Eye doc vent

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I just have to vent about this. It's so ridiculous!

I've got vision coverage so I can go to any eye doctor in my plan. When I first got the coverage, I randomly picked an eye doc that was near my apartment and that was open on Saturdays. He turned out to not be very good - his office was tiny and dirty. His secretary was a mean old witch. The selection of glasses frames were outdated and ugly. And the lenses for the glasses were terrible - the coating on them started flaking and peeling off in less than a year! I only get one new pair of glasses per year so then I had to wait a few months with horrible lenses before I could get new ones. I complained about the poor quality of the lenses and he just blew me off, with a "it's not my fault" attitude.

So after that bad experience, I decided to find a really modern eye doc, the polar opposite of my former eye doc. I found one right near my work, which is good because I can go there on my lunch hour (this one isn't open on Saturdays). His office is new and beautiful, his staff are friendly and competent, and he's got a good selection of cute modern eyeglass frames. I thought this would work out well.

But! When I got my new glasses, not only was the prescription wrong in the left lens, but both lenses were scratched up! I took them back and complained, and I was told the lenses would be replaced ASAP. It took nearly two weeks (apparently there was a back-up at the lab that makes the lenses) and when I finally got my new lenses, the left one still had the wrong prescription and my vision was blurry in that eye! Ugh! So I had to have another eye exam, and they finally got my prescription correct. So I got my new, 3rd set of lenses yesterday... and although the prescription is correct in both lenses now, guess what - MORE SCRATCHES! I could just scream! Why is it so $%&#* difficult to find a decent eye doctor? The scratches aren't his fault, but the wrong prescription thing totally was. It's so annoying!

Thanks for reading my vent. I feel a little bit better (although I'm looking at my computer monitor through scratches, which is endlessly annoying!!).

 

[David in Seattle]

Cat - I gotta say, I've been wearing glasses/contacts since I was 7, and I don't recall EVER getting scratched lenses. I think you're right that the scratches aren't directly the doctor's "fault", but his selection of labs is. Sounds like next year you may need to find eye doc #3! :ylol:

 

[partlycloudy]

That's very frustrating. You can obtain your prescription and order glasses online for a lot cheaper than at a doc's office. I and several people I know have ordered from Zenni Optical online and are extremely satisfied. I think you'll be very surprised at their prices and frame/lense options.

I don't work for the company, by the way. I'm just a very satisfied customer.

 

[Starla86]

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience, I am an optician and work for an exceptional dr. Depending on what you had added to your lens ie anti-reflective coating, scatch coating... it should add some sort of warranty to them. If you received your lenses with scratches already on them then you need to take them back and demand new ones. Or just a general refund, it can be done no matter what they say. My advice is to ask what lab the dr uses, you are going to have more headache with a store that has a lab on sight. Not saying that they are bad, but in my professional experience the quality is not what you want. Find a private dr that uses a lab called HOYA. This is the number one lab in the world, besides eye glasses they manufacture all Iphone lens screens and 3d tvs. I deal with this lab everyday and have nothing negative to say. Hope this helps in the future.

 

[David in Seattle]

Find a private dr that uses a lab called HOYA. This is the number one lab in the world, besides eye glasses they manufacture all Iphone lens screens and 3d tvs.

I think they're also one of the major manufacturers of photographic filters. Didn't know they made eyeglass lenses, interesting.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks all. I'm not sure which lab my eye doc uses, but I will find out. Apparently they have an in-house lab which my vision insurance does not cover, so for people like me with weird insurance they send the lens orders out to a different lab to be made. One of the receptionists at my current eye doc said that that lab has had a lot of issues lately with scratched lenses, so apparently I'm not the only one who has complained. But after the first set of scratched lenses, I was told that it wouldn't happen again, and of course it did. It's just frustrating! David, I've worn glasses since I was 11, so for roughly 20 years now, and I've never received scratched lenses before either until now. I think I may have to look for a new eye doc.