I know this is pretty late, but the employee's answer was definitely the wrong answer. Most companies have these rules in place so that employees do not come back and request pay for break time that was "lost." However, as a former retail employee, I would have gladly helped if I could. Simply put, it's the right thing to do. If I was just another customer, I would definitely listen to another customer who is attempting to interact with me, so why not be as equally courteous when I am the representative of the store? In fact, it would behoove these companies to not dictate employee activities during their breaks because it will, in the end, paint a negative image of the company based on their own employee interactions. TL;DR Your first reaction was the correct reaction.