I worked for Texas in their early years, Homecharm/Texas Decor/Texas Homecare, in those days customer service was king! Knowledge of the product was everything along with add on sales, but over the years these DIY stores have lived up to their name, if you want to know anything you, the customer, has to read the detail on the product and work it out for yourself! Yes there are indeed some good folk within the stores that have product & practical knowledge but are few and far between. The other big issue is that every generation that leaves school and starts their house ownership journey have very little practical skills & understanding. perhaps those that are left in the industry could undertake visiting schools or vice versa and teaching these young folk how to paint, how to put up wallpaper, how to hold & use a power screwdriver etc etc. I was taught by my peers while at work, at 17 I could paint and wallpaper, I understood the basics and even today I use what I was taught and have learned since to complete a job to a high standard. More recently I have taught 16 year olds how to hold a pair of secateurs and how & why to prune roses, it's not difficult to teach young people life skills, it is in fact very rewarding for both parties but alas it seems to be missing in today's world?

What an insightful read that was. We supplied Homebase with plants in the early days, always sad to see a famous brand disappear.