Sport Chalet filling

[PhotoTJ]

I worked at SC for a couple of years, both Porter Ranch, and West Hills. The policy WAS wet fills only, that may have changed. If so, I think it's foolish, the water also served as a slight buffer in the event of a tank going boom. But they have done a lot of foolish things since I left, the DM has done everything he can to kill any kind of welcome or warmth in the dive shops, now, it the Wal Mart of dive shops. This is an actual quote, I heard it for myself, "Get rid of this Mom and Pop Dive store s**t, I don't want divers hanging around." I swear, you could have knocked me over with a feather.

If a diver hangs around, he will buy something, but he has to feel welcome to hang around. Seems simple, but I guess some don't see it.

 

[headhunter]

I worked at SC for a couple of years, both Porter Ranch, and West Hills. The policy WAS wet fills only, that may have changed. If so, I think it's foolish, the water also served as a slight buffer in the event of a tank going boom. But they have done a lot of foolish things since I left, the DM has done everything he can to kill any kind of welcome or warmth in the dive shops, now, it the Wal Mart of dive shops. This is an actual quote, I heard it for myself, "Get rid of this Mom and Pop Dive store s**t, I don't want divers hanging around." I swear, you could have knocked me over with a feather.

If a diver hangs around, he will buy something, but he has to feel welcome to hang around. Seems simple, but I guess some don't see it.

We should start a thread for ex-Sport Chalet employees.

I worked at Sport Chalet when there were only 2 locations: La Canada and Huntington Beach (it was a fairly new store). At that time, the Dive Shop in La Canada had a great bunch of guys working there and it was a "real" dive shop. Jens Rubschlager ran the Dive Shop and Darren Douglas, Bob Keen and Switch worked there. I could never remember Switch's last name. There were others, but I can't remember their names.

Sport Chalet was a class act until they went corporate and fired people like Jens that wanted to continue to service the customer in an exceptional manner. You still find a couple of the consciencious "old timers" in La Canada in various departments, but for the most part they are all gone. The days of going into Sport Chalet and talking with ex Olympic athletes is over (there were quite a few when I was there). "Quality service with a smile" was no longer part of the equation and you either "got with the program" or "got out". So, I went to work for Nordstrom who still had a commitment to customer service, plus a whole lot better pay structure.

I can't say I blame Norbert Olberz for "selling out" and going corporate with a new focus. He took many risks while "going public", and was probably rewarded by making a fortune in the process. I believe it is most likely a very successful business model (albeit one that turned them into something not much better than Big 5.) I'm sure I would have done the same thing.

I now take all of my "backpacking" business to REI and my mountain biking and SCUBA business to small local shops that know what they are talking about.

May the old Sport Chalet that some of us knew, "rest in peace".

Christian

 

[sijtse]

We should start a thread for ex-Sport Chalet employees.

May the old Sport Chalet that some of us knew, "rest in peace".

Christian

Very true. I used to love the old "big" store in Huntington Beach. Even though I wasn't a diver at the time I always checked out that section on the way up to what was the best snow skiing department in SoCal. It was really a great store. Definitely a loss to the sporting community.

 

[Divemaster-K]

Here is that article mentioned somewhere above: http://scubatanks.us/tankfill.pdf

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Very true. I used to love the old "big" store in Huntington Beach. Even though I wasn't a diver at the time I always checked out that section on the way up to what was the best snow skiing department in SoCal. It was really a great store. Definitely a loss to the sporting community.

I was certified at the old HB store. I loved that curious customers, especially those with children would stop and watch the classes through the windows in the outdoor pool. Sometimes it was difficult to concentrate on skills when you were busy waving to a little kid.

 

[shoupart]

Hey,
I'm another former Sport Chalet dive shop employee. Sucks to hear about the filling troubles. I'm surprised that they've apparently discontinued the water tank fills. I think the Beverly Connection store still has theirs, and I've never had any trouble doing proper fills there, and I'd rarely get a complaint on shorting anybody their air.
I think the real issue is that the employees filled it too fast, which does tend to result in the lower air pressure. When I was working, I did slow, 20 minute fills for the customers and it always worked fine, whether or not I put it in the water. Though I think the water did help things a bit, though it's real purpose is to check for leaks, not cool it (which is incidental). Also, if the tank exploded, the water wouldn't do much to hinder the shrapnel from flying anywhere.
I think the most likely problem on air fills is employees who rush the fill and don't understand how to properly do it, read tanks, etc.
By the way, Sport Chalet in the Beverly Connection does free airfills, for anybody in the area.

 

[divinman]

At least they were as of last week. Brought my HP100's in for a fill and they were dripping when the guy brought them out. Cool and 3500 when tested at the store and two days later at the beach.

 

[saf_25]

By the way, Sport Chalet in the Beverly Connection does free airfills, for anybody in the area.

Hm...That's interesting, since the other stores are up to $5 for a fill now. I wonder if that's because Reefseekers is nearby and does free fills, so they need to stay competitive. They both are far, though, so i'll stick with my dive club free fills through the Brea store.
I'm not a sport chalet employee, but I have stayed friendly with my instructors there. They said that corporate has really been focusing on loss prevention in all areas lately, so I wonder how much longer the free fills will last.

 

[scubasean]

Hot fill actually in my definition means, they over filled the tank in violation of federal statute so that when it cools it will be right. This of course shortens the life of the tank.

Huh?

As I recall (I can certainly be wrong on this...) the pressure of a given fill is for a given temperature...Does the statute really say that you can't overfill it temporarily, even if it is at its rated pressure when allowed to come to equilibrium at the lower rating temp?

Out of curiousity, do you have a pointer to the statute?

 

[Peter McGuinness]

At least they were as of last week. Brought my HP100's in for a fill and they were dripping when the guy brought them out. Cool and 3500 when tested at the store and two days later at the beach.

Looks like its a LA thing, then, since SC in La Jolla also wet fills (both my tanks came out wet last week) and I also get a spot on 3000psi after cooling. In fact the problem filler in San Diego is Ocean Enterprises, where it can be a very hit and miss affair. Our club gets free fills there but I never use them because you can come up 3 - 400 psi short on bad day.

FWIW, I quite like sports chalet; the staff are friendly and no-one tries to sell me anything. The only thing lacking is the creativity of some the staff in smaller dive shops.

Peter