I first want to compliment the workers in the store who have always been friendly and helpful when I interact with them. They are always easy to have conversations with and willing to help with insurance questions, get you set up with anything you need (glasses fittings, adjustments, paperwork, etc) and move processes right along.
Unfortunately, when I went in for my annual check-up/to get an updated contact lens prescription, I was disappointed in the interaction I had with the doctor there. I made an insignificant comment about the dilation drops stinging more than I remembered, more for conversation's sake than anything else. He said I should have opted to use their new machine instead, which takes a reading and doesn't utilize the dilation drops, from what I remember. I said that the price difference wasn't worth the short amount of stinging the drops did, to which he replied that it was only about a $10 difference. (For reference, the tech that saw me before the doc came in informed me that the drops were $15 and the machine was about $40, with insurance.) This is either an example of a vastly misinformed doctor who cannot do math, or I was told incorrect pricing for that specific test. I came back to him saying it was a little more than $10, and he continued to argue that the price difference really wasn't "all that much." Sorry, but the stinging doesn't bother me enough to justify me spending (more than) double on an eye test. In the grand scheme of things, $40 isn't that much, but if I can save $25 and don't mind the drops, I'm going to go with that. I was not a fan of him pushing the other test on me from a financial angle, especially since my comment about the drops was purely conversational.
For the rest of the appointment, the doctor assumed that because I didn't pay an extra $25 for a test, I was cost-sensitive and needed to be careful about how much money I spent on my eyes. He made too many references to my "cost-sensitivity" when discussing new contact brands and the pros/cons of Lasik. This normally wouldn't bother me (I actually would usually appreciate it), but his presentation of solutions was assumptive and almost condescending. Every opportunity he had to work in the "fact" that I was "being careful about where I spend my money," he made it happen.
The whole interaction with this doctor was a big disappointment. As I said before, the workers at the front of the store are wonderful and always very friendly and helpful. However, if you're looking for an eye exam with a doctor, I'd recommend finding a different spot. read more