Where I live there rely are no LDS.
The closest shop is about 70km away, have open 2-3 hours every week, no classes only equipment. I sometimes drop in when i have time over and is close, the owner is great, give me a cup of coffee and talk away an hour, when I (as a new diver without any experience of cold water diving) asked about buying a dry suite he recommended me to try to find a good used one and try before i put 1000€ + in a suite, we had discussions about pros and cons with different regulator models he don't sell, and he lent me some of his personal stuff to try out before deciding to buy. He is also rely understanding that i going to buy some stuff from him, where his price is not much higher than i can get online, but that stuff where his price is to high i going to get from other sources.
The next shop is 130km away, I only visited a couple of times and took nitrox class there, they have good stock but prices on equipment are through the roof. They have both equipment and training.
The shops i have most experience of is in SEA and most of them are good but focused on recreational vacation diving. I feel that in most places i been there are a difference between dive centers and equipment stores. Most of the dive centers i dove with do not sell equipment.
Gear shops: Most of the staff have no experience or knowledge about other stuff than what they stock, but can be good to help to find the right mask or other more basic stuff, I think their customers mostly are DMT's and instructors, while the average divers just buy mask and fins. When i needed to change the spool-orings on my backup computer in one shop they was questioning my regulator setup (for being weird, old stuff), and in the shop on the other side of the street they not only had knowledge about my weird old regulators, they appreciate them but said that most people around don't understand why they should buy anything more expensive than Aqualung Calypso. (I use old Poseidon Jetstream 2nds and an Aqualung Cousteau SAE yoke 1st for travel.)
Dive centers: Those I have experience of have been great, just focus on making me having a good time, even if i find that some try to sell an extra cert for making a buck I feel that most of all they like me to have a nice time and do more diving, I took most of my certs with the same dive center, but I felt that they are happy with the certs i got in other places.
I have recently become a DM in one of the dive centers, and i have been working a little as DM there, i feel in that they focus on diving and don't do much sales, even if they follow customers to the equipment store and get a kickback on the sales, customers mostly buy mask and fins.
So, to the question, have I outgrown my shops? Both yes and no. Most dive shops have no idea of the equipment I use, but some are interested and others just like me to buy some new and shiny.