The good:
- They seem nice.
- They tried hard to get things right.
- They have nice frames
- They have Zeiss "iTerminal" equipment to fit your frames, and their lab is Zeiss.
The bad:
- It took three tries (and more than three months) to get the glasses nearly right:
o First try, they got a key measurement wrong.
o Second try, the lab apparently missed (or wasn't given) another key measurement.
o Third try, they got the same measurement wrong again; it worked (more or less) only because I insisted on using a "seg height" close to what Costco had recommended instead of what they specified.
It wasn't a good experience. The backstory:
I got a new Rx from James McMillan in Bellevue (who did great work), dropped the Rx at Costco to get some quick "backup" lenses (had them in hand in about a week, and they were spot-on), then went to Optix for extra-lightweight frames and Zeiss lenses.
They worked patiently to get the right frames, bridge, and lens shape, and even ordered a custom "blank" for the lab to work from. So far, so good. (Minor glitch: I wanted 52x36 lenses but was persuaded to go with x35; shouldn't have let them talk me out of that. My bad.)
They measured everything once the frames and blanks arrived ... but their use of the high-precision Zeiss iTerminal was oddly imprecise: You face the machine and it takes measurements, you turn sideways and it takes more measurements ... but they didn't know where I should face to be 90 degrees off-axis. "Where should I face to be at the right angle?" (The machine is offset, so it's not obvious.) We're not sure, they said; we used to know where to tell people to look, but we forgot. Really? It would take two minutes to do the math, put a dot on the window, and tell people "look directly at that"; instead they said this way, no, that way, okay, there. Presumably they got a measurement in the end, but the process was odd.
They submitted the order.
After a few weeks I called to find out what the delay was. The lab is waiting for your frames, they said. Really? "I was told previously that the lab already had the frames." We'll look into it, they said.
Finally I got the call: Your glasses are in.
I picked them up. They seemed fine so I paid and left, but as soon as I walked outside everything was a blur. The problem: They had set the "seg height" way too high. (The "seg height" - I learned the hard way - is where the lens transitions from long-distance vision at the top to reading-distance at the bottom.) I was looking through the "reading" part of the lens when looking straight ahead, and had to tilt my head way down and look up to see things in the distance. (Costco checked the seg height before sending me away; Optix left it to me to figure it out.) They adjusted the nose pads and insisted "It's fine, just hold your head like this". No, I'm not going to face the ground and look up just to see things clearly in the distance - certainly not at these prices. They finally agreed the lenses needed to be re-done, so the practice manager eyeballed my head position (so to speak) and said, "we'll drop it to 23mm [from 25mm]". The physician came out and concurred. (As it turned out 23mm was wrong, too; more on that below.)
They sent them out to be re-done again. Three weeks later I got the call: Your glasses are in.
When I put them on, everything was blurry. Why? Because the lab had used a too-short lens blank, so I was looking through an even-blurrier part of the lens than before. (On the lab order the field that specified the lens height was blank, but when I talked with the practice manager she blamed the lab. Whatever.)
They sent them out to be re-done again. I told them to lower the seg height to 22mm (closer to the 21mm specified by Costco for lenses with a similar shape; in hindsight, I should have told them 21 - but seriously, why do I have to tell my optometrist what seg height to use?).
Two more weeks went by. I got another call: Your glasses are in.
I went in on a Monday, arriving 5:30pm (they're open until 6), but the door was locked and nobody answered the phone. (Their front-office person had a family emergency ... but why was nobody else there, no sign on the door, no voicemail?) (Actually, the voicemail said "We're closed for the July 4th holiday weekend" ... but this was August 29.)
I finally picked up the glasses, more than three months after I placed the order.
They're okay, although the seg transition is still maddeningly visible at the margin of the distance vision. I wish I had told them to match the Costco seg height; I'm trying not to regret that every time I put them on. But I won't be going back, nope.
P.S.: Costco Issaquah provided superior service at much lower prices, but they don't do Lindberg frames or Trivex lenses. The difference in sharpness with Zeiss/Trivex is very slight. read more
