Hi all,
So for context, I have been instructing in various centres and environments for a few years now as CWI. I was hoping to start a discussion on the assumed knowledge of a gym employee.
I have started at a new workplace recently and there are some instructors working who have been climbing a limited time and no quals giving advice on injuries and other subjects. When I suggested adding a caveat of 'I am no expert but this is my opinion' or 'if it gets worse talk to a doctor', the response was a 'well I'm only a centre employee why should I have to add that'. I think legally you would be covered, but ethically it feels like a grey area.
Personally I feel like, if there is no obvious distinction between those with experience and quals and those not at a centre then customers may assume someone has knowledge simply for working there. I am not suggesting there should be a distinction, simply that employees should be careful how they suggest things if there is limited knowledge backing it up.
It was an interesting subject to have to try and explain so I was hoping to hear from people their experiences with the ethics of advising customers and ''assumed knowledge''.