I always ask if someone has tried it, or if they have a favorite, before purchasing, weird service at the spot you went to
Fact of the matter is not everyone is going to have the same tolerance as the next. So if I tell you this will knock you off your ass, does that really mean anything to you? Never has to me. Everyone is different. Same thing with how weed will make you feel, it' going to vary.
Might have something to do with the owner of that particular shop not wanting a stoned employee handling the money.
We need to vet the ownership of dispensaries. Why give them our money. if they are Anti-PotHead. If they have a problem with a stoned employee; that is enough reason to not shop there. It is for me and most PotHeads.
You get accustomed to a strain. It will knock others on their ass but not me. Switching is what makes the difference. And there is plenty of variety. Weed definitely has more effect on newbies and the young. Taste, smell and smoothness are other qualities. That info is important to me. Most pot now is too high of potency for newbies. Dispensary staff should LOVE pot. Period.
Bud tenders are really just cashiers, that is all I expect out of them. Even those who smoke aren't usually going to tell you that their boss is making them push garbage.
My dispensary is great, but that is irrelevant. The point is that you aren't really any more likely to get solid advice from a smoker than you are a non smoker. Even dispensaries that sell good product will have tenders push certain strains, and they typically do so based on what they need to get rid of as opposed to quality.
Being totally stupid about the product is a different thing. People that don't do pot know nothing. To say otherwise is ludicrous...
Knowledge is knowledge no matter how it is gained, but it still remains that bud tender is just a fancy word for a cashier. Any smoker shouldn't looking to the bud tender for info anyway. In the case of the OP, had the tender been a smoker, the outcome would have been the same so qualifications are irrelevant.