On customer service; I remember when a trip to the tool section at Sears was like stepping into heaven, the older guys that worked the department knew their stuff and where to find everything.
Fast forward 20 years and the slick faced 20 somethings that worked the department didn't know a phillips head screwdriver from a torx head. They would cluster around the register flirting with the cute 20 something gals working there and completely ignore customers. They literally didn't know where anything was, nothing, and would lead you on a wild goose chase up and down the isles looking until they gave up and you were on your own.
During this time Sears outsourced their tool production from the US to China and that was that as far a quality went. I was once proud to own "Craftsman" tools, now the brand didn't mean a thing.
Fortunately all my older tools are from the pre China days and are still something special to me.