I have been going to Bard since I was young and was always very satisfied with their service. Dr Lochman ( please excuse the spelling) in Decatur was wonderful and was very precise and thorough in examining the eyes and ensuring everything with the eyewear selected was correct. But I am done going to Bard in Normal which is a sad statement when leaving Bard Optical after 50 years of entrusting my vision to them. But there are just too many reasons not to respect them and people should know what they are about. It is not customer service. My husband was by Bard a couple of evenings before I called , and I only called to set up appts for us because they told him they had nothing available until after January. There was no way that was true and called them to show him how bogus that statement is. Living close we have been by Bard often going to Michael's or pet store and they were never crowded. Maybe one person waiting either for their appt or a family member. I wondered why they were being so rude. I was immediately accepted by a request to make appointments for my husband and I to get our eye tests and new eyewear. The night before the appointments I accidentally poked myself in my right eye and it hurt terribly all night but knew I would be at Bards in the morning. Dr. Hinson did a great job finding the wound, prescribing antibiotic drops and placing a contact bandaid in my eye. I mentioned to him that contacts have become very difficult to take out because my eyes are so dry. I asked when I needed to return and we worked together. I decided I would leave the contact in as the Dr. had said it could be worn for 30 days day and night. So I thought a few days wouldn't hurt if needed and could check in with the Dr in a couple of days. Wow was I wrong. The next day I could see the Dr. was Tuesday and my eye did ok with the meds prescribed. I went in to see Dr who was a different person which was fine. He spent a short time looking and dying etc. and then tried to take the contact out. Yes I was very thankful and my eye needed a contact break. When he went to take the contact out it was frightening but tried to stay calm. Calm did happen because he practically leaped into my eye and with every knuckle pushing in my nose mouth lower lid cheeks really hard. Plus his fingers were flailing like spider legs pushing my face really hard. I flinched but tried to get it over with....but I could not. It hurt under my eye, cheek,mouth, my nose and especially my eye. The pain was intense. After 3 attempts and me recoiling from each, I asked him to stop. He wanted to keep on trying -his sporadic finger movements everytime -the knuckles -and the awful pressure on my face I just could not take anymore. Now I had given my eye a hard poke and it hurt like hades !!! I'm usually a good patient but not this time. He took me out in the lobby and said he was contacting Gaily eye clinic. He said "Now don't move!" As soon as he was gone was my time to speak out. I told one of the staff that I just couldn't go through Gaily today but I knew if I was referred I could go in for assistance. I gave my eye a rest and called Bard the next day and the same employee said he had sent it into Gaily and to call them. They unloaded me I felt when I needed my eye clinic. They could have gotten the contact out easily but they were against me, I guess I was too much of a burden. So I called Gaily and told them I needed to come in and get help with getting the contact out. I called them 3 days in a row. My eye was hurting worse than ever. They should be responsible for their patients with a nail hole in their eye but the last Dr I saw was most likely mad that I left. The Dr was nice enough but he really should retire. I've never been scared of any type of Dr ever until the day I had appt. I was shaken too. I went to Saint Joseph Prompt care closest to my house. Ft Jesse Rd. They came in the room and after a brief consultation were bac k in a flash. They took a cue tip and moved it across and out of my eye. The whole process including check in at front desk took a most 10-12 minutes. That whole thing seemed like a really bad nightmare. Never again read more

My family encountered a series of terrible experiences that include incorrect prescription diagnoses, trial lenses being sent to the wrong location, fitting adult glasses on a 10 year old boy, and a heated conversation with a doctor who had a harsh, condescending tone with my 11-year old daughter. My family will never return to this place. read more

I went in to pick up glasses and when I tried them on, I immediately told them something was wrong because everything was a blur and I can't see out of them. Their response was: they take time getting used to so give it 2 weeks and if it's not better come back and we'll see if there's anything we can do. They said try them in the morning when you get up and your eyes are just adjusting it will make it easier...uh, no, it made me sick because everything was so blurry; I started getting dizzy and nauseous. I'm quite sure the prescription is wrong because I've never had a reaction like this with glasses previously. read more

My daughter needed to get some information written on a paper for her drivers permit test. We were told that only the original Dr who examined her could do this. What a stupid rule, in my opinion. We paid for their service but no one can look in her file for this info? We were also told her Dr was on vacation, so now we have to wait even longer. Seemed very unaccommodating and we left frustrate. Not sure I will give them our business again after this. read more

I went to Bard optical because of my insurance. Got my glasses and tried them for a week. Couldn't see as well as I should (halos around letters) so I took them back. They said they remade them but it didn't make a difference with how I could see. They said to bring them back for a refund, so I did, only to find out a week or so later that they can't refund me. So now I'm out $600.+ for glasses that aren't right and give me bad headaches. Staff was pleasant at first until I took the glasses back. DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE! read more

Rhonda in the front office was an awesome lady to have by your side. She called my insurance provider and found all of the information I wasn't able to access. She is incredibly helpful. When I was looking for contact options, I thought that I was comparing a two week option with a daily option. When I picked up my contacts, I was surprised that I chose daily contacts, happily surprised. After working it out, when I was comparing options, it was really the cost of two different daily contact brands. I'm not sure where the miscommunication happened, but it worked for my favor! I am still pleased with the price I paid for the services I received. read more

My husband came in to get the damn numbers on my lenses buffed off. He has a medical condition that does not allow him to wear a mask. They kicked him out anyway saying their policy blah blah. Well little do they know they can be sued for this. There is no law stating mask should be worn. NONE. We will be in contact with our lawyer. read more

The eye doctor here is so funny and nice. He makes you feel comfortable and I had a great visit. I used to go to another location but the Bard Optical in Normal, the staff are truly amazing. I highly recommend! read more

I was there yesterday and was wanting a second opinion on my script. As I thought it wasn't right. I have 2 different scripts for both of my eyes which also makes me a challenge. The Dr was honest with me and told me the readers I was using were fine until my distance vision started to be affected. Highly recommend over the $800 I wasted at another vision store. read more

Very shady business practices..My fiance canceled his eyeglass order yet 3 days later the payment went through and then they refuse to help us fix it..They stopped answering our calls to try to get this straightened out and so help me god if they didn't cancel the insurance part i will notify my insurance company and hope they refuse to do business with them..I'm disgusted over this whole this and lack of help to fix the problem just so some employee can get their commission..Do your self a favor and steer clear of this place and buy your glasses elsewhere read more

Horrible customer service. The manager there is very unprofessional and does not return phones calls when asked too. Overpaid for my office visit so we will see if I get my money back for that. Loved the Dr. read more

I was greeted with a warm smile from Laura at the front desk! She helped me quickly and was there to help with any questions I had. She made me feel very comfortable during my pre vision exams. The actual doctor moved me a long very quickly and I feel like she wasn't as thorough as she could have been. However, afterward Laura was great at helping me find a great pair of glasses afterward! Hard optical also offers a free pair of sunglasses with every full price glasses purchase which was awesome! Highly recommend Laura but maybe request a different doctor than Dr. Portillo. read more

First visit 2.5 hours for a eye exam. Second visit been waiting a hour for a contact check. At this point they have been closed for 10 minutes and haven't even called me back yet. Love the eye doctor but this is beyond ridiculous. read more

This is my second post of how SHADY these people are! I recently found out from my insurance company that they don't have an allotted amount on frames, even though I was told it was $130. Whatever frames I choose over $130 I had to pay out of pocket. The only frames I was shown by salesman Jason were the designer frames. I called my insurance company (EyeMed) and they called and spoke to Manager Jessica (she told them she was only floor help, lie!) and said that is a perk they offer (to get you to pay out of pocket on top of what they bill) $130 off frames. It had nothing to do with my insurance whatsoever. My insurance Co was shocked that this isn't how it should be done and very unethical. My daughter either picked frames that are covered or they are not, bottom-line. They are saying this perk is an "Insurance Allowance" and its not at all. Please check your paperwork if you are choosing to do business with them. They will be nice and have happy smiles when you are there because they are making a big buck off you. Phony smiles and false pretenses. Beware!! read more

This place is awful the staff are rude beyond belief and i will never go here again there have been such hassles getting contacts. they tried to make me buy something over 2x as expensive instead of the ones i tried to tell them i want, the ones ive used my whole life, they finally told me they didnt carry them and i went home to order them online, so when the Visions Direct store called to make sure the prescription was right Bard changed my order to the ones they tried to sell me in the store that i said i couldnt afford. so when i called them they gave me the run around and said they would have to call me tomorrow after they talked to the doctor... This has been ridiculous i told them this was what i wanted and i have used forever, and they try to tell me i am not approved for them.... um no i am not coming in again to get approved for them i told them that is what i wanted in the first place. DO NOT GO HERE, THEY ARE RUDE AND DONT CARE ABOUT THIER CUSTOMERS. read more

I took my daughter to her 4:20pm appointment we made months ago, grey said the appointment was 4pm the doctor wasn't taking appointments after 4pm then made an appointment in the future for 5pm. Very rude to me about it. My reminder voicemail did not say a time so i assumed it was 4:20pm like i had scheduled because my child doesn't get off the bus until 4pm. I'm extremely angry about this. The new staff at the normal il location is unprofessional and rude and cant make a simple appointment and wont apologize when they do something wrong. I often get different answers from different employees about insurance coverage. If there were more options with our insurance we would never come back due to so many issues. I now have received a call about my own appointment stating they made it with a doctor that doesn't take my insurance after 2 months of waiting they only called 2 days before the appointment! read more