What a bizarre experience…read more
Initially, everything seemed fine. The doctor was pleasant, but unfortunately the rest of the experience was not.
When I ordered my glasses, I was very clear that I wanted the first lens tier above basic. Instead, I was charged for multiple upgrades I never knowingly agreed to, totaling about $350 more than what I had selected, including a much higher lens tier and transition lenses. I only realized this after looking closely at the itemized receipt.
There is absolutely no scenario in which I would intentionally spend over $500 out of pocket, WITH insurance, on one pair of glasses. For perspective, these were basic Ray-Ban frames with progressive lenses, nothing unusually complicated. Between the eye exam and glasses, the total billed amount came to around $1,600. Insurance covered most of it, but that was still the actual total.
During the sale, the employee never clearly presented these things as optional upgrades or explained the added cost. She said things like, "And you're going to get..." which made them sound like features included with the glasses I had chosen. This is not my first time buying glasses. I'm familiar with the process. I was just apparently new to this process.
I also found a $39 charge for retinal imaging. I was never asked whether I wanted it or told there would be an additional charge. By itself, I probably would not have made a big deal over $39, but in the context of everything else, it was frustrating to find yet another charge I had not knowingly agreed to.
Because you cannot contact the store directly, I reached out to Patient Relations that same day. The representative I spoke with was very kind and reasonable. She told me the retinal imaging was an add-on that should be disclosed and consented to, and said she would speak with the store about the lens charges. She felt the fair solution would be for me to pay for the package I had actually requested while still receiving the glasses that had already been made. From the beginning, I said I was perfectly happy with the lower-tier lenses. I just did not want their mistake to delay getting glasses I actually need.
About a week and a half later, I finally got a call from Nicholas--which, in hindsight, perhaps should have been my first warning sign: a grown adult man who goes by Nicholas.
He told me he had my completed glasses in his hand. He also told me, and I truly wish I were making this up, that the employee who sold them to me did not remember me. However, she believed she WOULD remember if I had NOT requested the expensive package because it is so expensive that most customers do not choose it, and that supposedly would have stood out to her.
So, to recap: she did not remember me, did not remember the transaction, but was somehow confident about what I must have requested because... most people do not request it.
When I brought up the retinal imaging charge, Nicholas told me it did not matter whether I agreed to it because the doctor "requires it" and I "would have had to pay for it anyway." This was the exact opposite of what Patient Relations had just told me. I explained that, and his response was essentially, no, you have to have it.
Who is this person?
I finally asked whether I needed to dispute the charge with my credit card company. At that point, my options were: keep the glasses exactly as they were and pay the extra roughly $350 because, as Nicholas repeatedly pointed out, they were "really great glasses," or cancel them, get a refund, reorder the lower-tier lenses I had originally requested, and wait another couple of weeks.
So the glasses I needed were literally sitting in his hand, but after I disputed upgrades I never knowingly authorized, the solution was essentially: pay hundreds more and you can have these very nice glasses right now, or start over and wait.
Patient Relations ultimately handled the situation professionally, followed up, secured my refund, and addressed the issue appropriately. I appreciate that. But I would absolutely not return to this location.
My advice: scrutinize every line of your receipt before leaving and make sure every "you're going to get..." is followed by, "Is that included, or are you charging me extra for it?"
Because apparently that distinction matters quite a bit here.
Oh, and nIcHoLaS, please spare me the canned response about how much you value every patient's experience. We already had the conversation. Somehow, proving that I must have ordered $350 worth of upgrades that no one remembers selling me seemed to matter more than actually fixing the problem.
