There is a man who works at this store who, unfortunately, completely ruined my experience. He is…read morethe only man I have seen working there, and he is the person who helps you find your glasses, goes over pricing, and does the fitting after you see the doctor.
I did have some issues with my insurance, but part of the confusion was because my workplace insurance does not always populate correctly. It is through VSP, but my employer also does not provide full coverage for the lenses. I explained this to him, but he told me I was wrong. He eventually called VSP and found out that I was actually correct. I understand that you have to cross-check your resources because you cannot always take a customer's word for it, so I was willing to let that go.
The bigger issue was how he handled the pricing and my concerns about affordability. I have very poor vision. I am extremely farsighted and have astigmatism in my right eye. Unfortunately, I do not have the money to spend $300 out of pocket on glasses WITH insurance.
When I tried to explain that I needed something affordable, he went through all of the benefits and price breakdowns and explained how the total got to $300. I understood the explanation, but my point was that I simply could not afford $300. I started removing things I didn't need and told him I didn't need all the fancy options. I just wanted the basics so I could leave with glasses I could afford.
When we got to the high-index lenses, he told me that I needed them and that I could not remove them. They were an additional $115. I told him I wanted the standard lenses instead. He said the standard lenses would not be as flat and that my glasses would be thicker. I understand that, but I was willing to accept thicker lenses because affordability was more important to me.
The next issue was the anti-glare protection. He told me I needed it because of my astigmatism. I understand that it may be beneficial, but again, I was trying to stay within my budget, so I declined it. That's when he said, **"You know, if you drive around at night with your vision like that, you might kill someone."**
HUH?! I genuinely could not believe he said that. There are ways to explain the importance of an optical feature without making a customer feel irresponsible or threatening them with the possibility of killing someone. At that point, I was completely fed up.
This also wasn't the only uncomfortable comment. He made a comment about the Vogue glasses I was already wearing and said that I had probably paid good money for them. I told him that my parents had paid for them. The entire interaction just felt rude and inconsiderate, both in the way he spoke to me and in his body language.
I did have to return to pick up my glasses, and he did adjust them. However, they are still lopsided and the hinges are loose. I told him twice, and neither time was the issue actually fixed. I am not sure if he simply didn't like me, but either way, I will be going to another location to have them properly adjusted.
Now, enough about him because I do want to mention the positives. The doctor was quick and thorough, and her assistant was AWESOME! I genuinely wish I had more positive things to say about the overall experience because the doctor and her assistant were great.
For reference, my total out-of-pocket cost with insurance was $197, which included the contact lens fitting, 1 pair of monthly contact trials, glasses exam, and the cost of the glasses. I also did the retinal scan, which was an additional $30.
Overall, I would recommend seeing the doctor and her assistant, but based on my experience, I will be going to a different location in the future.
