Tri coaching survey (Page 2)

There are some fantastic personal trainers out there, but unfortunately, the majority are terrible.  There are several hundred personal trainer "certifications" available in the U.S., but there are only about 5 that are actually worth anything and accepted in pretty much every fitness facility in the country.  Plus, even among the ones with a worthwhile certification there is still a huge variation in their skill levels.  Most are not frauds in the sense that they are selling snake oil.  More commonly, they simply lack the skills to help, but unfortunately, they don't even know what they don't know.  The end result is situations like a PT who thinks they can help someone who wants to run a marathon, but then has them do stupid pointless things like walking on a stair stepper while holding dumbbells.

Also, a good swimming coach isn't going to teach you flip turns if you lack the basics of forward crawl technique, and don't have plans to swim in a Masters event where it's helpful.  They're going to listen to what you want to learn and achieve, and combine that with their experience indicates you really need to learn, and develop a program that gets you where you want to go.

FWIW, I've never seen anyone here or on ST claim that all you need is a coach.  Without exception, every recommendation I've seen for a coach includes the caveat that it needs to be the right coach.  The right coach being one with adequate knowledge of the subject matter, the skills to impart that knowledge, plus a philosophy that is compatible with the athlete's philosophy.

Don't let your bad experiences deter you from seeking professional assistance.  View them as valuable learning experiences that will help you recognize the right people to help you once you find them.