I'm another plasma convert after owning a couple of LCDs, and my family have now converted too.
Plasma isn't perfect, there are legitimate reasons for wanting an LCD, but for movie/general use at a non excessive budget...9/10 a plasma tends to be better.
Always worth reviewing the options at the time though because it's all about whats out at the time and equivalent pricing. My mate has an 'LED' LCD, and he still appreciates my Plasma, which is a now-ageing 42PZ80.
I also used to work at PCW, and will agree with those who've said the range of knowledge between colleagues massively varies. Some have an interest in the stock, some don't. The trick is finding the ones who care/know thier stuff, and that can be a challenge, especially with floor managers often despatching staff to various areas of the store for coverage, rather than to areas where they have stronger knowledge bases or interest. (and some have none whatsoever haha)
milkinc13 said:
went into hedgend 2in1 megastore owned by DSG and asked 3 collegues if a pionner amp they had did HD audio and none of them could answer, 1 told me it didn't do standard DTS when it was clearly marked on the amp!
That is quite sad, but unfortunately again comes back to the point above. Training IS slowly getting better in DSG (my brother continued to work their after I left), however some staff have a vast amount more product knowledge, or even focus on customer service than others.
The other unfortunate truth is that HiFi/AV is not a focus of DSG as a brand, thus even if they bring in experienced staff from other stores, it doesn't guarantee they will know a huge amount about that particular stock, as it's not what they're used to covering, effectively those megastores have to cover a wider 'curriculum' than the normal PCW/Currys, and the training is never exceptionally in detail, often beyond what is needed to sell it.
I've had rather poor experiences similar to those you mention even with CSA in places like Richer Sounds, who focus on AV tech, so it's not solely limited to DSG (for example in regards to HD Audio/HDMI).
The sad truth of the matter is that in general, DSG staff are not paid that well, nor are they on commission, which isn't exactly a great combination, not to mention are surrounded by management and management policy that wants them to sell addons at all cost. The people who care, or really known thier stuff will often move on in due time to other roles/jobs, or sometimes simply due to being frustrated 'by the system', and as the wage grades go up, so does the expectations for you to hit targets and sales figures, so in essense the ones paid more are not necessarily those who know more about the kit, but those who sell more in line with targets in terms of addons/margin etc.
(I did look online but Comet were actually cheaper!). Git still tried to flog me Monster SCART & Coax & HDMI cables though 
