"I think the LBS is a reflection of the service industry in general. I'm not sure I understand why, but there seems to be less 'serving' in service these days"
I think you hit the nail on the head there. I'm sure there are a lot of reasons for this phenomena and if we want to place blame I'm not sure where to put it. The terms "consumerism" and "Wal-Mart", would probably come into play somewhere.
My favorite response from uninformed sales staff in any retail store are that the such and such, "are not made anymore" or "don't exist".
However, I don't think it's right to blame the LBS's. In my profession I know that it's true that you just can't hire good help. When I go to a new LBS or any store for that matter, I make it a mission to find the ONE person there that can relate to my question. Sometimes you just have to know who to talk to.