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I have been to Wallins on several occaisions and had mixed experiences. I have never had a bad experience with any classroom or scuba instructor at Wallins. To the contrary, every classroom experience I have had there was very professional and enjoyable. That said, every single sales interaction i've had with this shop was utterly unpleasant. The salespeople were too full of themselves and concerned with store policies to actually be effective at sales. You all know who I'm talking about. I found myself not wanting to purchase any gear here. The only reason I continued to purchase equipment from them was that the shop was well stocked and had relatively competitive prices. Things would have probably went much better if the salespeople were more friendly and the shop had more customer-friendly policies. I suppose all of this business will now spill over to the smaller shops which, in my opinion, are a bit more deserving.
I don't recall making any major purchases there, just the incidentals, but I did window-shop on occasion, had a reg serviced once, and a few air fills, and was a customer going back to the location on the other side of US101. They also ordered some esoteric parts for a DIY reg repair, comp'd me a used repair part when it was just the thing, and were usually willing to scrounge around when I asked for some absurd odd or end. I can't say my experiences were at all like yours, but it could have just been the particular staff, or a difference in reaction to sales-style or etiquette. I have to say I can't recall anyone there I didn't like dealing with, but I was just an occasional customer over the years.
I am sorry to see them close shop, but at least Anderson's in Pacifica is not much farther for me. There's also Scuba-whatever it's now called, in Burlingame, though that's a pretty small operation.
I really hope I'll get my regulators, which I handed in for overhaul two weeks ago, back before they close!
They didn't reply to my email but they picked up the phone. They are still waiting for parts, but they will remain open even after Saturday, especially to get gears handed in for service done.
Headed up this morning. Spotted a warning sign flashing "Accident 101N at Whipple all lanes closed", exited at Woodside & cut over to El Camino, whew!
Quite a line when I arrived, about as long behind me when the doors opened.
A lot of good deals, I'm sure, but I couldn't find any gloves my size, couldn't get near the computers, & couldn't reach my friend in time to buy him any tanks. Gloves are all I really need so I left.
A sad day. I've been a Wallins customer since '87.
^^^ This. There's a lot more that I could say, but I'd much rather just remind everybody to come to the sale tomorrow and get some good deals.
Maybe once everything is all wrapped up and the shop is truly no more I'll start saying some of that other stuff. There were some things brewing instruction-wise at Wallin's - some really good and some not so good - and a discussion of that in the context of other bay area shops and what new Norcal divers want/need might be really interesting.
ok, sale's over... store's done. what was the deal?
They didn't reply to my email but they picked up the phone. They are still waiting for parts, but they will remain open even after Saturday, especially to get gears handed in for service done.
Regulators picked up. I was told I was the last customer with equipment for service. Last parts of the store were packed together...
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Originally Posted by vvortex3
