I can't stop loving Park Slope Eye! Because of some of the other salty reviews here, I feel compelled to come back every year(ish) to update my review. I think this is my fourth year being a patient of Dr. Bazan, and I have had nothing but perfect interactions with Dr. Bazan and the Office Manager (I am making up that title - sorry if it's wrong) Aaron. My annual exam was a few months ago, but my aging eyes have been making it tricky to get my prescription just right with multifocal contacts. I went in for an adjustment yesterday, and in spite of my repeated attempts to let my people pleasing get the best of me and not be a bother, Dr. Bazan went to great lengths to fit me with several different lenses until we got the exact right balance to correct both my distance and reading vision. All with a smile and the same passionate commitment to my vision I have come to expect from the good doc. It's an e-mail only office, which I still love. Communicating digitally is so efficient, and I can expect a quick response during business hours. Aaron always answers my email questions about contact orders quickly, and even helped me find a good insurance plan to supplement my sub-par plan. I can't recommend this place highly enough! read more

I can't stop loving Park Slope Eye! Dr. Michelle Nemirovsky is an amazing doctor. Lovely service. Really easy to work with. Organized and efficient. Highly recommend! read more

Best eye exam I've ever had. Modern equipment means dilation isn't necessary unless the doctor sees something something specific. Thorough yet succinct explanations. I've never enjoyed going to the eye doctor before, but this was lovely. Highly recommend. read more

Dr. Derek Lin is a great doctor. However, all of his great work as an optometrist is sadly completely undermined by the office itself. TLDR: If you like surprise bills, paying 3x for your eye exam, passive aggressive threats of being sent to collection and an office that never picks up the phone you might like Park Slope Eye. Otherwise, maybe look elsewhere? If you think they're worth a shot and still want to use them, you should know it costs $440 for a standard eye exam with contact lenses. Here's my story: 3 months after an appointment, I get an email "you have an outstanding bill. you will be sent to collections in 30 days" I think "oh no! Did I not pay my bill?" I go through my emails. I see the bill I received for $206 for a simple eye exam. I see payment made out of my bank account a few days later. What's going on here? Surely this can be resolved with a quick call. I call them. Their phone goes straight to voicemail their voicemail says "please do not leave a voicemail as it will not be returned." (this is literally exactly what it says. I just called back to make sure I didn't imagine this) Okay..... So I email them asking what's up. When I get a response they say it was an insurance issue. This is confusing, as I don't have vision insurance (which we verified before I was billed). They say I have a new bill (which was never sent to me). And it's now $90 higher. The email includes this nice line: "I never want to see anyone fall into collections!" (slow clap for the passive aggressive threat ) Now that I'm asking questions, they do produce a new bill. The previous bill was itemized but the new one just has a single line item "COMP. OPHTH. SERVICE, NEW PT" (uhh I guess that's "complete ophthalmologist service new patient"?) Just a single line item. $90 higher than my last itemized bill. (Also for comparison, this final price for a simple eye exam is 3x higher than I paid for my last eye exam.) They say that the office can't resolve it. But I should email promedbillingllc@gmail.com. (very professional gmail address, right?) And that it would take 3 business days to respond. (in the meantime the clock seems to be ticking on me being sent to collections) So right now I was excited for my summer break to start, but I'm making a note in my calendar to check what promedbillingllc has to say during my vacation because I'm worried about being sent to collections. UPDATE: The billing person got back to me, and after DOZENS of emails back and forth where I essentially categorically proved her wrong, she sent me a complex recap where she also added a $142 "contact lens fitting" charge. I carefully reviewed all of the invoices and correspondence, and this had NEVER been mentioned until I had literally gone back and forth with them for hours. She also said that while they had billed *some* charges to my insurance company, she hadn't billed all of them. Look at the weak response from the owner below. Blaming it on a deductible. Only after I spoke to my insurance and they provided strong language like "The provider is in network with us, and they are not allowed to bill for more than what you owe on the explanation of benefits." did they pivot to a mysterious $142 charge. FYI, total cost for eye exam and fitting when factoring in the "contact fitting charge": $443.85. read more

Shady billing practices / hidden fees. I'm a teacher who was using my UFT insurance to get a free eye exam at this place. They wound up billing me $39 three months later after the store clerk assured me that I would not be charged anything the day of my exam. UFT insurance is very clear cut so they knew they were going to pull money out of my pocket the moment I stepped into the place. Why anyone would want to cheat a public school teacher is beyond me, but apparently these folks have no scruples with it. Also, they won't pick up the phone so you will have to email back and forth with the passive aggressive store clerk which will get you nowhere. read more

This business needs to do an overhaul in customer service, clarity in communication, basic respect for human beings. Truly one if the most disrespectful interactions I've had with reception at a medical facility and that is saying a lot. How are these people still in business. Avoid at all costs. read more

Lovely service. I wandered around the neighborhood trying several places to repair som sunglasses I bought in Norway, but no one had the right sized screw. They actually custom cut down a screw for them, and still, they fixed them in 90 seconds. read more

My experience with Dr. Bazan was not been pleasant and his consistent lack of professionalism is thoroughly displayed when you read any of his responses to negative reviews. He is a classist who overcharges and refuses to respect his customer wishes. He ignored my request for other options when I didn't want to purchase the brand of expensive contact lenses he suggested and any repeated requests were ignored as I was told to just get a second opinion elsewhere. To "expertly solve" a patients issues, you are required to listen and respect your patients wishes. He did neither and was insulting in his interactions with me and others. Will never return and do not recommend for anyone wishing to be respected and treated with care by their optometrist. A grown man calling a customer "basic" and saying I don't match the "vibe" is very internet troll behavior and not what you'd expect from someone who "expertly solves" his patients issues. Posting his response to my google review in case he feels any shame and tries to delete it read more

Park Slope Eye - Dr. Bazan insulting & shaming me for not agreeing with his practice style aka not providing expert care - Optometrists Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Arrived for my annual eye exam 10 minutes late. They said since I was late I would have to wait 1 hour 20 minutes or reschedule. Way too strict and rigid. And this was in the middle of the afternoon during a weekday. Also the very good eye doctor I saw last year left and moved to a better eye care place in Manhattan. And look at the responses of the business owner. No apologies. He's always "right" and arguing with the people reviewing. Poorly run business. read more

Lots of Cons: - Getting your prescription after your appointment is akin to pulling out all your teeth - No way to reach office by phone - Charged for unnecessary tests - No niceties or basic etiquette during email correspondence I will not be returning. Thanks, but no thanks! Why is proper medical care so hard to find these days. read more

Wow... this is how you treat loyal customers? Rude and does unnecessary tests that are not covered by insurances. It is impossible to contact anyone in the office via phone since they will only email. There is absolutely no consideration for patients that have been going here for over a decade and that have never missed an appointment during that time. Most recent email exchange where I'm pleading with the Dr. to please waive the $100 missed appt fee because I had my appt written down as 3p, not 8a, on the day of the appt. Me - "I have been unemployed for 6 months. I have been a patient for years at your practice and I've spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on contacts and glasses, that I intentionally purchased at your practice, because of the revenue for your practice. This is the first missed appointment I have had in my years of patronage at your practice. Please take all of this I to consideration and get back to me." Bazan - "It's Dr. Bazan. All things considered the fee stands. I'm not taking a hit for your mistake." read more

Great doctor and great staff. Really easy to work with. Organized and efficient. Highly recommend!

Last week I made a trip back to NYC and was staying with a friend in Park Slope. I had not been to Park Slope eye in several years. But I made an appointment for an eye exam I honestly cannot comprehend any of these negative reviews left about this fine establishment. This is a an extremely well run office, from the front desk, to the Optician, and to Dr. Bazan himself! Dr. Bazan's extremely candid and warm nature have not changed whatsoever since the last time I visited. He truly takes his time in explaining everything in detail. He's honestly the type of person I would love to grab a drink with out of the office. No better way to say it , he's super chill = ) I would implore anyone to ignore the negative reviews left and make an appointment yourself to form your own opinion. You will see exactly what I am talking about. read more

Stay away from this place! Not only are they difficult to get a hold of and don't have an actual person answering the phones. In fact you can't call them at all! The only way to communicate is via email and they are not responsive. I also ordered contacts and when I received an email letting me know they were ready for pickup I waited 20 minutes for them to tell me that they did not receive them. then I actually had to go back two additional times to try and pick them up! The second time I went back I was told they still couldn't find them...The third time I went back they apologized and said they were there the whole time!? Ugh The straw that broke the camel's back was today. My daughter had her annual checkup but because one of their physicians left they claimed their entire reservation system removed all appointments. How is that my problem? How disorganized is your system and office protocols that you can't keep track of all of your patients and their appointments regardless of which physician is on staff? Needless to say I am definitely taking my business elsewhere. Don't waste your time at this place.I'm surprised they're still in business. read more

I live close by and made an appointment at this office after reading some positive reviews. My experience with Dr. Bazan was not pleasant. He did prescribe me the brand of more expensive contacts and insisted I wear contacts for astigmatism. When I went for a second opinion to a different doctor, they told me it was absolutely not necessary and also got me a prescription for lower RX. I didn't want to do some of the tests, as I just needed a simple prescription for the contacts, but Dr. insisted I do the test. The staff assured me there were no additional co-pays, charges for the test. 8 months later I get a call from the collection saying that I have a balance for the retina exam test that I didn't want or need. I just read some responses from Dr. Bazan to his patients here and they are defensive, aggressive, and totally unprofessional. I wouldn't recommend this office unless you want to get charged for unnecessary tests, get the wrong prescription, and deal with an unprofessional doctor. read more

I tried to get some information about this doctor's offices services and had some private health questions that I needed to ask and they send me a text message back and tell me to email them! What type of doctor's office is this? I don't know much about the laws around privacy but it seems to me that asking me to provide personal information to an unknown email address with who knows what type of security is completely unprofessional. And then I read the responses of the office to other reviewers and WOAH - I can't believe how rude the responder is! And he writes on a public forum about his patient's private issues! So glad these guys won't get my money - patients deserve way better and people in general - this guy is just putting incredibly negative energy out there and by discussing private patient information they very well might be breaking privacy laws. read more

Park Slope Eye - It's almost as if they have a 15 year old responding to the comments section - Optometrists Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Terrible service and communication. I waited 2 weeks for an emergency eye doctor appointment and end up getting turned away when I showed up due to their error on double booking. Office was empty and there was not another appointment available for another 2 weeks. Very rude, poor management of customer needs and scheduling. In response to Justin B's response: You are better off addressing the real issue of overbooking and poor customer service. You were not there sir. While I laugh at your high school level of defending the incident, your response is indicative of your business-unprofessional and unapologetic. The 10:15 appointment was just being seen when I arrived at 10:48 (my appointment was for 10:30am. Therefore the fact that I showed up late was a non-factor. I would still be sitting there. I was turned away not for being late, I was turned away due to your overbooking. Also you just proved the incompetence as it was another error of not noting my appointment was an emergency. read more

The worst!! Staff need better training, they never answer the phone. They are always unavailable and this office is hard to reach. They never responded to my voicemails and they don't respond to emails. Staff had a hard time pulling up my insurance information. I will never come back to this place again. -invest more time on training staff and improving services rather then responding to yelpers. It doesn't hurt anyone to know that they aren't wanted... what is this Kindergarten? read more

The WORST! He doesn't care about helping patients. He cares about gouging you for fees. DON'T GO!

Do not waste your time or money! Park Slope Eye is full of unscrupulous business practices and poor services. Even after asking upfront for the cost of a Comprehensive Eye Exam and Contact Lens Fitting, they charged us almost $200 more than quoted. Moreover, Dr. Bazan's hasty service (that included unnecessary procedures to increase the bill) was poor. He misdiagnosed my son's eyes, such that he ordered the wrong prescription for my son and leading to a pair of new glasses that have the wrong prescription in them, costing us more time and money. Further, he failed to properly fit my son for contact lenses, including "training" that lasted five minutes, such that my teenage son is afraid of making the transition to contact lenses. read more

Disinterested staff, quality of service definitely not a priority here. AVOID. Ordered glasses that didn't show up when staff said they would (2 weeks later!!). Staff told us we could follow up with the company if we wanted to learn more!! Are you kidding me after the money we spent there???? Pick up the phone yourselves and provide an actual service to your customers. The reception staff are most unhelpful staff I've EVER encountered. Long waits despite appointments. Reception don't seem to know anything about the industry they're providing service for - Don't seem to understand how their system works, or how to apply medical benefits to account. If you call their business phone they have an automatic message saying they'll respond by end of day. I've left multiple messages related to daughters appointments/follow-up and never once received a phone call. read more

My husband recently emailed asking to order more refills for contacts explaining that he would not be able to come in because due the pandemic our family don't feel comfortable. He explained that we have a son and I am pregnant and because this is not emergency can he just get more contacts. So dr bazar sent a cdc info saying that it ok to do routine visits. My husband again explain that it's not for us at the moment. Dr bazan rudely responded " well, enjoy wearing glasses" I mean we want to support local businesses but when your treated like your expendable that's sucks. We actually called our old doctor in soho and she was happy to get him a years worth of contacts and recommends him to come in next year! I've gotten my glasses at park slope but eye spending over $500 but that's never gonna happen again. Btw he told dr bazan that he contacts and will be seeing another doctor his response was "PEACE" . So unprofessional. Yelp won't let me reply to that pathetic response. It's a pandemic you don't force people to come into your office . And if you weren't his doctor you should have said that... be honest . It has nothing to do with a prescription being expired these things are waived due to the global pandemic. FYI signing PEACE!!! Is rude. read more

Whoever handles their customer service emails is a complete asshole. My wife has been trying to get a copy of her old prescription, and not only are they refusing to send it to her, but their response to her email requesting it was "LOL nice try". There's a lot of eye doctors out there, don't waste your time with this one. read more

Would not recommend. I came here because of the high Yelp reviews but was highly disappointed: 1. The front desk staff is beyond incompetent, I've asked at two separate occasions to have a copy of my receipt emailed which I have yet to receive. 2. The only method of contact is email or in person. 3. The a person is NEVER accessible via the phone number that is on the company website. 4. A 3pm appointment can mean you will be triaged at 3:45 or 4pm. ** I am a medical student, looking to open my own private practice once finished. An office such as ParkSlope Eye is the prime example of the type of facility I will ensure my practice is not. read more

After wearing glasses since 8 years old, and contacts since age 13, I can truly appreciate high quality eye care. I've been to all types of eye doctors, but after a few years being new to NYC and without expert consultation (I would get my eye exams in China town - affordable, but...), I was referred to Dr. Justin Bazan by my fellow artist, friend and colleague, Mark Lamb. Park Slope Eye is in the perfect location for me, and provides an extremely thorough, comfortable, and professional eye exam. Justin is a charismatic and energetic business owner, who makes you feel welcome and cozy in his modern and well-accommodated space (my first appointment, they asked if I wanted something to drink and I laughed and said "a greyhound" - guess what I got a couple minutes later?! yup, so cool). Dr. B utilizes cutting-edge technology to benefit his practice both on-location (he took a photo of my retina and emailed it to me a minute later!) and is engaged with his patients and followers on social media - two things I really value! It's clear to me that he is an expert in his field, as he's appeared on TV (NBC, CBS) and travels to educate ophthalmology students - now if that's not a passionate and dedicated eye doctor, I don't know what is! For me, the most inspiring reason to come to Park Slope Eye and get my prescription is the fact that Dr. Bazan is a HUGE supporter of the arts! It was so neat to have the chance to hang my paintings in his space, and share my art with such fabulous people. A lot of times, artists get second-class treatment for not having health insurance, but here I feel like royalty. Since I'm still on an artist's budget and love collecting fairly inexpensive vintage glasses, I still get my frames elsewhere, though someday will look forward to affording the bling on the shelves. But no more shall I skimp on eye prescriptions. Highly recommended!!! read more

So first of all I've only been here all of seven minutes - haven't met the doctor and I LOVE it in here. The attendant are like in regular clothes, it's place and very trendy and they even have art from local artist up on the walls for sale. I mean the place is just awesome. I feel calm in here and it smells like jasmine or sage or some of those earthy calming scents. It's not 1:21pm, I was in the office for less then an hour and feel amazing. Dr. Bazan is everything!! He answered all of my question (I had a few concerning dry eyes) he explained everything he was doing as he went along and the office has all of this fancy technology that making looking at your eyes more convenient and transparent AND he gave me a discount for being a little late, contacts to try and since I walked in with glasses he gave me a case so I wouldn't scratch mine. How nicer can the eye doctor get. Plus they is food. Like tea, candy, popcorn all those of stuff. This places awesome!! read more

Park Slope Eye - Art and glasses. How awesome. - Optometrists Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Dr. Bazan is absolutely awesome in so many ways. I have a moderately serious eye condition. So far he went above and beyond to get to the root of my issues. He's proactive, and treated me wonderfully. I really can't thank him enough for how involved he became. He treated me for stye and hordeolum. He was fantastic. Other doctors treated me for this and there was a lot more pain involved. Dr. Bazan is like going to a trusted friend. He's really helped me through some difficult times. Dealing with reoccurring eye infections, bad eyes, styes and chalazion (yes, lucky me has it all). Well this all sucks - but there is a light at end of the tunnel - that's Dr. Bazan!! He deals with most of my issues and if he don't , his advice is right on, about; where to go, what to expect, and basic proactive measures. Again - he went above and beyond for me. Been in Park Slope 19 years. I don't know a better eye doctor in NYC. read more

Received an overdue balance email from Dr. Bazan that was a MASS email of about 200 people and was not bcc'd. I called about the balance and no one answered. I then received a text message from someone(?) that said "Barb" was going to take care of it? I then received another email from Dr. Bazan stating the following "I know how pissed off people can get when they are not BCC on a mass email. I've been there. I hate the fact that we just did that to you guys. You have my sincerest apologies. Thank you guys for being understanding." It seemed to be a hacked email and a scam, but then I was told in a voicemail that I had only a few days to pay (a bill that didn't exist) or it was going to be sent to a collections agency. A couple of months later I received a call from someone asking me for my ssn without telling me who they were claiming I had "an overdue balance from Park Slope Eye...oops, I mean, an eye doctor." Clearly, this seemed to be a scam and have refused to pay without confirmation from Dr. Bazan or my insurance company. I would STAY AWAY!! read more

I wish I read some of the reviews here before I went to see Dr. Bazan. My experience has been the same - he is incredibly unprofessional and does not really seem to care at all about his patients. There is nobody to talk to on the phone or in person about any questions you have, and when I walked into the office finally to try to talk to someone, Dr. Bazan really just seemed to want me to go away and was very rude. I definitely have never had an experience like this with a health care professional. If you want to understand his manner just read how he responds to the negative reviews here and you will get a pretty nice preview of what you will be dealing with. read more

Boy, where do I even begin? In December 2021, I decided to try out Park Slope Eye. Had an unbelievably unsettling visit where Dr. Bazan suggested I may have melanoma of the eye and urged me to get into see a specialist ASAP. He promised to have his admin set me up an appointment with his recommended specialist, but that never happened despite repeated follow ups by me. Was able to arrange my own appointment with someone else and spent 10 days in tears (ruining my first Christmas with my then 6 month old daughter), terrified I had this very deadly disease (fatality rate at 10 years is 50%). When I had my evaluation with the specialist, she was incredulous that Dr. Bazan ever suggested I had a melanoma, that I had a simple/textbook case of something called CHRPE, which is benign. All of that stress and anguish for nothing, and zero follow up from Dr. Bazan to even check on me. I certainly was a fool to return in November 2022 to Park Slope Eye, but due to my own scheduling issues I was out of time to get a new contacts prescription before I ran out and I was able to get in faster as an existing patient. I tried out Dr. Lin, hoping for a different experience. And while Dr. Lin did not mention any possible cancers and was professional, the admin was not. My insurance had switched from the previous year and no one ever informed me that I was now out of network. I was hit with a huge bill and was essentially told, "too bad, you should have read the website better!" - even though their website lists my insurance carrier, they apparently did not take my specific plan. They also double billed me as well for items that my insurance did pay for them, despite being out of network. They refused to refund me for this double payment despite several emails back and forth, however luckily my insurance company reimbursed me directly for this fraudulent behavior. Despite all of that, I still didn't even get my contacts on time as they had to order samples for me as Dr. Lin insisted I try a new prescription, and the samples took over 2 weeks to come in. They never informed me of this wait time either, I had to follow up by email. Naturally, the new prescription was a bust and a month later after my visit I finally got Dr. Lin to write me a renewal of my old prescription. TLDR - Park Slope Eye has shady billing practices and Dr. Bazan is something else. Avoid at all costs read more

I was an established doctor here for 3 years and ran the vision therapy program. I was terminated suddenly via text message this week (after asking for a partial day of sick leave for laryngitis) and no longer have access to EHR or email to close out with my active therapy patients! I apologize for the chaos this causes, and am currently seeking a new place to practice close by. If you have questions or need help finding another developmental optometrist, feel free to reach out at rima.bakhru@gmail.com read more

Bleh. The eye health part of the exam was fine and seemingly competently done, though the retina check is "unbundled" and will be $40 out of pocket, even if your insurance covers the exam. The vision check was so hurried and slapdash that I had zero confidence the results I got were my actual prescription. Which brings me to my next point - the customer service in the office is a total mess. It took multiple e-mails (because they don't take live phone calls) to actually get a copy of that prescription and my receipt for services rendered. The exam room itself is tiny, dingy, and closet-like space shoved into the back of a large glasses shop, which shows you where the priorities of the business are. Other parts of the exam take place out in the open of the store with other customers, kids, and a dog roaming around. The shoddy dress and very casual attitudes of the shop's employees don't help the impression that you've walked into a retail-focused space rather than a legitimate medical facility. Needless to say, I won't be returning to Dr. Bazan for any future eye care. read more

where can you get your eyes checked and actually break even money-wise? My co-pay was $30. A YELP deal got me a $25 gift card for Brooklyn Industries. I got a free lip balm, and was offered tons of snacks, coffee, granola bars, etc. And yes, a spare computer to use while you wait. But I didnt wait long The office is run efficiently, the staff is friendly and I felt very comfortable with my examination despite not having my eyes checked in years! And there's not that scary machine that goes POP and blows a whoosh of air in your eye anymore. One of the coolest things was that I was shown computerized images of my eyes and thus more thoroughly understood what wasn't (!) wrong with my eyes! The only downside, if I had to find one, was that the Pandora station that was playing in the exam room happened to be Beck's MUTATIONS. The sad songs, not the fun ones! Still, it was Beck. I'm looking forward to my next eye check-up in a year! read more

Park Slope Eye - they took a computer image of my eye! - Optometrists Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

I was scheduled for a 1 PM appointment through online portal and email, and I received a reminder email and text confirming my 1 PM appointment (attached). I did the pre-seeing-the-doctor scans and was asked to sit down and wait for the doctor. I then overheard he would not be in until 1:30 PM and that they accidentally scheduled me too early. I waited until the doctor arrived, strolling in at 1:45. He then told me they'd have to reschedule me and that he wouldn't see me at all, even though I was confirmed and had been waiting an hour. I am a returning customer, and I can't believe I was treated so poorly. The women at the front desk were very apologetic, but Dr. Bazan was unprofessional and inconsiderate. Never again. read more

Park Slope Eye - Optometrists Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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Had a great experience here. Guy at the front desk was incredibly polite and helpful. Doctor was quick, thorough, friendly, and great with our 1-year-old. read more

As a newbie to glasses I choose to go local. Every time I went to park slope eye I dealt with a different employee; which I'm sure is choreographed. They don't pick up their phone, second red flag. Now that I got my glasses there.....Over priced, fragile, might not be the right prescription; they quickly grabbed my Uft eye exam certificate, shady receptionists, and they still charged me $800, for frames that have already needed to be "re-adjusted" three times. My bad for not being better at looking for warning signs. Went in today for another issue, and a red headed employee whispered under her breath " look who's back", and when the owner was right next to me I was told to email him my complaints. Next time I'll research and talk to friends before going to the location that's closest. Don't let it happen to u. read more

I would never recommend this business to anyone. As others have stated, it is absolutely impossible to communicate with anyone there, and you will not hear from them until a couple hours before your appointment. They will tell you that your appointment is cancelled. This has now happened to my family four times. I am sure the doctors are of high quality (our one appointment with Dr. Bakhru was excellent), but I can no longer invest any of my valuable time with this establishment, and highly suggest you follow suit as well. In scrolling through the many other poor reviews of this place, I see that the business owner will take the time to personally respond and somehow blame the reviewer for their poor experience. "Justin B" - your time would be better invested in simply improving the quality of your customer service! Your dismissive attitude speaks volumes to your absolute disrespect for your customers. read more

I am super picky about my optometrist. The best any kind of doctor I've ever had growing up was my optometrist. As a child, most doctors of any kind (primary care, dentist, etc.) talked to my mom more than talked to me. My optometrist didn't do that. He talked to me. And he talked to me like he would with any adult that walked into his office. And that meant a lot. So, when finding an optometrist, I like my optometrist to talk to me like I'm not just a patient. I also like to have things explained to me because my eyes aren't great (and one side of my family has a history of bad eyes), I need re-assurances and I like to learn about them. I also grew up with an optometrist with more top-of-the-line equipment (which I noticed after I went to a really old school one, yuck), so when I moved to New York, I still stayed with my optometrist on the West Coast. Until I found Justin and Park Slope Eye. His demeanor and his office ticked off all the high expectation boxes and then some (pluses are the drink and treats they offer!). It was the first time I got the retinal scan (costs extra) and it's awesome! I love being able to look into my eye. I think it's just cool. But it also helps me to see what he sees. Not only that, he explains things to me thoroughly, so I feel like I can also track how my eyes are doing. Outside of Justin: I love that I can make appointments online easily. And pay online, if needed, easily. When I had a medical concern last year with my eyes, they handled that with the insurance brilliantly (because let's face it, I'd be lost if I had to handle any of that). When I ordered my contacts after my last checkup, without prompting, one of the guys at the front desk noticed the brand of contacts I got and automatically pulled out a rebate coupon for me (ended up not going with it because I only wanted a 6 month order, but I appreciated the initiative). The space is clean, bright, and comfortable. And I've only been welcomed kindly by everyone who works there. Love them. read more

I'm going to start with the good part: Dr. Rima Bakhru was excellent. She was patient, thorough, and pleasant to be around - she really helped me understand my prescription, and gave me new lenses to try. However. I was then asked to come in for a second appointment, to check how the lenses were faring. I expected to just go in, say "yeah these are great!", get a copy of my prescription, and then go buy contacts online as I usually do. I don't have vision insurance and I made it very clear to the folks at Park Slope Eye that I couldn't afford to go through the store, and that it was a major financial hassle. My second appointment was with Dr. Bazan. He was cursory, talked down to me (he told me how to clean my contact lenses - sure, okay, that's nice, but I've been wearing contacts for nearly 15 years, I know how to do it?). He then gave me more contact lenses to try, which I didn't want. He asked me to come in AGAIN, for a third appointment. I've never been asked to attend so many appointments in my entire life. I asked for a copy of my prescription and he told me it "hadn't changed". After hearing that, I just went online and tried to buy the contacts Dr. Bakhru gave me, with my old prescription. The website needed to check my prescription with Park Slope Eye (normal, they always do that). However, the poor customer service rep from 1-800-Contacts came back to me and said that Dr. Bazan told him that my prescription was only verified with the brand of contacts I was using before my appointment, and that it "wasn't verified" for the new lenses I wanted. This seemed like it was obviously a ploy to get me to come into the brick-and-mortar store to buy lenses through Park Slope Eye, and I don't respond well to a hard sell, so I told the person from 1-800-Contacts that it was fine, I'll just buy a supply of my old lenses with my old prescription. I wondered why I even bothered with the optometrist - what's the point, if I was going to have to pay $280 out of pocket and not be told my prescription transparently? I've never had an experience like that - every time I've been to an optometrist, the doctor has printed the prescription and given it to me for my records. The fact that Dr. Bazan didn't do that was so bizarre, and the push to buy disposable lenses through their office was so intense, I felt taken advantage of. Plus, I was handed an iPad with an ad for reshaping contact lenses as soon as I arrived for the first appointment - why am I being asked to watch ads in the waiting room? This is not normal. Not to mention - this prescription is not at all accurate. My appointment was 2 months ago, and I just had to buy a cheap pair of low-prescription glasses to wear over my contacts for distance vision (because I sure as hell can't afford another visit, and I definitely can't afford a whole new set of contacts). The lack of transparency was truly unacceptable. I regret going, and I absolutely will not be going back. ______ Edited - 9/19/17 There's no way to respond publicly, and I don't feel comfortable taking this to private message. Here's the comment from Dr. Bazan, for posterity (in the event he edits, etc.) "9/19/2017 Dr. Bazan here. You were given trials and at the followup you expressed an issue. To resolve that issue, not one, but 2 kinds of contacts were given as potential solutions. A second followup was schedule to ensure the issue was resolved. You cancelled the follow up!!!! You only had trials, not an rx, so there was nothing to give you. As far as how to take care of contacts, I go over it in very simple to understand terms, every year for everyone. I can't tell you how many people are grateful for the refresher and learn something. Guess you just are ungrateful!" I'd like to address this by stating what I actually said and asked for. I'm not doing this in hopes of starting a fight - I'm responding because I'd like to let future customers know what to expect, and maybe help Park Slope Eye improve. 1. I did not express a problem at the follow-up. If that was perceived, it was not what I actually said. This should illustrate the difficulty I had communicating with this medical professional. 2. The entire reason I went in to begin with was to get a new prescription. I was not there for trials. I did my best to express this very clearly in both my first and second appointments. 3. I cancelled the follow-up because I didn't understand why it was necessary. I was there for a prescription. That's it. The extra follow-ups felt like an attempt to sell me contacts, which I didn't want or ask for. I think "Guess you just are ungrateful!" illustrates the issues here very clearly. Instead of taking this as an opportunity to grow and improve, this business owner is lashing out. I can envision several solutions (a free visit to get an actual prescription, an apology, etc.). Instead, this is happening. I genuinely hope that you take this and other reviews as feedback rather than attacks. read more

Had a seamless, enjoyable appointment at my first time at Park Slope Eye. They seem to heavily prioritize health and safety (during COVID) by allowing one client in at a time in their office, wearing masks, sanitizing equipment, and seamlessly navigating a routine eye exam, all while remaining competent, knowledgable, friendly and kind. Grateful for Dr. Bazan and Aaron (front staff) running a smooth ship! read more