I have a love-hate relationship with my poles. I don't like using them, but the benefits outweigh the inconvenience. I don't think the idea is to "propel," but rather to take some weight off the feet, knees, and legs. I find it most comfortable to use them at half the speed of my legs, that is, one left-right cycle of arms for every two leg-cycles. It's less awkward than it sounds. In fact, I just sort of naturally fell into it. On steep uphills, it's one-to-one, and on steep, rough descents it's a bit haphazard, as there's really no regular stride then anyway.

The wrist straps are absolutely essential. For years I carried, off and on, a Fletcher-esque bamboo staff which was basically useless except for crossing streams. The wrist straps on poles allow you to apply some downward pressure (taking pressure off your feet) without tightly gripping the pole.

When I bought mine, a fairly knowledgeable REI employee showed me how to use the wrist straps. He's been working there many years, though. It's probably not realistic to expect all the employees (in any store) to be knowledgeable about the products.