I'm sure all of you have read by now that in a move to improve its financial performance, Circuit City canned 3,400 sales assistants and will be replacing them with lower paid employees. If you haven't, check out Mark Fleischmann's take here.

Although it's been said that the laid off workers can reapply for their jobs at reduced pay (I'm sure they appreciate that!), it's hard to imagine that this means that CC's going to be getting a higher grade of employee for less money. What does this mean to me? Job security of course!

Sure, the next time I need a digital camera or a printer it will suck dealing with someone even less knowledgeable than the guy who was there last week, but on the other hand, if you can't hope to learn anything from the sales people in the store, you're going to have to read more reviews and read them a lot more carefully. They're not giving you a choice.

This trend dovetails with what a former colleague once called the "Costco-ization" of the CE industry. The bulk of electronics are now being moved by stores that aren't even trying to offer knowledge or any semblance of customer service. They move boxes, and lots of 'em. Your only choice will be to read as many reviews as you can, and go grab your boxes and hope for the best.

I hope like Mark that at some point, as these electronics get complicated enough that more sophisticated buyers go back to specialty retailers. But in the meantime, we'll keep our UAV shingle up here on the Web so people know where to find the best review of that new plasma, that new Blu-ray player, and all those other boxes...