Your not the only one who has noticed the change in Jaycar. Getting very hard to find an assistant who has any clue about the stuff they are selling.
The Dick Smith one in Geraldton was started and run by an amateur electronics enthusiast for a few years, and quite successfully I believe. Next time I went in, he's gone, to be replaced by 3 "shirts" who hadn't a clue. Seems to be the way of the world.
Bill