn from Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Keanau Reeves from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.)

I walk around for a few minutes, and then...

Dude: "Hey, is someone helping you?"
Me: "No, I'm just looking around for a bass, practice amp."
Dude: "Jus' let me know if I can help out."
Me: "Ok. Can you tell me if you have any of these?" (I pull out my list.)
Dude: "Yeah, ok.
Me: "Marshall MB30"
Dude: "You mean MG."
Me: "No. MB30."
Dude: "From Marshall?"
Me: "Yes."
Dude: "You want a guitar amp?"
Me: "No. It's a bass amp. A little 30W practice amp."
Dude: "From Marshall?"
Me: "Yes."
(Dude goes over the computer. Punches a few keys.)
Dude: "Oh! The MB30."
Me: *raised eyebrows*
Dude: "Oh yeah. Those are new; that's why I didn't know what you were talking about."
Me: "Ok."
Dude: "We don't have any."
Me: "How about Ashdown? Do you carry them?"
Dude: "No."
Me: "Hiwatt?"
Dude: "Nope."
Me: "Kustom?"
Dude: "We can order it. We've got a used one if you want to see it."
Me: "Ok, sure."
(We walk over to some used gear.)
Dude: "It's right here, see? It has 800 watts, I think."
(He shows me a Kustom head unit.)
Me: "I'm just looking for a practice amp."
Dude: "Yeah, I guess that would be too much."
Me: {To myself: "Duh! Also completely wrong else-wise."}
Dude: "Can I help you with anything else?"
Me: "No."
Dude: "Oh hey, these are good." (Points to small Hartke combo.)
Me: "Do you have a cable?"
Dude: "No, they don't come with a cable."
Me: "No. Do you have a cable so I can plug in and listen to it?"
Dude: "Oh, yeah... here."

(While I'm checking out the amp, Dude goes to take phone call. I hang up the bass and leave.)

Fun stuff.

Well trained staff at Sam Ash.

With service like that and a mediocre selection, I tend to think of them as the K-Mart of music stores. Maybe its different in other locations but I doubt that I'll have a reason to go back there.

Just thought I'd share the experience. (Did you actually read this all the way down to here?)