I have been getting my eye glasses at Costco in Novato, CA for many years with outstanding, 1 trip experiences. This time at Costco, Concord it was totally different!!!
These were a replacement for a 2 year old pr lost on a cruise ship. What unfolded was a tale of utter frustration. We started with a new rx by the Optometrist (Dr. Miyasaki) who told me my cataracts had progressed to a moderate level, approaching the point of surgery; OK, so I know a perfect correction will be difficult. [ I'm viewing this experience through the career lens' of a retired health care provider & total quality management consultant]. Fast forward, it took 2.5 months, through 5 pair before I was fit with working progressive (tri-focal) glasses. Every time a new pair came in one of the 3 corrections was way off & we had to re-assess the situation & make a change. Not counting the original Dx/Rx, there were re-work changes to the Rx 4 times and the optical lab made grinding errors 2 times. On one occasion the optical staff sent me to the Optometrist w/o the necessary referral paperwork, necessitating an extra trip; All-in-all, I made a total of 10 round trips from Rossmoor, Walnut Creek.
During another exchange I learned when errors occur, the optical staff are to have a second person review & assess, but that they never do it because they are too busy.
A major irony is through this ordeal I had an old pair of 4 year old glasses that I was using that worked well--in spite of my cataracts having progressed for 4 years . Along about round 3 I said I had had it; please make the next rework exactly like my 4 year old pair; they did; they were wrong. Along the way I had dialog with the optical staff & with Dr. Steward regarding how they were attempting some corrections with more magnification while I said "If I'm seeing fuzzy, isn't magnification just going to magnify the error?" Dr. Stewart agreed, yet it seems they continued to fiddle with magnification. Near the end, communication with so many different staff made it difficult to isolate errors amid incompetence, inefficiency and by whom.
They didn't charge for the rework. Optical staff were friendly, tried to be helpful but were perplexed. I felt the optometrists were quick, impersonal & annoyed. Their desk staff were friendly & helpful. read more