Learning how to sell retail

Thanks, David and Hoke. This is exactly what I'm looking for.

Yep. No one wants to pick up the last bottle in the tray, David..

Depends on the bottle.

I am always happy to grab the last bottle of something I want.

Jon, as to your avowed interest in joining the particular store you mentioned, as Oliver said, there's danger there. If you have the attitude you seem to have (although I doubt you really do; I put it up to a brief comment and I’m sure there’s more to it), you won't be very popular with the rest of the crew, that's for sure. And you might be surprised how the owner might react, as you're looking to change the relationship of customer to one of a guy trying to tell him how to run his business while expecting to be paid for doing what you want to do selectively.

Thanks, Hoke. I do not want to rock any boats, that's for sure. I'm re-thinking as I write.

Great dissertation, Hoke. I like the part about standing in the back of the store and observing how customers are greeted and/or helped.
In the library profession we have to have a sense of when to leave the customer alone to browse and when to go up to them and say something like "Do you need any help?" or my usual line "Are you finding what you need?"
One mild complaint I have about Macarthur's Beverages (Bassin's) in DC is that although they have a pretty good selection of wines and boast about their regional experts on the sales staff on the website, when I go in and want to ask about Burgundies, for example, no expert seems to be available or proactive in approaching me. I sometimes see them helping another customer but is it because I'm female or that they don't see me as a volume purchaser (I don't buy wines by the case) that I'm ignored until I get to the cash register? Usually when I see a salesperson there helping a customer it is man to man.