Posted by JB22 on September 04, 2003 at 14:49:02:
In Reply to: bad experience at sport chalet posted by bug hunter bill on September 03, 2003 at 21:04:44:
Sport Chalet Oxnard to be more specific....
I have bought quite a lot of things from them over the years... I have also used them for air fills almost exclusively since the dive shop in Camarillo closed down (Aqua Ventures).
However, the last 3 air fills HAVE BEEN LIKE PULLING TEETH.
I used to get mostly curteous and relatively prompt service... however, they have gone out and hired a NAZZI attitude (new female at the dive department) that REALLY puts a damper on things...
I am convinced that she does what she does, on purpose...
OK... here it goes:
Fill #1 - " I CAN NOT FILL THIS TANK. It is out of visual". Well, I knew that! I asked them if it can be done today, and she said yes... it will be about half-hour. Then, she leaves, and does not come back until AN HOUR LATER... That is when she tells me that she won't be able to get to it for a while.... So I come back a couple of hours later, inquire about my tank, and a friendly employee tells me that "she" (referring to the other gal) is draining the tank (it is an AL-30). I leave and come back 45 minutes later.... I'm told that it is still draining.... YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! Then, she points at a couple of (honest) pin hole size chips in the PAINT, saying that the tank is probably not going to pass! Mind you, the tank is less than 2 years old, and it has been used twice for cleaning my pool. In short, After about 3 visits, and killing an entire day, my tank is finally filled to a whopping 2700 psi.
FILL #2 - AL80... I'll keep this one short. SAME GAL. ONE HOUR AND FOUTY FIVE minutes later, I walk out with my tank.
FILL #3 - AL63... I just needed it topped off. We had called off a beach dive due to poor visibility. I had about 2600 psi left.
Unfortunate for me, SAME GAL. This time, she added a new twist to the whole thing... She CARDED me, verifying my picture against my face, then, asks to see a photo ID (????). Lucky for me, she did not ask me for a passport... Then, she hooks up my tank, and leaves.... we wait... and wait... and wait... and wait... ONE HOUR LATER, there is still no sign of her. Another employee (which to her credit, has been REAL helpful, and has been there a LONG time) came and asked us if we were waiting for something. After informing her of the situation, she checked on the tank, and said "it's still filling. It's at about 2600 psi".... WHAT???? I came in with 2600 psi AN HOUR ago! Well, she checks the hookup, and the valve IS CLOSED. So, they filled it up to 2900 psi, then proceeded to "PUNCH" my air card... for a 300 psi, ONE HOUR fill.
I still have several air fills left on my card, but.... I REFUSE TO BE DEALT WITH in such an unprofessional way... Unless I have no other choice, I WILL NOT RETURN to that Sport Chalet. Life is too short to be treated like #@#!$, especially after giving them THOUSANDS of dollars worth of business (SCUBA, camping, fishing, and misc equipment) in the past several years.