Wow that sounds very different to my experience back then. Nerdy kid trying to get time on a computer in a shop in Canberra - generally the sales dudes would chase you out of the shop. The "Computerland" store in Philip was the worst offender for that. The Microbee people were slightly better so I am pretty sure that's how we ended up with one (plus the Apple and Atari machines were insanely expensive back then, and the Commodores seemed like toys).