Yeah, nobody wants attitude from a brew shop. Despite the lack of competition here in Finland, the guy at my LHBS is amazingly knowledgeable, helpful and doesn't try to push extra stuff on me just for the hell of it. I tell him, for example, which style of beer I want to make, how I want it to taste, what ABV I want, etc. He will tell me what I need to buy to make it the way he would do it, but doesn't care at all if I change his recommendations for something cheaper or just different. I like him.
But every shop you buy it from does.
I wonder about this too. Let's hope they have a better system figured out for their bulk ordering, and not just an ice pack or two thrown in.