The service ain't what it used to be.

They have always seemed to set the bar very high in terms of their staff, with a stress on knowing the music inside out. They've always heard of what you're after, and if they haven't got it they usually can tell you straight away if they can get it. In fact I would go as far to say they could figure out what you're going to ask for just by looking at your face and your footwear.

A couple of months ago I was there when an assistant politely (ish) turned away a speculative job applicant who lacked shop experience but said he was a DJ. "Everyone's a DJ" she replied. Brilliant, I thought. Funny - satirical, even. But most of all it was clear: there are standards here.

But the last couple of times I've been in I've been served by kids who don't know their way around the stacks, much less the very core audiences Rough Trade caters for (and Lord knows, my taste isn't much beyond Neapolitan). What's more, I have noticed that the long line of grumpy nearing-middle-age assistants with hairline and hygiene issues has all but disappeared.

Is Rough Trade following Jamie Oliver's lead and recruiting local miscreants to save them from the streets? Will it all be over when the spotty urchins go back to their BA Skateboard degrees? Am I just being a miserable scrote?