When I enter a bird shop, I assess the general physical aspects of the shop. Then I carefully observe the way shop personnel relate to both their parrots and customers. Most of my favorite stores have many dedicated customers who come in just to visit or even to help socialize the birds from time to time. People love to visit because they want to be around others who care deeply about parrots - they enjoy the networking possibilities of a good shop. I have been in several stores where customers have enthusiastically helped novices make toy selections.
Employees strive to make sure every bird has a proper situation.
I have also been in shops where bird knowledgeable customers feel as if they continually need to address their concerns about inadequate care and housing for the birds. It can be very frustrating to be in a bird shop where the people who care for the birds are ignorant about their proper care. It is even worse when they don't care. The physical environment of a good bird store is clean and positive with good lighting and comfortable temperature and humidity. Dark, dirty, depressing, dingy pet shops should be a thing of the past.