sport chalet

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So ask to interview the instructor before the class begins.
Ask the store policies on what is or is not included and what you must also provide.
Use the sticky on how to find a good scuba instruction.
Put the time into doing your homework and be prepared for classes, quizzes and the final.

I know instructors that I respect...and there are "other" instructors. The "other" instructors have a tendency to move from place to place and can, for a time, show up anywhere.
 
@BarrelRoll: Perhaps you have more experience than I do in sizing up the "quality" of scuba instructors. My interactions with the staff at my local Sport Chalet have always been very positive. I know great instructors who are affiliated with different dive shops in my local area. A few happen to work for Sport Chalet.

Sure, Sport Chalet sells lots of different sports equipment besides scuba gear. IMO, that has very little to do with the quality of instruction.

Am I missing something here? What evidence do you have to back up your generalizations?

I don't know why you're getting so defensive about it... I've, personally never heard of an LDS or independent instructor flaking on a class then charging them to reschedule. I'm simply saying that the odds of being processed through a cookie-cutter system with little regard for quality education is likely proportional to the size of the establishment and inversely proportional to the focus of the business. I mean, the same 20 year old who sizes shoes could feasibly give advice on regulators on his way to organize the case of sun glasses.

Is that definitive? No, but it's far more likely to happen at a place like Sports Chalet than an LDS. If it's a referral to an instructor who happens to work at the place, that's one thing, but just to walk in and grab an OW book of the shelf and sign up for a class seems like a crap shoot, and a new diver likely wouldn't know what to ask a potential instructor.

You live in La Jolla, would you recommend someone go to Sports Chalet over a local dive shop like OEX? (If that's a bad example I apologize, I only dove with Paris once, he seemed an alright guy)

There might be some great instructors at Sports Chalet, but for a new diver who has no way to gauge their quality why wouldn't you suggest they get a local referral rather than a walk-in and hope for the best?
 
There are good and bad instructors everywhere. Take dumb luck out of the equation. Ask around to find a good instructor. At the very least, interview potential instructors. There's a wonderful sticky here on SB about how to find a good scuba class.

I know a few employees at my local Sport Chalet who are great divers and conscientious instructors. I don't know what the instructional staff is like at your Sport Chalet.

Wait -- that's exactly what you suggested.
 
I don't know why you're getting so defensive about it... I've, personally never heard of an LDS or independent instructor flaking on a class then charging them to reschedule. I'm simply saying that the odds of being processed through a cookie-cutter system with little regard for quality education is likely proportional to the size of the establishment and inversely proportional to the focus of the business. I mean, the same 20 year old who sizes shoes could feasibly give advice on regulators on his way to organize the case of sun glasses.
@BarrelRoll: If I came off sounding defensive, that wasn't my intention. It just seems to me that you are making baseless generalizations about the Sport Chalet scuba dept. I have no idea what the special circumstances were for Grover48. What happened to him does sound unfortunate. Something that I don't quite understand is that his payment for the class was refunded...yet he wanted to be compensated for "time and trouble." Not sure what he was looking for. A discount on gear or subsequent classes, perhaps? If the classroom and confined water portions of the class had been completed, then maybe he could have received a "referral" so that the OW class could have been completed elsewhere.

I would say that, on the whole, the employees in the scuba dept. at my local SC are just as knowledgeable about dive gear as the ones that work at a scuba-specific shop.
Is that definitive? No, but it's far more likely to happen at a place like Sports Chalet than an LDS. If it's a referral to an instructor who happens to work at the place, that's one thing, but just to walk in and grab an OW book of the shelf and sign up for a class seems like a crap shoot, and a new diver likely wouldn't know what to ask a potential instructor.
I would never recommend that a potential student walk into any scuba shop and sign up for a class without first interviewing the instructor (or getting a referral). Please read my posts in this thread.
You live in La Jolla, would you recommend someone go to Sports Chalet over a local dive shop like OEX? (If that's a bad example I apologize, I only dove with Paris once, he seemed an alright guy)
Yes, I'd recommend that someone go to my local SC versus OEX. OEX isn't run very professionally. OEX...good grief! There are times during the summer when I think that it's a kayak shop with a diving problem. The last few times I dropped off my tanks to get filled there, the tanks weren't filled for one reason or another. I've heard every excuse in the book: "Our banks weren't charged, so we couldn't fill your HP tank," "We couldn't find the DIN adapter," and "Your VIP expired" (even though it hadn't). I rarely get a good HP fill there. It's the one scuba shop in my area that I have to actually watch the employee connect the tank to the whip before I leave the shop -- they've forgotten so many times to fill my tank. It's a shame because the shop is the most convenient location to get air fills for a La Jolla Shores diver. To be fair, I'm not familiar with any of the OEX scuba instructors, per se. One or more might be OK.
There might be some great instructors at Sports Chalet, but for a new diver who has no way to gauge their quality why wouldn't you suggest they get a local referral rather than a walk-in and hope for the best?
Once again, I am an advocate of checking out the instructor before signing up for the class. I also don't know what the scuba shop landscape is like for the OP in his local area. For all I know, there might be very few shops to choose from.
 
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Don't just interview the instructor. Ask to compare their program with others. Ask about the differences between agencies. If the instructor or shop runs a good program they will be happy to let someone compare programs and then tell them why theirs is or is not the one for the student. I have standards for 4 agencies on hand and will happily give website and other references for the ones I don't have that may be available in the area. Some programs may not be the best fit. For example if someone insists that they need to be done in two weekends I have to send them elsewhere since I cannot by standards do a course that quickly and would not.
 
i was told that sport chalet certifies more padi divers than any one? is this true...

Maybe. So what it if it is?

McDonalds makes more burgers than anyone.

Walmart sells more clothes than anyone.

GM sells mores cars than anyone.

Does that tell us anything - one way or the other - about the quality of the offering?
 
Maybe. So what it if it is?

McDonalds makes more burgers than anyone.

Walmart sells more clothes than anyone.

GM sells mores cars than anyone.

Does that tell us anything - one way or the other - about the quality of the offering?

Duh? Yeah. :rofl3:
 
Not to hijack the thread but here is the short version of what happened.

The instructor had one more class to teach before he moved to St. Croix. We took all the pool work on one weekend. We did all the class work one one evening. We did the 4 checkout dives on on Saturday the next weekend. One instructor and 6 students. One dive was a total of 13 minutes because we had a student panic and all had to surface. Instructor left town a few days later and did not file the paperwork with Sport Chalet. 90 days later I was still trying to get my card from sport chalet.

They offered to let me take the class over again with them at no charge. They wanted me to pay for the equipment rental and pay for the boat charter. I felt since the original charter was supposed to have been two days and we dove only one, and since I had rented the equipment from them for the original class, I was entitled to equipment rental at no charge and I should at least receive a discount on the boat charter. They would not budge from their position of the only thing they would do was let me attend the classroom portion of their next OW class at no charge. Problem? Yes since he was their only instructor at the time, they had no idea when the next class would be. I had a vacation scheduled for Cancun and I needed my certificate.

Result was the guy finally returned to town, signed all the paper work, turned it in to Sport Chalet and left town again. The paper work was turned in, PADI issued cards to all the class members and that is the problem. I knew I had not been properly taught and was not qualified to dive. A complaint was turned in to PADI and he is no longer an active PADI instructor.

I got my temporary certificate and went on vacation. I hired an instructor in Mexico and spent several dives with him to bring me up to speed on what I should have learned in class.

I took the class room portion of the OW class again at the local dive shop when my wife took hers. I also took AOW, rescue, nitrox, and Wreck diver. I purchased all my equipment from him. I purchased all her equipment for her from the same LDS. Yup, I vote with my wallet.

Not saying Sport Chalet is bad. I got a bad instructor from them and was not satisfied with their solution to my complaint.
 
I have no dog in this fight, but I was certified by "the professional staff of sport chalet," too.
My instructor's SSI number was so low, it was obvious he'd been diving forever (crosstrained in SSI and PADI). The training seemed thorough and complete and he completed every skill off of the instructor's slates, reiterating frequently that "you'll need to know this skill because ______."

I wouldn't be surprised at all that they certify more divers than anyone. And every time that I've went to the scuba department at any one of their stores (nor cal and so cal), the person working the scuba department has always been certified, usually DM or above, btw.

It may be a big chain store, but I never felt I was short changed or had incomplete/incorrect/incompetent training. Quite the contrary. FWIW
 
Wow, Grover48. Thanks for sharing your story. Your instructor sounded like a piece of work. It's clear he was trying to jam the class into a dangerously short time frame. Not very professional at all. (On the bright side, the PADI complaint system seems to work. :) ) To make matters worse, the manager really failed from a customer service standpoint. I don't blame you at all for steering clear of your local SC. I'd feel the same way.
 
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