I think it was about ten years ago that I was in a Home Depot in or around East Rutherford looking for some bungee cords to finish a project I was working on with my daughter, who lived nearby at the time. I couldn't find the damned bungees to save my life. Fortunately there happened to be a sales clerk standing nearby. When I asked him where the bungees were he grunted, gave me an incredulous look as if to say he thought I was the dumbest hick who had ever walked the earth, then, without moving a finger, jerked his head in the direction where they were located, which turned out to be right beside where I was standing.
Being from Delaware, of course, I found this somewhat off-putting. Delaware natives aren't the friendliest sort, but you'd never expect that sort of behavior from a store employee. They're either friendly, or they make a show of it.
You were lucky; multiple times I’ve been sent to the wrong side of the store completely (where I’d eventually find an older employee who would send me in the right direction).
Working in retail is hard here; customers are often rude jackasses. My wife watched a ghettopotamus berate a cashier in Wal-Mart for something that was in no way the cashier’s fault, and felt that had to be the lowest thing someone could do. It is hard enough being on your feet all day in a high-volume store; having some beast spending taxpayer money while abusing you must be very testing...