Most "personal trainers" I saw knew nothing about basic, free weight lifts.
This is spot-on where I live. (Kerala, India)
The trainers have no experience with proper form coaching for the basic powerlifting exercises.
All the gyms here promote themselves as 'Bodybuilding gyms'.
All the members want to look like the muscle-bound moviestars from 'Bollywood' (presumably to get 'ze girls' :p)
I'm maybe 1 of 3 people in the whole gym clientele(all male) that even uses the Squat Rack. I'm on Stronglifts 5x5 for a month now and my lifts are definitely improving and so is my flexibility and core 'balance'.
Surprising side-effect: I don't feel 'clumsy' anymore.
And yeah, I get into long winded arguments with the 'trainers' twice a month, about why i don't use the cable machines for 'ze body'.
As an engineer at heart, I like to explain the idea to them something like: "You can pimp your cheap-ass car with all the bling you want, but when it counts, the German engine is going to make the difference. Besides, there's no harm in adding bling after you've got your own finely-tuned German engine under the hood"
Yes, its corny, but it got the message across and got the 'trainers' off my back.