Ping,
I do Secret Stupid Shopper tests all the timeand ask a lot of stupid questions.
At least in Asia, the knowledge-base of boutique staff has improved. Not 100% yet but better than 2 years ago. I've done a few Singapore and Malaysia boutiques; it really depends on who is on duty as they usually have one or two 'watch specialists' per outlet. The other staff need to be brought up to speed but the general watch knowledge is now acceptable. Knowledge-base depends on staff turnover and training cycle.
Hong Kong boutiques have always been good since it is a horology shopping hub (like Singapore). The knowledge-base depends on turnover of staff.
Tokyo boutique people have improved and Bulgari took back some boutique management. They still need to be told by top management that official PuristS moderators are not going to rob them or break their products!
Las Vegas boutique people were enthusiastic to learn about the more geeky watch stuff as we discovered during our IGOTT-2 celebrations in May 2011. But they lost some staff since to the other luxury brands that started in Las Vegas. :-(
Non-Bulgari outlets are a mixed bag. Although salespeople may be 'watch specialist's', they may not be Bulgari specialists. Some are interested in Bulgari products and some are not. It depends on which brand gives them the best 'returns' or incentives. Bulgari does not play that game........
I think the new Bulgari product range in all 3 Collections (Bulgari, GG and DR) is more design cohesive, themed, cleaner and improved quality. T.he new Bulgari base movement opens possibilities. Some of the 'best' GG / DR watches still use base movements from other suppliers for now (Girard-Perregaux, ETA etc). Always have though and we can see the problems when there is no access to the older Zenith Primeros.
Regards,
MTF