I initially trained at a small school in California (long, long before visa requirements and TSA fingerprinting) and got great service. And no, my PPL checkride certainly wasn't just one hour
However, I then did some further training on a couple of occasions at some of the proverbial FL 'sausage factories' and the difference was striking. Not trying to slag these outfits off, I achieved what I came for, but you simply have to run the shop differently if you have, say, 200 students rather than 10.
Which brings me back to my post, stating the OP probably has the luxury of being able to train with a small outfit that can provide personalised service.