I worked at the petsmart in shawnee mission,KS when I was younger. Its true, they don't like it when you try to educate people, instead of selling what is in the store.
Its also true that people don't do the research either. Then there was a woman who wanted to buy a russian tortoise for her boys one day....we told her it would need a 40gallon terrarium but she decided to go with a ten gallon. Because it would look better in her living room.......And the people who returned the mice that they bought as pets for their kids because they smelled. And the people who dropped off guinea pigs in front of the store for god knows why, and people who ditched tree frogs in solo cups behind merchandise.
Or the people that insist upon feeding sickly cheap goldfish to their oscars without realizing the consequences even when they are educated upon the "why nots"
Those are the same people that come in down the road wondering why said pet didn't make it.
In short these places aren't that great. But, at least there are a few knowledgeable employees that can try to educate some of the customers. People would rather speak to a human being who knows or think they know how to care for their new pet, rather than do the actual research themselves.