Who has dealings With Sports Chalet and what is your experience. I will start they are the shop that I went to for My AOW and it was a bad experience I know its not the shop its the instructor but still they do the Hiring. We never even got out of the water between dives.
Sports Chalet
- Thread starter Charles R
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AbyssalPlains
Contributor
Sports Chalet?
We don't have them here in the Midwest so I can't vote.
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No s. They're expanding in Arizona so you guys are probably next.pteranodon:
www.sportchalet.com
I vote for would never take a class from them but might buy something there. Although I'm underimpressed with the inventory at the new Metrocenter store.
Like anything, it depends upoin what you expect and which store you go to.
Sport Chalet is a very successful sporting goods store chain in the southwest (the REAL southwest - California, Arizona, Nevada - not those semi-Atlantic fakers such as Texas!
). Sport Chalet has been around for over thirty years.
When you run an operation that big for that long, you need to have procedures and systems in place. You cannot deviate from those procedures or systems without serious repercussions in other places. Under certain circumstances, that rigidity can be perceived as inability to provide service. The trade off is that the buying power that Sport Chalet wields means significant savings for their customers.
Because they are a large chain, they tend to hire younger employees who are willing to work for the hourly wages that Sport Chalet must charge to keep their cost down. As a consequence, some of the employees do not have the life experience or diving experience that more "seasoned" divers and customers look for in their LDS run by divers who have been sucking compressed air since Moses parted the Red Sea.
My experience with the stores in Temecula and San Marcos has been very positive. When Laura and I first started diving, the level of service we got from the Temecula store was great. In fact, it far exceeded that of another store in town that is hooked into another agency.
No operation is without errors or mistakes, even my own private practice as a land surveyor. In my opinion, the difference between an operation that will retain me as a customer and one that sends me down the road is how they deal with the situation when there is a problem. Sport Chalet has stepped up to the plate and hit homeruns with me each time I've had a problem. Other shops have not.
Do we go to SC for everything? No. They don't carry some of the things I/we need/want. Do we still get great service? Yes; I wouldn't go back if I didn't. I wanted to be treated the way I try to treat my clients. I want to be handled with respect, honor and honesty. When I have a problem, I want attention and service and I want it NOW!
BTW - we just got back from SC/Temecula. We got our tanks filled for a pair of night dives we're just about to head out to La Jolla Shores for.
Time to pack the Sequoia to go get wet with my wife!
See y'all later!
Ian
Sport Chalet is a very successful sporting goods store chain in the southwest (the REAL southwest - California, Arizona, Nevada - not those semi-Atlantic fakers such as Texas!
). Sport Chalet has been around for over thirty years.When you run an operation that big for that long, you need to have procedures and systems in place. You cannot deviate from those procedures or systems without serious repercussions in other places. Under certain circumstances, that rigidity can be perceived as inability to provide service. The trade off is that the buying power that Sport Chalet wields means significant savings for their customers.
Because they are a large chain, they tend to hire younger employees who are willing to work for the hourly wages that Sport Chalet must charge to keep their cost down. As a consequence, some of the employees do not have the life experience or diving experience that more "seasoned" divers and customers look for in their LDS run by divers who have been sucking compressed air since Moses parted the Red Sea.
My experience with the stores in Temecula and San Marcos has been very positive. When Laura and I first started diving, the level of service we got from the Temecula store was great. In fact, it far exceeded that of another store in town that is hooked into another agency.
No operation is without errors or mistakes, even my own private practice as a land surveyor. In my opinion, the difference between an operation that will retain me as a customer and one that sends me down the road is how they deal with the situation when there is a problem. Sport Chalet has stepped up to the plate and hit homeruns with me each time I've had a problem. Other shops have not.
Do we go to SC for everything? No. They don't carry some of the things I/we need/want. Do we still get great service? Yes; I wouldn't go back if I didn't. I wanted to be treated the way I try to treat my clients. I want to be handled with respect, honor and honesty. When I have a problem, I want attention and service and I want it NOW!
BTW - we just got back from SC/Temecula. We got our tanks filled for a pair of night dives we're just about to head out to La Jolla Shores for.
Time to pack the Sequoia to go get wet with my wife!
See y'all later!
Ian
Bubbletrubble
Contributor
I agree with Ian. The Scuba section of Sports Chalet here in La Jolla is well run and offers good prices. It really is hit-or-miss in terms of getting a helpful sales associate, though. (Apologies to any employees on this Board...it's not personal!) I visit often enough so that I know the experienced/helpful employees by name. If there's a new face behind the counter and I want to get some info to make a purchase, I ask a few questions, gauge how experienced the employee is, and then ask when the experienced employees are working. They seem to have the best prices on regulators, tanks, and wetsuits. They also have the cheapest drysuit zipper wax in town. FWIW, they are an authorized dealer for Aqualung gear.
CApenguin88
Registered
Sport Chalet is a good shop but for diving instruction i would go somewhere else because its price is a little pricy but my instructor when i did my ow and AOW he was really good..i usually go to sport chalet for anything else though (except for lacrosse)
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