Why do businesses advertise or want to stay in business when the employees are so indifferent? Owners/managers, are you reading? I'm standing at their door, with a friend looking rather respectable and well-off, waiting to be buzzed in, and the two employees just stare at me from inside. They never offer any service. Zilch. Discrimination? Do not waste your time with any business that doesn't want yours. Poor service, and I hope it's not bigotry. Regardless, pitiful place. There are four other opticians within 1/2 mile. Shut this place down and go where you're wanted. read more

Storeowner was rough with my designer high-end glasses. Good thing they are strong and sturdy and I did not get them from here.

Dupont Optical is one of DC's finest gems. The entire staff is friendly, engaging and professional. The selection of frames is outstanding and unique. I highly recommend stopping by or making an appointment. I have loved every pair I selected! Thank you Ben and Marteen read more

I squashed my sunglasses while traveling to DC on business, and walked in off the street. Had a terrific experience trying on sunnies in a relaxed and lovely atmosphere. Very welcoming staff/owner, stylish and diverse choices, and I'm very pleased with my glasses. read more

Most effortless experience I've ever had choosing and fitting eyewear. A bit expensive, but once again it's a matter of getting what you pay for. read more

Contactless (no pun intended) service helped me relax and focus on getting frames and lenses. Ben and Martin gave me great advice and spent a lot of time with me. Great results. read more

Contacted them about get new lenses in the frames I purchased from them. For new lenses, they basically quoted me the full price of my glasses. Nope. No thanks. read more

If you wear glasses you know that breaking the hinges is the worst thing ever, well I broke both hinges of my glasses after the first week of school. I'm a college student from out of the DC area so when my glasses became unusable, I thought I'd have to be completely reliant on my contacts because I had made my lenses made specially for the frames and I didn't know where to get new lenses this soon. Naturally, this makes it hard to find replacements if something happens to the frame. I called Dupont Optical ahead of time after finding out online that they carry the same brand as my old pair.I ran here in the pouring rain and was met with incredible hospitality (and really CUTE DECOR!!). In 20 minutes (or less!) I had a new pair of glasses, this process usually takes me upward of 2 weeks at home. So if you wear glasses, know someone who wears glasses, wish you wore glasses, or want to pretend that you do... I recommend Dupont Optical. Sincerely, the rain soaked teenage girl that came running in off the streets last week. read more

I have been going to Dupont Optical for 20 years or more, Dan and Martin always take great care of me. They know what they're doing, they know what looks good, and they're extremely helpful in terms of helping me pick out designs that work for my face. I highly recommend Dupont Optical! read more

I happened to walk by and was pleasantly surprised to see an optical open on a Sunday, after searching for one endlessly by the mall and penn quarter. My sunglasses were sat on and impossible to wear, but the optician, Doug I believe, was able to not only fix them but actually make the frame more secure by adjusting the screws. The store overall is very cool, with an extensive range of glasses. I would definitely be a patron if I lived in the area. read more

Buying glasses is a big decision. You should probably do it here. Dupont Optical is lovely. They have an *amazing* selection of frames. I was torn between a Warby-Parker style and a Face à Face frame here. I am so glad I broke for the Face à Face's. I love knowing I'll be able to come back whenever for an adjustment. Or, if I win the lottery, another twelve frames. Every single employee I interacted with - including the wonderful optometrist and another employee who had been there for like two days - was delightful. One of the more experienced employees was especially wonderful and even fitted my 4 year old step-kiddo with some stylie shades! I've worked in sales and I really appreciate the low-pressure method they've got going on here. Not the absolute cheapest, but absolutely the best. You won't regret getting your specs here. read more

The worst retail experience I have ever had. Ben, the manager, dropped three F bombs on me because I refused to go along with their sleazy policy to not issue a complete contact lens prescription (I can only guess to prevent customers from buying from someone else). I'm not even sure that my exam was done properly. As a longtime neighborhood resident it is distressing to see so many vacant store fronts. But the retail apocalypse can't come quickly enough for this place. My advice would be to walk two blocks and cross the street. A much better optician (friendlier, happy to have business, and vastly more extensive selection of frames) awaits. I will say this - I've never been cursed at after dropping 500 dollars. A first and a last, I hope. read more

I have lived in three major US cities and I can say hands down that this is not only the best eye care facility that I have been to, but also one of the best well run and cared for businesses. Martin and Ben are an amazing team. Glad I went to them. For anyone (local or new to town) looking to get eyes checked or a new pair of glasses, this is the place you want to be at and spend your money. thanks guys- I will see you soon. read more

This was, unequivocally, the worst customer-service experience--with any type of business--I have had in my 10+ years in DC. The owner (Caucasian gentleman in his ~70s) treated me in the most rude, condescending, and insulting manner. I had visited the store a couple of months earlier while searching for an accessory for a pair of glasses I owned. The staff present at the store on that day were an African-American woman and a younger man of European/Latin American descent. The woman was courteous and helpful (and the young man was friendly in his interactions with me), and helped me find a product that worked on my glasses. Unfortunately, as the woman applied the product, one piece of the product fell to the floor and lost its adhesive quality. Consequently, she offered to attach the product by applying extra adhesive. She then went further, and kindly helped adjust the arms of the glasses for a better fit. The male staff member stepped in to help explain the process of adjusting the arms. A couple of months later, the product (on the side that had lost its adhesive after the woman had dropped it on the floor) became loose, so I revisited the store for help to reattach the product. This time the owner was present, while the woman who had helped me was in a room underground. After I explained the situation to the owner, he took the glasses downstairs to the woman, then came back up to inform me that the woman had no recollection of the glasses/product. He then curtly conveyed that they could not help me. What followed was a terrible interaction where I politely tried to explain each part of the situation and was met with shocking insinuations from the owner for each point. For example (paraphrasing)--Owner: "You didn't buy these here so why should we help you" Me: "I really did purchase these here. I have proof of payment. If she were to come up, she may recognize me." Owner: "It's not a permanent solution; you bought these glasses elsewhere, and you'll keep coming back to us asking for a fix." Me: "Yes, I did buy the glasses elsewhere, but I purchased the accessory here, and the adhesive is not working because your staff dropped the product on the floor thus rendering the adhesive useless. The fix that she put in place is now not working, so I'm only asking that she fix it again, and I'd be happy to not come back again." The younger male staff member was present the whole time, and when I asked whether he had any recollection of my previous visit, he quickly brushed aside the question, denied any recollection, and obsequiously deferred to the owner (a natural/expected reaction, I suppose, but flatly unethical/irresponsible). The conversation degraded toward the owner essentially telling me to go away in several rude ways, refusing to listen to my reasoning and denying any plausibility to my account. I politely but firmly asked to see the female staff member, and in response to the owner saying repeatedly "She is busy," said that I would wait. While waiting, I pulled up the receipt on my phone and offered to show it to the owner, but he declined to look at it (again, as expected, since it would prove me right that I had indeed made the purchase at the store). He then reiterated the point (of course, immaterial to the question of whether I had lied about purchasing something at his store) that this was not a permanent fix--that it was my fault for purchasing glasses elsewhere that required an additional accessory, and that I would keep coming back to ask for help. Given the futility of trying to reason with the owner, I refrained from explaining once again that I would not have needed to return there had his staff member not dropped the product/damaged the adhesive to begin with. The only saving grace of the visit--and of the store--is the courteous African-American staff woman, who eventually came upstairs and helped reattach the accessory, all the while interacting with me kindly. From what I've heard from friends who have visited this store, the owner seems to have a visceral beef with how the industry has shifted toward online players, and that any whiff of a customer who may also have anything to do with the new reality (in my case, I bought my glasses online and needed an accessory; in a friend's case, she needed a certain measurement to make an online purchase and was willing/expecting to pay for the measurement in his store, but was still treated rudely) brings out the owner's resentment and shockingly hostile/scary behavior toward the customer. I am a management consultant with one of the top firms, and my advice to the owner is that he would do well to adjust to this new reality by doing a couple of things: 1) offering the kind of customer service, personal experience, and follow-up features that the online options simply can't provide; 2) taking any ancillary business that comes his way from customers who also shop online, rather than reacting to such customers in rage. read more

Stopped in for a quick fix as the screw and lens on my Maui Jim's fell out. Greeted by two furry friends and sunglasses repaired quickly for a small fee. Saved the day! read more

Left glasses in NY when on business in DC. Went into store to try and replace them. Gentleman was very helpful showed me a Danish frame right off the shelf that I liked.......unfortunately they could not make the glasses same day.....totally understandable. Called the following day to find out the name of the frames. Was orgreen titanium. They would not even try and locate the frame and the woman on the phone was unprofessional and couldn't be bothered. There were not that many frames by orgreen and they were unique with blue nose pads......you can't find frames if don't try to look for them. Avoid this store if customer service is important to you read more

I am a regular customer of Dupont Optical and have gotten glasses from them for years already. The two guys that own the place are absolutely great. They are welcoming and friendly. Most important of all, they have excellent taste at helping me find great frames. This store sells a very high quality product and is not inexpensive. But, I wouldn't go anywhere else in DC or surrounding area for eye glasses. I've bought glasses from the cheap places before and I learned the hard way that low quality and "cheap" are all too often synonymous. read more

I have never had this happen to me before in 30 years of wearing glasses. I had a beautiful pair of gold Cartier glasses for the past few years that I always recycle with my new prescription because they were very costly and I really loved them and felt like they suited me. I took them to Dupont Optical to fit for new lenses recently and they took the longest time. After several weeks I asked where they were. I was told that they had come into the store from the lab but had not been approved and had been sent back to the lab. A couple of weeks later I was told that they were "lost". I was offered a replacement pair that were the same but I knew that Cartier did not make that version anymore. It turns out they would have bought a substitute pair off Ebay (probably mine which were probably stolen and sold on Ebay by somebody at the lab). They gave me a new pair of frames of my choice (I had to pay for the lenses) but I am very suspicious that my frames were stolen and that I was taken for a ride. I should also say that I have been their customer for several years and have not had issues before. But in addition to what I am fairly certain was a theft of a valuable pair of frames, I found them extremely slow in making up glasses -- 3 or 4 weeks instead of one week at other places. I really like the men and the lady who own and work at Dupont Optical but I could never go back to a place that lost or stole a pair of gold Cartier frames from me. read more

I am giving only one star on the basis of my first appointment, for an eye exam. When I came in, I was greeted by and chatted with a male employee. During that time I told him that I had been wearing magnifiers for several years and that I had developed eye strain and headaches and wanted to get a professional exam. Then he said what fun it was going to be to pick out frames for me. My situation is such that I can't afford to buy frames there, and I'd been to Warby Parker to pick some out. I said so, and he got miffed, which (silly me) prompted me to say,"I really can't afford to get frames here"--which is why I'd been wearing magnifiers. To this he said, "You can't--or you won't??" That reallllllly pissed me off. Where I purchase my frames is none of his business, and I resent that he put me in a position to talk about my finances. I haven't picked my new glasses up yet at WP, but I assume that the exam was competent, so I'm not commenting on that. But this guy crossed a line, and I'll go somewhere else next time I need something. read more

We had the best experience! I feel like they take the guesswork out of buying classes. They know what works for your face, and my husband and I both felt like we were a top priority. Great selection as well! read more

Visiting and staying at the Mayflower hotel; I dropped my glasses and my husband stepped on them - they were totally unwearable. I happened to take a chance and walked in - Doug immediately fixed the frames perfectly - without any charge, even though I'm not a customer. Thanks for helping a visitor! read more

If you are willing to pay top dollar this is a great place to buy glasses. Great service. They fitted me in frames that I wouldn't have thought to try and dissuaded me from considering others. I purchased glasses on my first visit. Glasses were ready in less than one week. No discounts though. read more

I was in DC for a short trip for work consultations and to attend a military/academic ceremony with my boyfriend and wanted to buy frames new frames. I live and work overseas and have mild astigmatism, so wear glasses when I am at work, reading, or on the computer. I needed to update my prescription, but thought I could get the frames and have the prescription updated back in the middle east. I was staying in a hotel in Dupont Circle and walked into Dupont Optical because it was near my hotel. The staff was very friendly and helped me pick out the frames, then convinced me to see their optometrist before I departed, assuring me they could have the lenses ready before I departed DC. The optometrist was lovely. However, when I went to pick up the glasses the next day, they were not ready as promised. I requested a refund and the entire demeanor changed. The same rep who had helped me pick the frames became hostile and said: "I sold you those glasses" and "I thought you were a nice person." He said that I had not given him the details of my departure, although I had mentioned it several times in front of the optometrist and other shop staff. I found his behavior highly unprofessional. This was truly the worst customer service experience I have had in a long time and even made me cry! I left the store and told him I would file a dispute with my credit card company since I did not have the glasses and was leaving DC the next morning. Then I received a message within about an hour stating that my glasses were ready. I went back and picked up the glasses (walking from my hotel in formal attire, since it was within minutes of my pick-up for the military/academic ceremony). These were very expensive frames and I am not sure they were even fitted with my true prescription as they irritate my eyes and cause some blurriness. Huge mistake! read more