Menlo Swim and Sport ::: Summer 2006 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Burgess Pool Customer Satisfaction Survey Results - September 2006

We wish to thank all of the survey respondents for their time and for the constructive comments we received. We can't possibly tell you how important your feedback is to us. We look forward to incorporating your thoughts and ideas into our 2006-2007 programs and the Burgess Pool facility!

* These results were collated at the end of September and have approximately 30 additional respondents compared to the results that were delivered to the Menlo Park city council in early September. The overall percentages did not change. The survey response rate was slightly above 25%.

** The comments below are all of the comments we received. None were removed. We removed some email addresses and names for identity protection, but otherwise the comments are un-edited.

Q1: I experienced an increased level of energy or fitness, skill improvement, or development as a result of the programs, activities, or classes that I was involved in

(Question type: Single answer option question)

Answer:	n	%
Strongly Agree	180	48
Agree	124	33
No Opinion	62	17
Disagree	7	2
Strongly Disagree	1	0
TOTAL	374	100

Q2: The quality of the programs, activities or classes that I was involved in met my expectations
(Question type: Single answer option question)

Answer:	n	%
Strongly Agree	193	51
Agree	142	38
No Opinion	27	7
Disagree	12	3
Strongly Disagree	3	1
TOTAL	377	100

Q3: The pricing structure and program quality is competitive with comparable programs elsewhere
(Question type: Single answer option question)

Answer:	n	%
Strongly Agree	117	31
Agree	154	41
No Opinion	62	16
Disagree	41	11
Strongly Disagree	3	1
TOTAL	377	100

Q4: The hours of operation meets my needs
(Question type: Single answer option question)

Answer:	n	%
Strongly Agree	178	47
Agree	148	39
No Opinion	10	3
Disagree	41	11
Strongly Disagree	1	0
TOTAL	378	100

Q5: The front desk staff is competent, courteous, professional, and helpful
(Question type: Single answer option question)

Answer:	n	%
Strongly Agree	136	36
Agree	170	45
No Opinion	46	12
Disagree	21	6
Strongly Disagree	2	1
TOTAL	375	100

Q6: The life guarding staff is competent, courteous, professional, and helpful
(Question type: Single answer option question)

Answer:	n	%
Strongly Agree	125	33
Agree	168	45
No Opinion	76	20
Disagree	7	2
Strongly Disagree	0	0
TOTAL	376	100

Q7: The instructors/coaches are competent, professional, and meet my expectations
(Question type: Single answer option question)

Answer:	n	%
Strongly Agree	193	51
Agree	87	23
No Opinion	87	23
Disagree	9	2
Strongly Disagree	2	1
TOTAL	378	100

Q8: The cleanliness of the facility is satisfactory
(Question type: Single answer option question)

Answer:	n	%
Strongly Agree	158	42
Agree	176	47
No Opinion	15	4
Disagree	23	6
Strongly Disagree	6	2
TOTAL	378	101

Q9: The facility is a comfortable place to be
(Question type: Single answer option question)

Answer:	n	%
Strongly Agree	173	46
Agree	163	43
No Opinion	15	4
Disagree	20	5
Strongly Disagree	6	2
TOTAL	377	100

Q10: The facility is safe
(Question type: Single answer option question)

Answer:	n	%
Strongly Agree	183	49
Agree	172	46
No Opinion	17	5
Disagree	5	1
Strongly Disagree	0	0
TOTAL	377	101

Q11: The registration and payment process meets my expectations
(Question type: Single answer option question)

Answer:	n	%
Strongly Agree	138	37
Agree	154	41
No Opinion	30	8
Disagree	44	12
Strongly Disagree	11	3
TOTAL	377	101

Q12: Overall, my experience at the pool, in my swimming programs, and with the entire facility was enjoyable
(Question type: Single answer option question)

Answer:	n	%
Strongly Agree	189	50
Agree	162	43
No Opinion	7	2
Disagree	17	5
Strongly Disagree	1	0
TOTAL	376	100

Q13: Programs/Activities/Classes/Facilities that I took advantage of
(Question type: Multiple answer question; results may add up to over 100%)

Answer:	n	%
Baby Pool	129	34
Open Swim	152	40
Swim Lessons	160	42
Lap Swimming	152	40
Masters Swimming	119	31
Mavericks	8	2
Kids Tri Camp	3	1
Facility Rental	0	0
Triathlon Program	34	9
AquaFit	7	2
SEALs	4	1
Water Polo	15	4
Other (specify)	9	2
TOTAL	792	208

Q14: Please add your comments or tell us if there's anything you would change to improve our service
Question type: Long open text answer)

Open text responses:
I think that the Burgess Pool is a great place. I see it early in the morning and at noon - it is always busy, with lots of happy children, parents, and athletes. The water is clear, the facilitiets well maintained, and the people friendly and helpful. It is great.
When I first signed up, I sent an email immediately afterwards asking if I could delay the start of my 3-month membership - I never heard back. The first time I went to swim, a month later, I talked to the front desk, informed him of my problem and left a note for a supervisor to call me. I never heard back.
I have never seen a public pool run so well with so many great programs. Please keep up the good work.
I think you're doing a great job -- my daughters have turned into mermaids virtually overnight through their swim lessons. The pricing structure is very affordable and the hours of operation make it possible for us to participate. I think it's unfortunate that the Almanac shows such an extreme bias against the Burgess pool facility and Tim Sheeper personally. I hope you'll continue to stave off the entitled mentality of this area and provide a great opportunity to my family. I do think that the mushroom pool is for a very limited audience (the Rinconada wading pool in Palo Alto caters to a wider age range of children), but I do realize the the size of the pools is a limiting factor. Bravo!
It would be great if master swimmers were granted access to the pool outside the Master times. The combined package seems steep. The women locker rooms were quite often "under construction" during Master's time at lunch - no big deal, but the family room is just not a great alternative. Other than that, compliments to everybody running the show there - it is great to have such a nice pool in such close proximity.
The locker rooms, as I am sure everyone else will comment on, are too small and therefore get dirty very quickly. The problem is likely the worst in the summer with many unsupervised kids around. Regardless, its pretty unrealisitc to change clothes comfortably if there are more than 2 people in there at the same time. The pools themselves are great.
In the womens locker room the age limit of boys to shower with thier mothers is 5yrs old. I believe this is to old and makes not only the child uncomfortable but me as well. If you could also post a sign of the age limit near the doors to the locker rooms this would be helpful.
Only Complaint --The dressing rooms are too small-no place to put things -hooks on walls for bags , no place to dress if more than 3- just way too small- there seem to be families in them even though there is a family dressing room
Availability of on site massage (by appointment) would be really great. Thank you.
The swim school needs a more organized registration process. While I appreciate that the staff worked hard to meet our needs, the process was a bit chaotic.
Thanks for a good summer.
The clorine level seems significantly higher than at Woodside pool. For whatever reason, my skin and hair are feeling the clorine effects. Overall the Menlo Masters team is extremely well run and a tremendously positive experience. I'm 15 pounds lighter (at my optimal weight currently) and my resting heart rate has dropped from the mid 70's to 60 since I've started swimming on the team 15 months ago.
the only improvement I would suggest is adding some more benches in the changing room and some benches by the rec pool
Hours of operation are too short. I would hope lap pool is open until later (8 or 9 pm) including on week-end, and open earlier on week-ends, including sundays earlier, e.g., 7 am.
I took a water babies class. There really needs to be a way to do make up lessons when babies are sick or families are out of town. Other group baby programs (My Gym, Music Together, etc) have make-up policies that allow 1-2 make ups per 6-8 week course, so maybe 1 make up per month? It's a lot of money to spend to not have a make-up option, especially for a group class like this where we could have easily slotted into another group for one week if we had missed a class.
Tim is great - we are lucky to have him.
I really have enjoyed my lessons with Rhonda. She is very patient and determined to get me to swim. I look forward to more lessons.
The men's locker changing area is quite poor - it's terribly small and the benches are in the wrong place. I've already sent you comments about this and you've promised that you're looking into improvements. It's remarkably bad and colors my entire experience with you negatively. My best imagined solution: move the entire bank of lockers at the end of the cul de sac onto the opposite wall where the diaper table is, and then move benches accordingly. Spread it out. The architects have alotted more space to 3 people peeing than to 10 people changing. Check in also takes unnecessarily long. Front desk personel seem encumbered by an overly complex lookup system. How about issue magnetic cards and readers? Otherwise, it's a lovely new facility with seemingly capable staff and wonderfully long hours and available lanes.
Please increase the hours during which a pool is available for open swim. Specifically during the morning (10-1) and late afternoon (3-6). Thank you.
locker room does not accomodate the popularity of the Masters morning workouts. Suggest fewer lockers, more clothing hooks. Great facility for the community.
I loved the survey-great idea!
Locker room is too small. Need more bench space.
I have just moved to the area, and your pool is one of my very favourite things about it! It's just the right size, is always in excellent condition, and is attractive and sunny. Thanks very much for helping make my summer super :)
The changing facilities are too small and totally impractical. Any changes to allow more space for changing/seating would improve the experience.
too expensive. my kids wanted to swim more, but to come every day, or at least 5 days a week was too expensive
Obviously, I am unhappy with the my experiences at Burgess Pool. We used the pool throughout the summer, mainly for free swim for our grandchildren. The front desk staff is incompetent. When I asked about lessons, I was discouraged from signing up at the pool, and directed to sign up on the internet. We decided to have our grandchildren take lessons at Ladera Oaks where we were welcomed and accommodated. I disagree completely with the policy of charging grandparents/parents who do not swim but are at the pool simply to watch their children.I understand that other cities have this policy. But this is a COMMUNITY pool, paid for by the community, and we pride ourselves on our treatment of our residents. For non-residents, this policy may be appropriate. But for residents, it is entirely unacceptable. In addition, if you are going to charge us, then provide us with more comfortable seating. Many grandparents are too frail to sit on the ground, or on the narrow wooden benches provided. Deck chairs or benches with backs, or better yet, patio tables and chairs would be greatly appreciated. We are on a wait list for a swim club and in February we will decide whether to join a private club or take our visiting grandchildren to the Burgess Pool. Right now, we are leaning toward the private club even though it is in Palo Alto. They have a great swim instructor and comfortable places to sit, and when we have visited, they have been courteous and competent.
Everything is great!!! I love it!
There has been a certain amount of controversy about how management of the pool was handed to Tim Sheeper (rather than it being city-run). I don't know all the ins and outs of it, but I think that as long as the pool is run well I have no problems with it being a for-profit operation. I would, however, like to ensure that low-income families are still able to take advantage of the pool and am concerned that the $12 family fee might still be a bit high for some folks. Would like to know if there is some program for them. I guess the only other thing on my "wish list" would be childcare services for parents of young children who want to try and get in some laps during the week. But I realize that's probably out of reach! We do really like "Family Day." We've come several times and the extended hours (to 6) were great, although I realize it won't make sense to stay open that late in the fall. For the most part, the front desk has been great. One time (one time only) we were assisted by an older woman (I think her name began with an "L") and she was seriously grumpy for no apparent reason--our questions were met with hostility and I was surprised at the confrontational nature of what was a pretty routine exchange. Thanks for the professional web site and overall professionalism of the staff.
The website is really good. Great design, fresh and well written. The facilities are especially clean and well maintained. Not just the pool but the entire grounds. There is never trash, even on busy summer days. The lifeguard staff is professional and presentable. I've been to other pools this summer where there should have been a dress and conduct code for the lifeguards. Nice work on some great summer programs for kids (movies!). Swim school provided very high quality instruction and very responsive scheduling.
The bathrooms could really use some rubber mats or something, the floors are always wet and covered with hair. It would also really be cool if the cold pool could be all lanes and the warm pool be the play pool and lesson pool. Its really hard to swim laps when there are a million kids right next to you. Those were the only situations were i was annoyed enough to stop swimming and leave the pool. Thank you
There is probably not much that can be done at this point, but the women's locker room is not very well set up. There are not enough benches, and when more than 4 people are in there, it can be difficult for everyone to get to their locker and have any space to put their things as they get dressed. It is my only complaint about the facility--the pools are fabulous, the staff very nice and helpful!
I feel that Tim is a wonderful coach for the Masters program and one of his best qualities is the personal touch that he adds by knowing all swimmers by name and their times and specialties. With the stress and added responsibilites of his new role at Burgess, I feel that this personal touch has suffered a bit. I hope that once things settle down a bit, he will return to being his old responsive self. I would also like to praise the front desk person Tomas. He is courteous, responsive, seemingly responsible. He always seems to find something to do like rearranging brochures or straightening up duirng slow times. Also, he always greets me when I come and when I leave. This is unusual in a young person, I think.
The locker room is the biggest problem. I'd like to see the families in the family room, but if they went do that at least ban strollers from the regular locker room.
i found the online registration process a bit tedious and cumbersome ... though, the staff was helpful on working thru scheduling conflicts. the front desk & lifeguards professionalism is inconsistent. they could do a better job in informing and enforcing the pool rules ie., diaper usage, no horseplaying, no backward or running dives, no running on pool deck, no urinating in pool, appropriate swim attire, also, perhaps a color coded band (for each day) could be issued for those paying for pool access. i have seen situations where "parents" will say they don't intend to swim and yet you'll find them in the pool 1/2 hour later w/ their kids. it doesn't make it fair for those families who fully disclose and pay the appropriate amount.
The pools are great and the hours -- for lap swimming -- are terrific. However, there are several things that could be improved: By the way, this comment section doesn't work for me, the line doesn't wrap when it gets to the end of the screen. The pool chemistry seems rough. Maybe it's not optimally dialed in yet. What was the guy smoking when s/he designed the locker room, which really can't be classified as a room. How could they think something so small made sense? I am quite irritated about the "direct charge" process that I discovered when I tried to switch, right a the end of my first month, to a pay as you go process. I was then told that I weas
The Women's locker room is very cramped/narrow.
The woman's locker room is much too small. There is not enough room for more than about 3 people to change comfortably at a time. The locker room is also fairly ugly and poorly designed is regards to color and overall pleasantness. The largest problem, however, is the extreme lack of space.
The locker room is badly designed and too small for the number of people.
The swim instructors are great. The baby pool should only be for little kids--not school aged kids in daycare--the pool was scary for the little ones. Registration for swimming lessons is horrible--forcing people to sign up by month is confusing, and at these prices, you should be able to make-up missed lessons or extend, room permitting. The auto-bill function feels like you're trying to trick us into paying more, and even after sending in several notes indicating that I wanted my lessons canceled at hte end of the month, I was still billed. The people at the front desk don't know anything and can't do anytihng (registration, resolve an issue)--I'm not sure why they are even there. It would be nice to have tables or lounge chairs--the space for the pools is small, esp for people doing recreational swim. Having a lane or half a pool open for free swim isn't so good--we need the whole pool and for you to take away the lanes, which are dangerous and distracting when you're trying to play.
Thanks for being there for our use!
Slightly bigger locker room :)
probably too late to fix this but locker rooms are way too small! mens room is very cramped with even a few people in there and very little room to change, put stuff down, etc.
I think this is a great asset to the community and must continue! Menlo Park is lucky to have such a broad and professionally run program.
Need larger locker rooms!
Georgina was my daughter's instructor for most of her lessons - the first lesson - she made her cry, moving too fast with the lesson, and probably expecting too much of a five year old complete beginner. She slowed down and was better after that. My daughter really improved her abilities this summer despite that first session. Your billing process is confusing - you say it's a subcription and keeps renewing monthly unless I notify you. This wasn't how it worked this summer. You charged me two months then sent me an email about when it would end. I added two weeks after that. So not really an ongoing subscription. It would have been helpful to get a schedule with the actual dates paid for, after I paid, so I could put it in my schedule. We liked the lessons enough that we will continue next summer, Thanks!
The facility is fine except for the locker area where there is far too little space between the lockers and the benches as well as too little space between the benches.
Adrienne and her staff are outstanding!
Locker room size is a total farce.20% of the space to change clothes with 10-20 men.We use the sinks,urinals,and baby cha
this was a class for my infant son who is 16 months old--so it is hard to answer some of the questions my one concern is that it was never clear to me when the series of class's ends--end of Aug , end of Sep, or Labor day? thanks
I am very pleased that I can go lap swimming at any time. Only the number of lanes changes. I had NO problem finding a lane I could lap swim in. THank you
The swimming lessons are amazing. The place is well run and managed. The swim instructors professional yet kind and understanding. The only complaint is about the lack of decent seating for waiting parents. The benchs are ridiculous. For the baby pool and other areas there is no seating. This is just plain weird.
I registered for Lap Swimming with the intention of being able to swim before I went to work in the morning. When I spoke to one of the Lifeguards, they said that I would have to pay another $70.00 to join the Masters Swim Program in addition to the $140.00 I had already paid for the Summer Program. This did not sit well with me. I felt that $140.00 was what was advertised for Lap Swim access to the Burgess Pool and that I was misled by said advertisement. As a result, I did not participate in the Lap Swim Program this summer. Therefore, my survey responses are primarily of No Opinion and Disagree. I'm sure the Burgess Pool is an excellent facility and has excellent staff. I was just put off by being asked to pay more money just so I could swim for an hour in the early morning during what I found out was the Masters Swim Program scheduled time in the pool.
Good job. I very much liked the summer family purchase plan. curious as to what the rest of the year will cost, but inclined to think that I would sign up for <$200 plan till may, and/or $400 plan for entire year.
As I'm sure you are aware and have heard ad nauseum, the design of the locker rooms is beyond horrible. 3 people around the lockers is max occupancy. Lockers are so small you can't put a gear bag or even a pair of shoes in them. Locker doors only open to 90 degrees, making it very difficult to use the locker space that is available. The benches are too close to the lockers making them not just impossible to sit on while using the lockers, but a fall hazard as well. With the lockers basically unusable and the entire floor wet, there is very little dry area to put clothes and gear. Work slack cuffs get soiled from the wet floors while putting them on. I recommend adding open shelving and/or hooks along open walls to augment lockers, adding drydek flooring in the locker area, taking out the benches entirely (or replacing them with one bench in the middle), and bringing the designer in so the team can verbally abuse him/her/them.
Reduce staff changes, reduce number of "first day" students that disrupt flow of class, separate students who are afraid of water or increase staffing to handle fearful or new students so that ongoing students do not suffer.
I love the open swim and the movie nights-- those are great. The hours were too few at first, but you guys fixed that quickly. In general, our family loves the pool (my husband does laps), Tim and team, and the facility. I was, however, really disappointed with the swim lessons. My daughter (now 4) has been swimming since she was 9 months old and has been taking weekly swim lessons (year round-- including winter) for a year and a half. Prior to starting the lessons at Burgess, she'd also done three weeks of daily lessons at Fremont Hills Country Club where the teacher wrote on her evaluation that "McKaela is the strongest swimmer in the class-- it was hard to keep her challenged but I tried!" When filling out my survey, I indicated that she was working on side breathing with her freestyle stroke, but she was placed in the Silver Fish class where the focus was popup breathing. She got bored and started to say she didn't want to go to swim lessons anymore (before this, swimming was by far her favorite activity). I asked about her being moved up another level and was told that water comfort was most important and that the school likes children to spend a lot of time at this level. In our case, I can't imagine what more she would need to do to show she is comfortable in the water after all her time swimming. I admit that my daughter is challenging in that she is very shy. Another issue that I think compounded her dislike of the lessons was that each time we came, we weren't sure who would be our teacher. We had three different onces in the time we were there. Some small children who are shy need consistency so they can know the adult and trust them. We are switching back to our old swim school which really bums me out because Burgess is very close to our house and such a conveinent, beautiful facility.
My kids learned more in their lessons this summer than any other program we've done, including the previous Burgess program. We'll be back next year.
-Open later on weekends -Locker room cleanup more frequently
I think the waerbabies program is fine. I've already commented directly about the changing facilities being inadequate - we ususally just go home to get changed. I'm interested to see waht the facility will be like during the cooler months.
I suggest you open up the warm pool to more recreation swim.
Lap swim on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 7-9.
Overall, we loved our experience this summer at Burgess Pool and found the staff to be friendly and helpful. We were very pleased when Sunday pool hours were extendded although I wish it would not have taken so long into the summer for this to take effect. Additionally, the only other opportunity would be open swim during the week. As a frequent visitor it was frustrating to see the instructional pool reserved with swim lessons and maybe 3 or less students while the performance pool was packed with open swim people. It would have been great to have swim lessons in the open swim area of the performance pool or to open up a section of the instructional pool for open swim. This was done during the holiday but there would be opportunity to do it more often.
Everything about the pool was great. Only minor dissatisfaction was with the women's changing room, which is badly designed, making it too cramped. No more than two people can stand there at any one time. Perhaps removing one of the benches would help.
Adrienne and the swim instructors are fantastic!!! My daughter has improved a great deal in a short amount of time and loves going to swim class. Thank you!!!
The online interface is weak - you can't see what the class schedule is and availability to sign up for something that makes sense for you. There are plenty of software programs out there that will let you do that (www.momusic.org). Also, I really wish there was a way to schedule make-up classes. My daughter goes to a local music class which does accomodate online registration as well as online make-up class scheduling and it is a very efficient system - maybe you can check it out and use the same software www.momusic.org and the head of the organization is Mona Dena. I am sure she would be happy to help - maybe you can put up a flyer or referrals in exchange.... <name removed>
I know this sounds minor, but the built in benches along the edges are very narrow. It would be much more comfortable if they were a little wider, as well as more practical as a place to stash stuff, put on a child's diaper, etc. Also, I would find the toddler pool immensely more appealing if there were more shade.
The extended lap swimming hours have been great.
It's a WONDERFUL facility, with a dynamic and conscientious staff! Bravo!! I'm proud to say I swim with Menlo Swim & Sport.
We love everything about this new facility - the only suggestion is to put a narrow bench or two in the women's locker room - we love the swim school too.
The women's locker area is too small, there are no shelves to use temporarily, and the floor is dirty.
the locker room can get dirty. it is also way to small for menlo masters team. can you add some additional benches or plastic chairs to distribute the number of bodies and their relative gear so we aren't trying to smush into the relatively limited space of the lockers and benches
Generally I enjoyed using the pool. I found capacity of changing rooms too small and not matching the overall pool capacity.
Given the incident with the chemicals in the baby pool, I am shocked that my friend, who was a patron of the pool, was the one who called 911. Someone on your staff should have made the call.
I t reasonably clear that the pool has to run as a business and there is trade-off being made between the family swim hours and other revenue generating mechanisms such as lessons, lap swim and other training areas. For example on hot days, the limited area of the family swim pool is too congested well the lap area being used has very few people--evening reference. So in summary, the tilt towards non family usage seems excessive for late afternoon hours. It is a business trade-off, each yearly lap swimmer brings you approximately $400 a year in revenue while each family brings you $250 per year. For the few people using the lap pool it will not take many families to leave durring the summer relative to the number of swimmers using the lap lanes. I would like to see a larger percentage of the family pool open for family swim from 5 pm -8 pm durring June-August. Overall, I have had a good experience with the exception of hot evening but this experience may cause me next year to look for another venue unless a larger percentage of the pool is open for family swim. Thanks the staff members and facility for overall a very nice experience. dean
My lessons with Adrieene are excellent. She and Stefen are extremely helpful, encouraging, friendly and generous with their knowledge and energy. The pool is a beautiful facility and it is well run. I love going there. My suggestions are: is there someone who can keep the woman's showers cleaner? Hair in the drains cleaned more often. The area for woman changing clothes is cramped...but guess it is too late for that to be adjusted. Other than that I am totally pleased and grateful that we have such a great pool and fabulous people (Adrieene and Stefan directing it!)They are a great team.
You guys are doing a great job! Keep it up. Our entire family has enjoyed the pool over the summer.
The best part about the new Burgess pool are the flexible hours available for lap swimming. I hope this will continue through the winter months as well.
Wouldl llike to see a better application method for class offerings - price structure - thank you!
Space in women's locker rooms is too constricted - shwoers and lockers are fine, but no place to stand and change.
The changing facilities are too small, crowded and poorly ventilated.
Overall, we (2 adults, 2 kids, and our nanny) were very pleased with your operation, which we took advantage of for probably 5-6 days a week over the summer. Offering a family pass is something you should continue to do next summer. Your lesson sign up process is unorthodox and unwieldy. Your staff did a good job lifeguarding etc. Consider some marketing / PR help - the bad rap you are getting in the papers is undeserved!!
I thought you guys did a great job. I was just staying in town for a month or so, but greatly enjoyed being able to use the facility. I will absolutely use it again when I'm in town. Thanks.
Menlo Masters 7:00AM swim is too early for me. 8:00AM would be more convenient.
Bathrooms and showers were always dirty and the ladies changing area is too small.
The water fitness classes are wondeful. The price structure is a bit high. You should be able to buy a pass for 10 classes which is punched each time you come rather than paying by the month.
Overall, my experience at Burgess Pool has been excellent. The one area that needs improvement is the registration system. It is very difficult to convey desired times etc. It would be helpful to be able to speak to someone live and they could tell us the available times that they have at the moment. That way, as parents, we can best fit in swim class with our children's school hours and/or other scheduled activities, with what meets Burgess' own available times as well. Other than this, we are thrilled to have Burgess Pools!
In general, the couches and instructors are knowledgeable and very friendly - we had one experience with an instructor who was very sweet did not show the competence we were hoping for. A suggestion to imrpove the customer experience at the facilities is that the front desk staff is friendlier and more proactive with the customers.
I think the payment system for the swim school is confusing -- charges are posted even if a child is NOT enrolled. I think charges should be made only when a child is registered. The parent should not have to cancel payment. It would be great to have an option to charge lap swim/open swim per session through a registered credit card. There are not enough people in our family to make to quartererly payment worth it for us -- but sometimes 3 people are there in a day, I'd rather charge $15 than use cash. We love having the pool back in MP and espcially appreciate the lap-swim hours running whenever the pool is open! Thanks
Tim Speeper is doing a great job! The staff is excellent as well as very helpful! We have swum at the open swim, baby pool and wells as masters swimming.
It would be a huge benefit to have open swim hours earlier in the day. Most little kids take afternoon naps after lunchtime, and moms are looking for a place to swim in the morning. Opening at 10am or 11am would bring in more people to use the baby pool and open swim pools. Also, more open swim time in general in the instructional pool would be great--I realize this must be balanced against the swim class times, but just a thought.
Registration process made easier and more reliable Private/semi-private lessons price competitive with competition's lessons *more shaded area to sit/watch lessons
I just do the lap swim, so I do not interact with any of the instructors. Everyone seems very friendly and welcoming. As far as the cleanliness, the pool is always very clean, just a leaf of sometimes a band aid floating around, but definitely the cleanest pool I have been in in a long time. The women's shower drains get plugged up quite a bit and look kind of gross, as well as don't drain very well, but over all the facility is very clean. As for pricing, it is more expensive then most of the local pools. As a teacher on a limited income it is a little tough because I would also like the facilities of a gym and would need to join somewhere else to do that and the price per month is almost as much as a full gym. It is doable right now without belonging to another gym. Thank you for the great facility!
The registration form for kids swimm lessons is too complicated, too many questions on the skills ect. Otherwise we liked the Teachers and lessons a lot. Kids learned a lot an dmade good progress. Special thanks to Ronda, she is an excellent teacher. We like the deck-manager-system, it's nice to have someone to greet when you come there.
The womans locker room- the paper towels are always overjammed and it's impossible to get towels out. Also, a suit dryer would be great as well. Early weekend lap swimming would be great too.
You should put a swimsuit spinner in the men's locker room. Kids are constantly using the handicapped shower area, spraying water around. Any way to keep them out of there? The men's locker room is very poorly designed. Not enough benches, crowded conditions even when only a few people in it. Doubt you can do much about that now. Everything else is excellent.
I found the women's locker facility inadequate and did not particularly enjoy showering when the drains were clogged. There should be more effort to vector families with small children to the family areas. I do not think some were aware of these. I think that there was a language issue in some cases. There should be signage which tells evening lap swimmers that masters will begin at 7pm and that there will be a lane constriction. And you should take the opportunity to invite the evening swimmers to test masters because it is a great program and I think that you could pick up some additional swimmers.
couple things: 1) locker rooms, specifically the toilet area, look like they could use more frequent cleanings during the day. 2) baby pool is too cold 3) the chemical balance in the pool seems to vary dramatically - as measured by my scientific method of taste and smell but in general, my experience has been great!
1. Water in the pool tastes salty. I suggest that you get professional help to maintain the pool chemistry. 2. The space available for changing in the locker room is inadequate. There are three solutions: * Add a small bench near the baby-changing station * Eliminate a urinal and a few shower stalls to allow a real signigicant increase in changing space * Redesign the whole facility, tear it down, and build it again with more space. Hint: I don't expect the third idea to be used.
It would be good to have open swimming sessions in the instructional pool at earlier times during the week so that I can bring my daughter there before it is time for dinner and bed :)
i think the incident at the baby pool with the gas leak (whick i experienced firsthand) and the issues with the pool cleanliness were handled very poorly. i would like to see the pool staff react to parents' concerns more quickly and effectively in the future. i would have used the pool more this summer if i felt that the staff took my concerns seriously. nevertheless, we are very pleased with the swim school instruction and couldn't be happier with both our kids' improvement.
the lessons seem a little expensive
The locker room is a bit small and particularly short on bench space. Even 2 familes in there at once, trying to change, makes it feel very cramped -- there are not enough dry places to put clothes. The teachers are terrific. We are VERY happy with the quality of the lessons. The website registration could use improvement - we ran into glitches with it more than once. For example, I couldn't register for the pre-competitive class until I skipped over the "guardian info" button.
Need to find a easier system for signing up for swim classes. I found the online process tedious and frustrating, and had to make two trips down to the pool to get the front desk to help me. The online registration is a real turn off to signing up for classes. I would much prefer a phone conversation and have the whole thing arranged in a couple of minutes. Mother's with kids are time poor and to put aside 1/2 hr of more to get the classes arranged is something most Mother's will put off because it get's too hard and they delay signing up (it took me a couple of months!). The only other things I've noticed is just keeping an eye on the cleaniness of the floors in the bathroom/ change rooms. I find by the afternoon they are quite discusting to have my children walk on it and prefer to change my kids outside. Hope this helps! We have really enjoyed our swim lessons and you have great instructors.
Have lap swimming begin at least one hour earlier on the weekends. Better manaage the activity in the baby pool. We brought our 20 month old twins and onsiderable ball throwing and agressive playing comprimised our experience
The women's locker room is pretty dirty with hairs and drop offs on the floor, and the shower drain is often clogged.
Night Master swimming on more days then Tuesday and Thursday.
I know you've been hounded by others regarding the locker rooms but some mats, hooks and movement of the benches would be great!!!
My daughter had a different instructor for almost every lesson - I think it would improve the quality of the program a lot, if you could try to change that.
I pay for lap swimming for 3 months at a time, and the cost is very reasonable since I average 4+ swims a week. I still feel that the drop-in fees for lap swimming are a bit high. Not having noon time for lap swimming has worked out OK as I can either swim at 11-12 (best) or 1-2 (not quite as good).
The opening went extremely smoothly. The professional nature of ALL the staff and especially the life guards is fabulous. Keep up the great work! Oh--will there eventually be a drink/snack bar??
I wish the changing rooms in the locker area were a bit bigger, but they still worked :-) I loved swimming there this summer. It is a very clean, safe, comfortable environment. It was an easy way to get my daily excercise. Thanks, Vanessa
It's a great facility. The only shortcoming was on the design of the locker room (mens), which is too small. Though, coping with tight quarters is a small price to pay in an otherwise excellent facility. We'll make due with what we have. Thanks for running a great aquatic center! Keep up the outstanding work.
I find the front desk staff inattentive at best. As I'm sure you're aware, there has been a lot of controversy over the cleanliness of the pool and fecal accidents (I'm a PAMP member). The other day (at a Saturday am swim lesson) I noticed a baby getting in the pool in only a swim diaper. This obviously goes against your posted "double diaper" policy. However, no one at the front desk said or did anything and the instructors did not say or do anything. You cannot expect to win back the public trust when - even after bad publicity and a stated intention to get better - you STILL do NOT abide by your own policies. You have got to fix this or you will end up being a program that only caters to adults and masters programs and not a true community resource for families.
Love the long lap swimming hours. My only complaints: the cost ($1 more than Riconada for drop-in) and the locker room. I know the locker room isn't your fault, but if you could convince the city to take out some of the lockers (lots of wall space in the hallway by the check-in desk) and put in more benches. Even some hooks on the wall would help. Thanks.
The pools, cleanliness, staff are very nice - I love that there is so much lap swimming times avaialble. The concerns I have w/ the facility are that the locker rooms are very small w/ very little space to put down swim bags, clean clothers, etc. I also feel the cost for the monthly / quarterly lap swim pass is very expensive, especially given the cramped and "un-user friendly" locker rooms. I don't think I'd mind the cost if there were more benches to put my bags on (benches could be installed all around the edge of the locker room), perhaps a swimsuit spinner / dryer, larger "soap" plates near the showers to hold shampoo, etc., more hooks for towels and bags, and a few more ammenities. Perhaps it is a good deal for lap swimmers who swim daily, but for someone who is only able to swim 2 - 3x/week, it gets expensive. I'm considering Rinconada which would only be $3.00/ session (and for residents of Palo Alto, they charge $2.50/ session - something like that would be really nice...). Also, could you consider a "couples" pass - where husband and wife/ partners could get a discount?? just a thought. Lastly, I'm dissappointed that there are no private lessons for children offered at your pool. We would be interested in private lessons for 2 small kids. Even more lastly :-), we thougth the summer swim pass was awfully expensive. We would get the pass if the cost went way down - and even still then we would likely come to open swim only 2, to Max 3x/week. I would love to choose your pool b/c it's closer and part of the Menlo park community, but cost is an issue for our family. I hope you consider all economic levels of your community. Thank you!
Hours were generally OK, but closing time on weekends seemed a bit early a few times. Web registration/payment was awesome. Coach of Mavericks was awesome.
Would love expanded hours for the lap swim - sometimes, only a limited number are availabe due to masters swim or water polo.
I'm having a hard time knowing if this is going through. I filled this in this morning and got no indication my form went through. A friend said she got a response saying "Thank you Many thanks - your responses have been received. You can now close this window." Since I didn't get this, I'm filling it in again. (I'm currently trying a third time using Safari - with Netscape I just had the same experience I had this morning where the Send answers button doesn't seem to do anything.) the following was cut and paste from my last attempt: If you did get it (I tried hitting send twice), I apologize for being repetitive. (Also, if you are getting them and my answers aren't exactly the same, it's because I think you need two more levels in your form - slightly agree, and slightly disagree - my "no opinion" sometimes just means I don't agree or disagree enough to firmly state that, but that's not the same as having no opinion). I'm not sure I can recall all my comments (and am in a slightly different mood, - busy, have other things on my mind, don't really feel like complaining... ), but I think this is what I said: I confessed that I'm still irked with the way the Masters/lap swim conflict at noon was handled, but admitted that I like the ability to swim at anytime in the day now, so am adapting. It's great now that the kids are back in school! (Maybe next summer lap swim could have an hour after the Masters folks are there when we don't have to share the pool with the open swim - they're cute and all, but it really is a different experience with all the noise and chaos around...) Although I've made arrangements for myself to get around your registration policy (and I appreciate that), I still don't like the idea of having to sign up through the internet and requiring a credit card number that you automatically debit unless told otherwise. (I was talking with someone in the pool last week, who got stuck not knowing you were going to do that, and got forced paying for another month he wasn't planning on - apparently, not everyone reads the fine print!) Problably, in a community like Menlo Park, it's not that big of an issue, but I bet not everyone in East Menlo Park uses a computer, or even has a credit card for that matter... Also, with regard to your prices, your monthly/quarterly rates work great for me, but I do think your drop-in rates are high by local standards (Rinconada charges $3, for example, or at least that was the rate before I switched back to Burgess.) Then, the other comments were just in reference to the locker rooms, nothing you haven't heard before, I'm sure, and really probably more of an issue for the city of Menlo Park and not you - but how about taking the lockers out, and putting them in the hallway, and putting in more benches. There just isn't enough functional space in there. My preference on the showers would be to take the timers off altogether, but if you need to leave them on, couldn't you adjust the timing so they stay on longer than 10 seconds before you have to hit the button again. It's barely enough time to bend over to grab your shampoo! Cleanliness is pretty good. You could maybe have someone come in occasionally during the day to remove the hair from the drains in the showers - they've almost overflowed a couple of times, and the paper towels don't come out very well by the sinks, so there is frequently a lot of ripped up paper over there... All in all, except for the overcrowding in the locker rooms, it's a great facility. I'm really glad it's back, and appreciate your efforts at keeping it a great place to swim. Thanks.
not a thing. what about a fitness room? weight room?
I have really enjoyed swimming in the pool. It is always clean, and the temperature is good. I have been able to swim laps whenever I need to because the schedule is so open. The only thing I would like to see changed would be earlier lap swimming on the weekend, other than that, things are terrific! The locker room is always clean, always hot water, and the front desk staff is always friendly. The life guards are present, paying attention and polite. Thank you for providing this wonderful facility for us!
Tim Sheeper has done a fantastic job!
Locker rooms are lacking--crowded and already not too clean. Also, need more benches for sitting around pool .
Bike tours are too expensive. On top of the large expense, the tours are non-refundable if I can't make the tour.
The water babies class is very repetitive and needs to be for young kids to learn. But there doesn't seem to be an intermediate class for young kids that have mastered water babies yet aren't ready to be in the pool without a parent. Thanks for a great summer and all the patience you have with the kids!
Overall the program is fantastic. I am delighted to have such a fine swim school in Menlo Park!! I am very pleased with the swimming program. I would spend some time sending "spys" to the registration desk. Some receptionists need more training. I would also like to see additional training of young children on appropriate "hand" positions and proper swimming "technique". I think it is MUCH easier to learn the correct hand positional in the beginning that to try and "unlearn" improper position. Children as young as 4 or 5 can learn to keep their fingers closed, and hands slightly cupped. An instructor can "hold" a youndg child on their knees in teh water and "show" them where their arm stroke should be, by holding their arm, positioning their fingers, and moving their arm in the proper position. The children can then "feel" teh correct position and try to do it. This is how I learned when I was little. If this training technique is still acceptable swim training, I hope you will consider implementing it at your school, as I think it would place your swim school in the number 1 slot in the Bay Area in no time. Finally, I think rules on swim diapers and diaper covers need to be posted prominently in brochures and on the website, as well as the protocols the school will follow in the case of on "incident". Staff nedds to be trained to act quickly and promptly so there is no PERCEPTION the pool is compromised without immediate staff action to clear the pool (without embarassing the parent/child). Teh chappter on teh PAMP newslist was frustrating to me, as a proud and pleased parent/consumer of the pool. I am so very pleased and delighted to have this wonderful swim school in our city!!!! Great opening season! My congrats to you and your team!!!
My 4 year old son on is on his third session for swim lessons. He started with Pablo, then Mika and now Kenneth. All of them are excellent teachers. He absolutely loves swim lesson days and always has a smile on his face. I cannot believe how much he has learned is such a short time. Day one he wouldn't even blow bubbles in the water and now he can float a quarter of the way across the pool. Thanks for everything.
registration...should be able to register for one month at a time Class quality-baby swim classes were not as good as at Y There are not sufficient shower facilities.
The instructors and the staff were excellent! It was also nice that we were warmly welcomed whenever we came.
Would be great to see earlier morning hours for the kid pool. For the little kids starting at 11 AM typically gives them very little time at the pool before naptime.
1. pool chlorine level was always too high -- often far too high 2. hours, especially at the start, benefited competitors or "serious" athletes, not the masses. Judging by the light attendance except during the heat wave, you are not meeting community needs 3. need drain mats in locker areas 4. Friday movie nights were advertised, but movies were never listed online and were not posted.
I have had a wonderful experience at the menlo swim center. The staff is cheerful and always greets you as you enter and leave the pool. I would recomend this place to everyone in Menlo Park. If you have not tried a swim program or are a competitive swimmer this is the place to go.
I thought your facility is very well kept and clean - immaculate! I will definately take more lessons in the fall.
I would like to see the dressing rooms cleaner. They are reasonably clean in the morning, but as the day wears on they become quite filthy and slimey and I don't dare go in there barefoot. Toenail fungus is one of the most widespread minor skin problems in America right now and the virus that causes it comes up through the bottom of the feet. Realizing that this is not preventable in a public facility, it would still be much more comfortable if the dressing rooms, particularly the floor were kept cleaner. That stuff gets tracked into the pool. What about a foot bath on the way out to the pool?
Mainly the improvements needed are the locker rooms. These recommendations are felt by many that use the locker rooms during the masters programs. Particular to the ladies locker room (I go there for the masters swimming): 1) Not enough bench space - please add some extra benches along the walls - as many as possible 2) Please add some heavy duty 'hooks' along the empty walls - will help keep stuff off the floor when changing 3) The towel dispenser is 'way too tight' - cannot get the towels out - can this be loosened up? They all rip or don't come out at all 4) Can the staff periodically remove the hair from the drains in the showers? By lunch they are clogged & yuucky - I clean them everytime I swim so the showers drain 5) Can some 'unisex' shower heads be added outside?? Many of us are happy to shower outside in good weather in our swimsuits - helps w/crowds inside! 6) Can the baby change table be moved somewhere else?? It is in the way in a really overcrowde area - babies are not changed there - just used as a 'shelf' Sounds like a lot - but would really make the ladies room much nicer to use - just not enough space to change! the men probably have similar issues Thanks! Overall pool is great & VERY well run!
Seamless transition for me as a Masters Swimmer. Love the new pool and all the facilities.
service is good. I remain surprised at how small the locker room is for such a large facility.
Facility is great. Coaching staff is superb & the masters team has a strong sense of camaraderie.
Locker rooms too small.
since I have a lap pass, I find it rather strange that I still have to pay for myself, when I take my daughter (22 months) to the baby pool instead only for the child. Best regards <Name Removed>
Relative to swim classes: The inconsistency of instructors has a negative effect - we had a different teacher every week. Young children need the same instructor each week and the teacher should be experienced - often the instructors seemed disorganized or outright disinterested. They were often unsure of how to handle fussing kids as well as parents of fussing kids. Often we saw the children hanging on the side of the pool waiting for late-comers to suit-up; the kids get cold and upset and can't bounce back to continue the lesson. We found the classes to be a huge disappointment and hope you examine and improve the program, as well as hire competent instructors who have common sense when it comes to 2 and 3 year-olds. On a positive note, Stephen is a pleasure to work with - extremely professional and courteous.
Kids' swimming fees a little less, or include 1-2 times a week open swim practice (with family) as part of expensive swimming lesson fees. It can add up when we are trying to teach our child how to swim and want maximum time at the pool. Have family package rates that don't leave out small families of 3. (Rates are much better for families of 4 and more.) Have more open swim times for family, even if it's only a portion of the family (not baby, not lap) pool. This would help those of us who want to reinforce swimming lesson learning. Thanks for more aqua fit class times. They are better, but still a big challenge for working moms who want to get fit. Winter: include some lap area under the bubble for those of us who want to keep fit but can't quite cope with winter cold performance pool laps. This could even be later in the evenings, as long as it's under the bubble.
I thought most of the swim teachers were great, but I wasn't as comfortable with one of them, Pablo. I felt he wasn't very warm or encouraging with my daughter and that he sometimes pushed her little too hard. He just seemed to be putting in his time as opposed to being genuinely interested in helping the kids. Elizabeta (sp?), on the other hand, was wonderful!
The facility and outstanding, professional but friendly staff and admisinistration have successfully created a welcoming environment for customers/citizens. This is a great addition to the city of Menlo Park. The only thing that could make it even better is if the City officials and newspaprers would quit with their griping and accept that the people are happy! A membership-free physical fitness facility that is open to all is a good thing.
It isn't ideal when you plan your day to go to the baby pool, show up, pay and then when you go to the gate and find it's not open. I realise there will be a cost/revenue question but it would be nice if even the front desk had known that the pool was closed before taking our money (of course it was refunded it just looks dubious) Maybe it would be good to post on the notice board that the kiddie pool hours are under revision so we know to call ahead. Automated booking process is not acceptable to me in that there is this ongoing payment authorisation. Usually you sign up for a lesson set of 4/ 8 or for a swim course but to just recurr seems too risky. This model may work for more dedicated swimmers who have chosen to do lessons for an entire season but maybe you should introduce another stream for parents who want to teach their children to swim/enjoy the water but can't commit to this ongoing theme. Maybe you could introduce a few 'courses' and market them like the city used to do - we did one in summer. There is no makeup policy for missed lessons. This requires a bit more organisation but it would be invaluable to many of us. Overall, I love the pool and facilities but I think the booking process, delay, recurr and lack of 'people' in the initial sign up phase doesn't work. Personally, after my initial signing up have shyed away from using your online process. Thanks to the great managers and swim staff we will be returning to your facilities for our future swim needs. We look forward to seeing some of these and more improvements! Regards, <Name Removed>
I really like the new Burgress Pool and the way it is being run. My suggestions for improvements are: - the changing room floors are not clean. it would be great if this could be improved. - install a swim suit dryer in the changing room. - the sign-in process is sometimes slow, specially if you are registered. - add a snack bar/vending machine that sells energy bars or drinks.
Very friendly, helpful and competent staff.
shower facilities got grungy- clean more often and mopre thouroughly. seating and shelf space in men's changing area is inadeqaute. Add more seating or at least additional shelving by the baby change and dryer area.
The lanelines during lap swim are consistently way too loose. If lanelines move at all with the water, they are not doing their job properly, and often the lanelines at Burgess move feet from side to side. The lifeguarding staff is very helpful and willing to tighten them when I ask, but it would be wonderful if they were tightened properly to begin with
I think the pricing makes it out of reach for many families including my own. I think that even though this is a private organization it needs to realize that this is a public facility and the wealthy of this community have their own pool at home and money is not an issue, but for the others in "public" your pricing including but not limited to entrance fees, lessons, etc make it out of reach for many in our community,.
I think you are doing a good job overall however, I was not happy with how many times I needed to call or e-mail just to sign up my daughter for swim lessons and find out which class she got into. You need to have someone available over the phone. Your pricing structure needs to be clearer (can kids make up or rescedule classes if you are going on vacaton and let you know ahead of time etc...should all be on your website) It would be a lot easier when you signed up you could tell right away if you child is in a class and it would be better to be able to sign up more than a week in advance. I realise you are probably staffing according to need but famalies need to be able to plan other activities too.
Only thing that needs improvement is flexibility with the payment software so you can pay for things weekly when you take vacationes, etc. and can't make class. Thanks.
The womens bathroom has two small benches for changing, which is insufficent when more than two people are in the room. The old bathrooms had more space and were more functional. The lapswimming used to be just lapswimming and now when I go there is some lapswimming class going on, which is distracting and noisy. It would be nice to go and swim and not have to listen to people yelling out instruction.
I think you have done a fabulous job this first summer! Obviously, there is always room for improvement, but overall I'm thrilled with our experience.. One issue I have is now that my daughter is six, she can't go to the baby pool anymore; however, the depth of the open swim pool during the week with swim lessons going on is less than fun to play in because it's just a bit too deep. Is there a way to keep remedy this? Obviously, you need the pool during the week for lessons after school lets out and I understand this. Even one lane would be fun for those kids who are in-betweens.. My daughter says that she loved her instructor, Kelsey, and that she would love to have her again! Thanks again for a great job!
please do something about the paper towel dispensers in the women's locker rooms. they are so jammed full that they don't work. I mean never.
In the summer - extend hours to 8:30pm Offer water exercise classes for people with jobs who cannot come in during the day.
I am impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff in the early morning. I am disappointed with the layout of the locker room for the swimmers. It is too crowded, even with three or four swimmers trying to change.
Increase lap swim hours and lane availability to decrease lane congestion and opportunity to go with more times. Overall good job for a first year.
Adriane Matos is a terrific instuctor and has a true love for children. She is warm and caring yet she she was able to push my child with compassion and consitancy. Micah is also terrific my son adores him. As a single mom I always appreciate it when he has male teachers
I found the waterbabies class to be a lot of fun for my daughter and myself. The only thing I might recommend is that someone on the staff be responsible for making periodic checks on the status of the locker rooms, specifically the family locker rooms. We used these exclusively and they are a great feature when you have a little child to attend to! I love them. There have been a couple of times when I found them in a condition slightly less nice than one would hope but I did bring it to the staffs' attention and they were very greatful and responsive. Thanks for all the hard work.
I found the waterbabies class to be a lot of fun for my daughter and myself. The only thing I might recommend is that someone on the staff be responsible for making periodic checks on the status of the locker rooms, specifically the family locker rooms. We used these exclusively and they are a great feature when you have a little child to attend to! I love them. There have been a couple of times when I found them in a condition slightly less nice than one would hope but I did bring it to the staffs' attention and they were very greatful and responsive. Thanks for all the hard work.
My experience is with swim lessons for my kindergarten-age child. The instructor has good expectations and rigor to stretch the kids, excellent instructor. Improvements: more private changing rooms, a jacuzzi or sauna for us to warm up after the swim (can be for extra fees).
The womens' locker room is a nightmare. Ladies have to change in the toilet stalls because there is barely enough room for 2 women changing simulataneouly in the locker area. It is way too tight.
The staff and instructors were friendly and I appreciated that there was always someone to guide my son to the right place for lessons. The one area that I feel needs some improvement is tracking the progress of students. It seemed like each week my son would start at the same place that he started the week before and 2/3rds of the lesson would be the instructor figuring out at what stage my son was. The last 1/3 he'd start to be challenged, but then the next lesson he'd be right back to the beginning. I see 3 factors that contributed to this problem: 1) There seemed to be a lot of turn over in staff. He had a number of different coaches. 2) Thursday and Saturday coaches never communicated with one another re: my son's progress; and 3) Even if my son had the same coach, he/she didn't seem to remember at what stage my son was. I believe this problem could be solved if you created a form that instructors could check off each week for the child. It could simply be check-boxes of exercises or tasks that have been mastered. The instructor could then refer to the form before each class. I would very much like to continue my son in swim lessons, but the way things are currently going, I don't feel like he's progressing.
Great job, many thanks and blessings to all!
Thanks for including me in your survey. My only request is to make 1-2 lap swimming lanes more regularly available in the instructional pool for those of us who have a hard time getting out of the lap pool. Right now according to the calendar it's limited - although there have been lap lanes available during the week when it says it's school. There do not seem to be any available at weekends. Thanks, Ann
Would it be possible to have more shelf space in the changing rooms?
The staff at Menlo Swim and Sport are doing a fantastic job. Every morning before sunrise, the custodian is on-site cleaning the pool area. I am often quite surprised to watch this man pick up - very diligently - every fallen leaf near the pool area. The approach to cleanliness in the pool area borders on obsession... and I think that reflects the highest level of professionalism. I have seen Tim Sheeper spending an untold number of hours at the pool every day. Quite recently, one of the infant swimmers had an "accident" in the instructional pool. Tim took charge immediately. He had people leave the pool, assigned the other lifeguards their duties, and then took care of the problem himself. Not a pleasant task, but Tim taking control of the situation himself as opposed to delegating reiterated to me his willingness to work side by side with his staff to ensure a pleasant experience for all visitors. I think that is a very unique quality in any manager of any business. In sum, the facility is in very good hands. We should all be thankful Tim Sheeper came along.
The registration process is not easy nor clear. It was difficult to find answers to questions, etc. Also difficult to sign up for the same class as friends. The swim instructor I was originally signed up with was great! (Elizabetha - GREAT) However, after I registered for another month I found out i had a different instructor who was not very good at all. She was a bit rough with the babies, chewed gum in the pool, and was not willing to hear the parents. By the end of my time with her I was glad I had already chosen not to continue classes any longer. The area needs more shade in general and it would be helpful to at least be able to exit near the parking lot. Overall - though - I was glad to have taken some classes there this past summer.
My only request is that you put up a sign for age limits of boys that can come into the women's restroom. I continually see women bringing in their boys who are ages 7, 8 and older. They should be using the family restroom provided.
Only 2 thoughts I have had... 1. maybe giving ribbons out when kids "graduate" from one swim lesson level to the next (e.g. web foot 1 to 2, etc) 2. adding hooks for towels in the family bathrooms Everything has been great!
The biggest complaint/suggestion I can make is that instructor turn over is definately a factor in my children's overall comfort level during swimming lessons. To have rapport with an instructor that they can count on seeing each week gets them excited to do an activity and seems to help with their overall progress with an activity. The frequent instructor changes during our short time at Burgess pool made it difficult for me to justify sticking with this program.
My daughter is more receptive when learning how to swim with Adrienne. Also, monitor more closely their skill level for improvements or setbacks? Thank you.
locker room needs more hooks
The community atmosphere is fantastic. The families are really enjoying the recreation for themselves and their children. The staff is competent and pleasant. It is a great improvement from the old Burgess pool. It would be great to get a bench along the long wall in the Women's locker room so we don't have to bump into one another to get dressed Also, the monthly fee of $40 is a little steep. $35 would be more competitive with neighboring pools.
Please keep the pool at a comfortable temp., especially for the little ones taking swim lessons! Great experience overall.
1. Our son has been taking swim lessons and I don't like a few things about the sign-up. First, it would be nice to have the option of not having automatic renewal. This is annoying b/c sometimes we know when we don't want to sign up again. Second, it seems like some type of make-up lessons could be arranged - in the summer scheduling is difficult with vacations and we didn't sign up for about a month in the middle b/c of this. We were gone 2 weeks so I timed things to end at this time - but then I kept forgetting to sign up when I got back so we missed another 2 weeks. It would be good to be able to reschedule these lessons - or to have signed up in advance for the lessions when we returned. This is basically the third issue - i.e. the need for a short lead time in signing up is annoying. 2. Sometimes our lessons start late (5 - once even 10 mintues) but then they end on time. 3. Micah is great with the kids and a good teacher.
My kids took swim lessons with you this summer. Some things about the lessons were great: both kids learned quite alot and, since enrollment was low, they got private lessons for the price of group - good since you charge more than Ladera Recreation Dist where we had be taking lessons. Some things were not so great: their instructors kept changing so they had a hard time anticipating what the lesson would be like. I chose their lesson time so that we could stay for the open swim afterwards and they would have a chance to practice their new skills. Unfortunately it turned out that the open swim (starting at 1pm) was in the colder lap pool which was too deep (4 ft) for my kids to feel comfortable in. Not only that, but the lap pool was often crowded with kids from camps making us feel even less safe swimming there. I found you staff very pleasant although when you first opened I got different answers to my questions depending on who I talked to. Hopefully you've ironed that out by now. I really dislike your registration and pay structure for kids summer lessons. Summer for kids is not a time of routine. Almost all other camps and activities, not to mention family vacations, are scheduled by the week. I would have much preferred swim lessons that met several days a week for one or two weeks. If I wanted more, I would sign up for several week's worth.
1) lifeguards should be more involved. stay attentive,discourage bad behaviors (pushing, running). 2) leave about 5 minutes between lessons so that the instructor can give the parents a quick update as to how the kids are doing. Are there things the children can practice during the week before the next lesson?
It would be nice if the middle pool could have extended mid-day hours for open swim during the summer. The third pool is very cold except on unusually warm days! Also, the third pool would get very crowded during July and August with all the camp groups. Some days it almost seemed like an "invasion!" Is there any way to limit the number of campers or groups? Overall, we were VERY happy with the pool and the lessons. I hope you offer the summer family membership next year as well. What a great idea. The whole family loved coming to the pool. You guys are doing a great job. Thanks!
When the rainy season comes, I believe that the changing room is going to to get even more crowded at the times of Masters swimming. I am not sure whether there is anything that can be done, but one suggestion is to provide a row of hangers on the wall leading from the change room to the pool (by the showers) as this would provide some additional space to hang swimming bags and clothes.
My child had a different instructor every lesson (twice a week) for 3 weeks which I found disjointed. Stephan was very helpful in addressing my concerns. However, I felt that even within the group, the skill level of each child was too variable, making the individual time for instruction uneven.
Suggestions (I love your pool, just a few things that could be improved): The pool has become very salty (sweaty?) as summer progressed - any chance of turning up the filter?? The women's locker room is extremely cramped, but has lots of wasted space along the wall - needs shelves/ hooks/ benches - having more than 2 people in the bench area makes it almost unusable Shower drains need to be cleared regularly Other pools in the area are a bit cheaper (Rinconada is $3, Eagle is $3.50). I'm OK with the $6 fee, but it makes me expect more of the facility - cleaner pool and a better set up locker room, etc. Compliments: The pool hours are great!! The pool is never crowded Parking is easy The facillity is clean, with the exception of the 2 items above Staff is very nice and ready to help
I love the new center. I lap swim at the pool myself and LOVE all the available lap swimming hours. My son takes swimming lessons too, and loves it. Adrienne and Stephan are fantastic about cheering him on every time he comes to class, and teacher Micah is great!!!! We are very pleased with our experience here.
Don't put so many paper towels in the towel dispenser. With the level currently used you can't get a towel without tearing it.
1. We appreciated having our three swimmers lessons at the same time. 2. We paid for open swim for the summer but usually could not access pool due to heavy number of "campers" during open swim. Why is a camp group allowed in during open swim??? This happened to be a needless waste of our money. 3. It seems the lessons are designed to be ongoing, not just for the summer. It would be great to have a summer program in addition or instead. It was very difficult to pick exactly the right weeks to join for the summer. Also, I was surprised the scheduled changed at the end of the summer without much lead time. However, I did appreciate the phone call. 4. The lowest pool depth is 3.5 feet which is higher than other pools at 3.0 feet. This was enough of a difference that my 6 year old could not use the big pool. So, we had only the baby pool to use for play. The baby pool has only one depth 1.0 feet .. not enough for a six year old to have that much fun. For our family, this was a disappointment after waiting all this time for the new facility. Overall the facility seems industrial and does not have a very comfortable feel.
The locker room could be laid out better with the baby changing station out of the way more. Also, mats or something on the floor so it doesn't get so slippery when it's wet.
I think that the AquaFit instructor (Brett) brought introduced a very nice water fitness program. The variations made it not only fun, but each concentrated movement challenged every body part. Looking forward to coming back in the future! Thanks, Val
The only thing that isn't up to snuff is the locker room - it is way too small. Other than that, it is all great!
Love the pool, the people and the programs! Thanks for all of your hard work. My one suggestion would be to adjust the online sign-up forms for the swim lessons to include "desired end date" as well. I was a bit confused this summer as to whether I was going to be charged for some lessons while we were on vacation despite cancelling my payment online. I think that I ended up paying for some lesson times in August despite cancelling b/c my start date for monthly payments of lessons began on the 22nd of the month as opposed to the beginning of the month. ...or make it clear that we owe for the entire month each month regardless of whether we intend to take lessons for the entire month. Thank you!
There is still a clear message that lap swimmimg is less important than the programmed activities even though my taxes paid for the facility. The lap swimmimg hours improved somewhat by the end of the summer.
Sometimes the front desk staff was neutral to quiet when arriving for class. Might just be a nice thing to smile and greet everyone with a little cheer rather than looking bored about what they are doing. I understand that during the summer you may have hired students who don't quite have the customer service of a full-time or career professional, but tiny adjustments to greeting behavior would make the check-in/arrival procedure more friendly. Otherwise, I think the facility is fantastic and appreciate the many options I can choose from. Thanks!
it would be great to have some shade available on the side of the pool - an arbor structure over by the grass?
$5 to drop-in for lap swimming is excessive. I can lap swim in Palo Alto for $3 a visit, as a non-resident!
Great job, keep it up!
pool great; design of locker room is poor; it is difficult for multiple people to use lockers at once. Very poor design. Do not cut back on lap swim hours during the winter. It is impossible to swim at 12 noon with masters so wider hours are required to meet my needs. Summer hours work.
Please add a bathing suit drying spinner in the shower area.
We very much enjoyed our time at the pool this summer. Seems we used it so much that we got to know the staff and felt very welcomed. I LOVED the fact that lap swim hours were so generous and the swim classes for the kids were much more professional than what we saw at Rinconada last summer. The billing seemed a bit cumbersome/inflexible, but I hear that you are working on revising the system -- good choice. Even when we did run into problems with the recurring billing, however, the staff was very accessible and able to quickly correct the problem/s. For a public facility, this had the feeling of being much more personal than I would have expected. Thank you for all of your hard work.
Women's locker room...not enough surface area to put your belongings...shower shut-off is annoying
I am very impressed with the Sheeper/Mattos programs at Burgess Pool. It is radically different from both the facility and the city organization of the facility before the renovation. Burgess was seldom open for lap swimmers at convenient times and the facility was gross. The staff did not seem experienced and the swim instructors were a disappointment. I have been very impressed with the hours of operation (thank you!) and the ease of registration. I have two qualms: we have been in lessons for my four year old for maybe four months and have had five instructors. We had continuity of instruction because they are all trained the same, but we had no inter-personal continuity and my daughter always wondered "Who will be my teacher today?". I would have preferred to stay with one teacher longer. Also, I feel the pricing structure for the drop in programs is slightly high. If you want to drop in for 45 minutes with an infant and a young child you pay $10; throw in an extra parent, even for a brief visit and you are nearing a $20 payment for a brief drop in for non-reisdents (we are Menlo Park, but unincorporated). I wish there was a more affordable membership program or that the drop-in rates were more like a maximum for $4 for adults and $2 for children. I think Rinconada is much chaper, I know Burlingame is, and I think other pools in the area charge less. Overall, I very much support the Sheeper organization and the Adrienne Mattos Swim program. The online registration and billing is great. I am excited to see the quality of the Sheeper programs continue! Thanks for stepping in where the City probably would have bungled again!
Locker rooms / Showers are very cramped during busy times. Also, people with open, weeping wounds and sores all over their body probably shouldn't be let in the pool. (Disgusting.)
Locker rooms could use more hooks on the walls. There's no place to hang anything. Thank you for a great community resource!
registering online system isn't flexible enough and not very convenient when trying to coordinate classes for 3 siblings! It take too long to coordinate our schedule and the classes schedule, it would be great to be able to do it over the phone with a "live" person. Staff and instructors are otherwise very competent and welcoming with kids who come to class. An extra pair of eyes (or lifeguard) might be needed with the first level of swimming classes for the small ones who might have difficulties coordinating things like having to put the white floating bar on the side of the pool and hold on to the wall at the same time. Overall I find the program has great value for the kids and is very high quality at the same time even when staff is busy, they always take the time to get to know the kids and create a family atmosphere. Thank you, we will come back for new lessons and recommend your program to friends!
The floors of the bathroom gets really dirty (at times muddy) in the evenings, so if someone could clean it up a little more frequently that'll be great. I am interested in taking Aquafit (water running) classes but the times they are currently at do not work for some one who has a 9-5 job. It would be great if these classes can be prior (before the 7pm Tues/Thur evening) or after (after the 5:45am morning) classes. Thanks!
If there aren't swimming lessons going on, then it would be good if you kept the kids in that pool and left all of the big pool for adults. This is especially valuable when there are all those kids from camp there. It would also be better if the lifeguards would try to keep the kids from screaming.
More seats for those who are waiting for children.
Keep the website schedule up to date, or at least put a note on the calendar to let viewers know when they should call to check the actual schedule. Would it be possible to have some more comfortable chairs available... like lounge chairs? Maybe some sun umbrellas too.
In the lap swim pool, at least one end lane (possibly both) has insufficient pool markings to allow for flip turns (one cannot judge the distance of the wall without any markings on the wall or on the bottom near the wall). At times there are only 2 lanes allocated to lap swim, including one of these end lanes, meaning for practical purposes there is only one lane suitable for flip turns. Not a problem when the pool is empty, but adding the necessary markings would fix the problem. Not sure how the pool could have been designed like this intentionally...
I'm extremely pleased with the children's swim programs. The instructors not only are good at teaching swimming, they are also very patient and capable of managing the children. I have a suggestion based on what had helped us in other swim programs: Give the kids a certificate after completing each level (like every month or more). The certificate can be a simple printout of what steps the kids worked on. You can use simple color paper with stickers. This will help the parents know what the kids have vewhat the kids have been working on, and make the kids feel proud of what they've acheived and look forward to the next level. Thanks!
Would really enjoy some chairs and lounges with umbrellas. Too hot in the summer and everyone is jammed under the one tree. The pool space would be better utilized with more areas to exist outside of the one tree. Open swim is boring for the most part as there are no structures or volleyball net or anything to play with. My children didn't want to go as they said there was nothing to do and there were hordes of people in a small space. Movie and swim night I never saw advertised past the initial flyer and believe it didn't really happen? We were looking forward to that as a family. Maybe it can still be done? Overall I think Adrienne and Stephen do a great job communicating with the parents and kids. Some instructors were a little green and not very friendly with the children. Just a summer job for some maybe, but it showed. The city of Menlo Park could not have done it any better. Thanks!
Not charge kids for using the pools after having had their swim class. This fact makes taking a swim class at Burgess very expensive compared to other facilities and might cause parents to switch to other swim schools where they can use the pool after the classes for free as part of an agreement between the pool facility and the swim school.
The only complaint I have had was when my son and many other kids has had bad rashes on their feet from the baby pool during the first few weeks he and others used this pool.
unfortunately the instructor of my daughter changed 5 times within about 9 lessons. at her age (3 1/2) it's very hard to make them feel comfortable with a teacher and a lot of changes makes it so much harder. last time she refused to take the lesson. overall it was a very good experience and I am sure, we will continue to take advantage of the swimming programs.
Having worked for and swam in many different pool facilities around the US, Burgess ranks in the 99th percentile of my experience. The management ought to be commended, especially since the quality of the services was excellent starting the very first day of operation.
Pool is great. Locker room is way too small. Shower timers way too short. Who takes 20 second showers? I signed up for lap swimming at the end of June for three months for $114. It was not indicated that the billing would be done at the end of August for everyone. I had thought that I would be billed again after three months, which would have been the end of September for me. This ended up costing me an extra $35 or so. On several occasions I have seen ~100 pounds of chemicals dumped into the pool while people are swimming in it. Can this be done at the end of the day? Overall, a great facility, with a very pleasant staff.
It is a fabulous facility and the staff and service has been great. Tim is such a great asset, he is such a great coach for people of all levels. The lifegaurd staff are very helpful as well as the front desk staff. The only thing you could do to improve the variety of the programs would be to clone Tim S. What an asset this place is to the community.
1) Add floor mats (the type that drain water through) to the locker rooms. 2) Add swimsuit spin dryers to the locker rooms.
Benches to sit on are way too small and close to the wall. After sitting many hours through lessons I really wish the benches against the walls were larger. Both of my chldren really benefitted from the programs and will participate again.
The pool is a tremendous asset to the community, as currently run, and is very competitive with other communities (Los Altos, Mountain View, and Cupertino) with which we have experience. Keep up the good work!
You got my email...better benches in the locker room (more room)...quicker entrance for those on lap sw. passes. Dominick
While much of the "world" works on the internet, the online experience required to enroll into your school was at best pitiful. After getting my children enrolled they were bummed up several classes, then back down, until both children were in the same class, with clearly different abilities. They were not happy about this! It was my expatiation that after two months of twice a week lessons my children would be able to swim, freestyle, the length or width of the pool. This is not what I got, in fact the older one now has more bad habits then he had when he began lessons. What I found is that you do not teach swimming rather "pool safety" skills. In closing I will say that most times I had an issue, question, or concern the senior staff listened and took action. I hope that you continue to improve.
The locker rooms were built for a facility much smaller than the one we have.
More evening masters swim practices please. Twice a week is too few.
Tim Sheeper provides an outstanding service to the community. It's probably beyond your control, but bigger locker rooms would be nice. Congratulations on your first 3 months in business; you are doing a stellar job. I am happy that the City of Menlo Park did the right thing and let you operate the pools instead of having them sit idle.
Change the paper towel dispensers. The current dispenser rips the paper towel and holds them in too tightly. Move the paper towel dispensers. Having them positioned high and to the back of the sink makes it impossible for short children and wheelchair bound individuals to reach the paper towels. The lockers are too close to the benches. It is impossible to stand in front to open a locker. Go try it. Put up some hooks so people can hang their towel or clothes near the showers. Put some hooks on the toilet stall doors so people can hang their stuff. Add air dryers to the two "family" bathrooms.
For the very little ones (like my two year old), I think it's helpful to have same instructor week-in and week-out. We have loved all of the instructors we have interacted with, but it makes it easier for our son when the instructor is someone he's already gotten to know. This is only a minor comment, though. We have generally loved the program.
It would be better if you have one instructor for a particular class for at least one quarter rather than change instructors frequently.
I have an infant and the open pool in the back is defintely not suitable for open swim with a little one. It is too deep to get into while holding on to child and too much splashing from divers in the other lane. The first pool where they hold the lessons is a much better pool for little ones . I got a refund on my membership after experiencing this problem. Also life gaurds allow older kids in the baby pool over 7 yrs which creates too much rough-housing. And they need to be more involved with keeping the peace in the baby pool, otherwise it is a miserable experience for newborns and toddlers.
Sheeper and his gang are doing a fabulous job. Only complaint at all is cramped locker rooms, but I realize there is nothing to be done there.
There is one major problem--the size of the locker area in the locker room is far too small. It is uncomfortable for more than 2 people to change clothes at the same time. Even then, the two little benches are too close to the lockers, so that feel like my face is in the locker when I put on shoes, and I'm constantly bumping into the locker-door hardware. There needs to be more floor area between the banks of lockers, and more benches. This problem seems weird because everywhere else (showers, toilets, sinks) the room is very spacious, much more so than necessary. The layout needs to be modified so that more of the space is available to the functions where it's most needed.
Thank you for moving Menlo Masters to a beautiful new pool. Maybe some shelves in the women's changing area what be good. That room is not designed very well, but it's not a big deal.
make up classes should be considered.
The new Burgess Pool is a lovely facility and my family, friends and I have truly enjoyed our swimming experience this summer. I applaud the staff, lifeguards and instructors! They are all very competent, courteous and professional! Overall I feel that the new facility is very nice, however it seems that corners were cut to save money on some essential long-term planning and design. The locker rooms are very small, dark and cold with no natural light. This will promote mildew and mold growth. The changing area is poorly designed, as there is not enough room to change, access the lockers and maneuver around benches, when there is more than three people present. There is a lot of wasted space in the locker room that could be used for additional lockers. A full-length mirror would be useful in the women's locker room. The handicapped bench has been broken off the wall in the shower since the facility opened. I feel that, for sanitary reasons, there should be signs posted that it is mandatory to shower before entering the pool. I visited the pool once on family night and encountered young boys in the women's locker room that were much too old to be there. Sorry for the complaints but it seems for the amount of money that is spent on improving these facilities a little more thought could be put into long term design, esthetics and functionality.
The floors in the locker room are awfully wet. Is there a mesh mat you would consider laying down, or perhaps looking into better drainage? I have to carry around my little one in there so she won't slip. Thank you!
The only thing that I was upset about was the Fact that I had PAID for a month of SEAL Training and the program was cut my last week of the month!!! I would like to be reimbursed for this amount... The coach was great and the program was very motivating and fun but it ended without any warning!!! As a matter of fact I had arrived to class ready for training and was told to go home because there wouldn't be class that week!! This isn't the way it should be done if you expect people to come back! The other instructional programs don't really work for people that work and have families... The 6am and 7am worked perfect for that very same reason!
It would be really great if the lifeguards could put out time clocks for the lap swimmers. Also, I have noticed recently that the lane lines are not always being put out for all of the lanes in the morning. Most of the times that I am there all lanes are being used. Otherwise, everything is just fantastic. Thanks.
Signing up: clarify that signing up for open swim automatically recurrs monthly. I signed up for 1 month, to try out the open swim and was unpleasantly surprised to see that I was charged for the next month. I cancelled as soon as I could, but ended up paying for an extra 2 weeks that I did not use. Womens' Locker Room: A few changes would make them better -Hooks: add some hooks around the locker for dripping bathing suits and towels. -Swimsuit drier: Someplace to quickly drain bathingsuits would be nice. Other public pools I have been to, have a spinner that just centrifuges most of the water out of the wet suits. -Draining mats, so that one is standing on a (mostly) dry surface when getting dresses -different paper towel holders! Those just shred the paper towels and make it almost impossible to extract a paper towel, especially if one has wet hands. Life guards Just one bad experience of a very innatentive one in the toddler pool. A small child tripped and was face down and the life guard didn't even see it happening. Parent hustled over and the lifeguard was still preoccupied with their thoughts...scary. The swimming pools: I love them. I really like that they are temperature controlled (and heated) and the extended hours that let me swim on a weekday.
Mavericks was wonderful for my son, given flexiblity of practice times (mornings or afternoons), small groups and good, encouraging coaching. We are interested in more practice time but not necessarily meets. Would be great to have a low-key swim training program in other seaons. The hours for open swim for kids were not great, as not so convenient and often crowded, though we have not attended since late summer.
In the women's locker room it is impossible to get a paper towel from the dispenser without tearing the towels. The restroom needs different paper towel dispensers.
The hours available for Open Swim are to limited. I swim laps every day and my wife and daughter would join me except for the fact that they are only allowed for one hour on Fridays and only in the afternoons on Sat. & Sun. There is no open swim available during the week. Due to my families schedule, the currant pool schedule prohibits my wife and daughter from swimming at all. I feel dedicating 1 or 2 lanes of the performance pool to Open Swim during all open hours would benefit all Menlo Park Families. Menlo Park does pride itself on being family oriented, shouldn't this apply to the pool also? Thanks for listening
Both of my kids love their weekly swim lessons and they have learned so much in the past few months - it's amazing. The instructors, Adrienne, Stephen, and everyone else are so great and make us feel so good about choosing to come to you for the kids' lessons. However, the only thing I wish would have been different was the "open swim" hours available and facility available. We only came a few times during the course of the summer because we could never find a time that worked for us. On one occasion we came and were crammed into 2 lanes in the big lap pool along with a few summer camps full of roudy kids. The entire instruction pool was closed to open swimming at that time because of lessons. However there were maybe 3 or 4 students in that pool at that time - the instruction pool looked beautiful, like glass, and empty, while we were crammed in the 2 open lanes in the lap pool. It was very frustrating and we ended up leaving beca