I have only been in this new hobby for about 6 months, and only deal with one brew shop, but I have already seen them going down hill in service. I know from talking with the owner that it is not all his fault. The big warehouses are in the US and it is killing him to get supplies up to Canada, I agree with that. But since I started brewing he has moved location, to a new larger store. Great, now he can hide the brewing gear behind even more Dungeons and Dragons stuff. Service was fairly good before, would go out of his way to get what they don't carry, now I have been told twice that they are not special ordering anything. Refuses to carry StarSan because it can be reused, only carries Iodaphore. Sure it still works, but after using StarSan, it is hard to go back. I like the foam. We have Home Brew wine shops popping up on every corner, but the only respectable beer shop is racing down the wrong side of the hill. And looking at all the great shops that I would love to order online from (NB) will not be taking Canadian orders.
Sigh...
Sigh...