I actually worked in Paper and Chemicals, so sold toilet paper and toilet bowl cleaner. especially some weekends for lunch breaks etc I could have up to 7 depts, and the customer service desk loved to see me as I knew most of the one side of the store so they would ask me to help them for price checks and other things, and they knew that I would do it with a smile on my face, I was even only part time but did everything under the sun. I even did over nights to do some of the dept managers job, as well as did over time to unload trucks when they were short staffed and down to 2 unloaders for the night.
Sure there is a quality difference but not everyone can also afford the prices of the small stored, i wold be able to do maybe two quilts a year if that if I had to shop there, so I have to make a choice, and mine are all utility and to be used, I don't plan on showing any of my work or sell much of anything, some of the problem is that it is a must have and walmart with the cheaper prices give them the opportunity of having more,
the small stores have to be twice as smart to survive (and yes even then it is hard for some of them to survive) and even then there are other posts that complain of just as bad service,