Went in for my annual eye appointment because I kept getting text messages that it was time for my…read moreannual eye appointment. I didn't really 'need' an appointment, but figured I might as well go.
I told them upfront I didn't need a new contact lens prescription. I had just ordered more. Eye dr asks me what I normally wear and I tell him mix of glasses & contacts yada yada, he gives me a sample of some new lenses I'm sure a brand rep came in and is trying to push for a kickback considering I saw the past two patients before me walk out with the same brand samples they gave me.
I get to the end of my appointment and peruse the glasses section, and asked the tech to tighten my frames since they've gotten loose over time. She says sure, takes them to the back, and returns with them broken, provides an insincere 'sorry' and no resolution, until I prompted for one. She said they could give me 50% off of the frames if they still sell them. They don't still sell them (shocking), and her next resolution was to try and sell me something else. 'We have frames as low as $90' she said, verbatim.
I walked in the door with a $400 pair of Tiffany & Co frames that I purchased from them in 2023. Hell would freeze over before I walk out the door with a ~$150 pair that isn't even comparable to what I walked in the door with.
She didn't disclose that there was a possibility of damage, and I didn't consider this was in the realm of possibility considering the screws on the arms simply needed tightened. I believe (I can't prove it), that they were heated and she tried to bend the plastic into position instead of just tightening the screws.
Then, at the end after I'm already boiling because she broke my frames, they try to hit me with a $169 bill. I was confused, and asked for a price breakdown. $125 of the bill was for a contact lens 'fitting'. I said I didn't have a fitting, he gave me a sample, I didn't need a new lens prescription, and you didn't sit me down in the subsequent area where the 'fitting' actually happens. She tells me I should have known that him talking to me about contacts was a fitting fee, and next time they bring up contacts I should 'stop them before I receive the service'. I didn't receive what I understood as a service. If that's how you charge that's fine, but you need to be clear upfront that it's $125 for the optometrist to say the word contacts with you in the room. I told her I already have a new lens prescription, and ordered more from 1-800 contacts. She said well this isn't 1-800 contacts, you saw a doctor, yeah - I obviously know that. The POINT is I didn't NEED a NEW prescription. She's giving me a lecture about how 'next time I schedule don't select that you wear glasses & contacts'.
1. There will be no 'next time'
2. When you ask me that question when I'm scheduling, I take it literally. I do wear glasses and contacts.
So they're trying to send me out the door $569 worse off than when I walked in without a single thing in hand. Didn't get new glasses, didn't order contacts, just $169 fee and a broken pair of $400 frames. I tell her I'm not paying $125 for a lens fitting when I didn't need a new prescription. I wouldn't have been so PO'd if she wouldn't have broken my frames without offering a resolution, and at a bare minimum, a sincere apology. If my frames hadn't been broken, I wouldn't have been complaining about the $169.
I pay my $44 for imagining, and she tells me she'll remove the contact lens prescription from their portal since I'm refusing to pay for the lens 'fitting'. I told her that's fine because I. Didn't. Need. A. New. Prescription.!!!!
This place was great before it got bought out by private equity. I've been going here for at least a decade. I hope Dr. Colvin gets to retire soon, because this place is ruined.
The icing on the cake was when I got home, my new contact order (from 1-800 Contacts) was already delivered, because like I said from the start of the appointment: I. Didn't. Need. A. New. Prescription.
I am also not exaggerating the price point - these are the comps online. They're probably going for more now than what I originally paid for them.
[comp listing 1](https://www.ebay.com/itm/168069210050)
[comp listing 2](https://www.etsy.com/listing/4438128440/?ref=share_ios_native_control)
[comp listing 3](https://eyewear-collections.com/products/tiffany-co-tf-2074-8239-cat-eye-eyeglasses-54-mm?srsltid=AfmBOoqHlSl1j7OAGSiV-sQMBGuMW3FZ1ZtNf3B2v0KNZXb5DAhsyRNQ)
End of the day, I will not be returning to the only eye dr office I've been going to for a decade. I was already dissatisfied when they sold out to private equity, but this experience put me over the edge.
I don't recommend this practice, or any other MyEyeDr affiliated practice.