Are you SURE this is not a dealer? They are usually about this bad.

But seriously, there are times I think we are at a crisis point in this country/culture; we are surrounded by complex equipment and systems, yet it seems NO ONE is learning anything about troubleshooting. I've seen this with a lot of heating/air guys.

It's worse with electronics, NO ONE is teaching or learning electronics anymore. The school I went to has dropped it's electronics program (and it was an awesome program with good texts and very good labs) due to lack of attendance. Guys in my line of work (I left a corporate engineer position last year for a technician job at a radio dealer) can work as long as we want to, as there isn't anyone young entering the field. Even in the recessions of the last forty years, jobs in my field go unfilled.