I had spoken to Scott the day before I went in. I had explained my predicament about repairs to my glasses (was currently using a tied string DIY concept.) Scott assured no worries and greeted me the next morning. He explained he had a box of assorted pieces of parts and frames. He took my DIY glasses and completely transformed them into new glasses... and told me I wouldn't have to worry about a cost. I was stunned . God Bless you Scott! you made my year, I'm coming back for a proper eye appointment for sure! read more

I've seen both doctors here when scheduling worked out that way. Most recently my last two yearly visits have been with Dr. Mock. Making an appointment is easy and they were able to get me a next day appointment. I order my contacts directly through them as well and they have a really easy method of requesting it and pick up in a few days. I really like that there's no pressure here to order anything through them and that they listen to what you want. I have my next appointment in a few weeks and love that I'm not dreading going in. (No More puff of air in the eye if you opt for the new test!) read more

I have had Dr Mc Gowan as my Eye doc for the last 5 years. They have a high level of expertise. Doctor Mc Gowan really cares . I gain more appreciation for their services after each vist. He has a kind and gentle approach with fancy machines with great people that know how to use them. Very grateful to be his patient. Patrick Moran read more

My first time visiting Dr McGowan. I am so pleased with his professionalism, knowledge, and level of the exam he provided me with the most up-to-date equipment I have seen including my recent visit to Texan Eye where I took a family member just a few days ago (not to mention their long wait). We will go to Dr McGowan from now on. Thank you, Dr Mcgowen. Aldo R read more

Tanglewood Vision Center is the best place for your eyes in South Austin. The location is great, everyone is friendly and professional, and they have a cute selection of glasses. I'm pretty sure they work with most insurances, but they're affordable with/without insurance. read more

A patient of Dr. McGowan's for over 10 years, maybe close to 15. I started going to Tanglewood when it was a very small practice and I mean small, and I managed to talk my siblings and parents into leaving their optometrist because I was so pleased with Tanglewood. In recent years as it's expanded the service just gets worse and worse. The new staff leaves much to be desired, they are rude, unpleasant and not very welcoming. Everything is very transactional and not much of the personable service remains from when they were a small practice. Imagine being a patient for over 10 years, never having any issues but getting to your appt 13 minutes late only to be told that the grace period is 10 minutes and the doctor won't see you. SMH she asked when I would like to reschedule and I said i won't be rescheduling. I will also make sure the rest of my family no longer uses them. My father already had grievances during his last appointment a couple of weeks ago. The 6 of us will be taking our business elsewhere. In a growing city like Austin you would think customer retention would be important! read more

The eye exam was professional. The eye glasses they wanted to sell me (after $200 off and 20 percent off) cost $700. A casual look online I pay less than $400. Hmmm........ read more

Why go here ever again? I'm not someone who is easily offended, yet I've never been made to feel unwelcome like this in a retail establishment. In this case, you can't chalk things up to an optician simply having a bad day. Their unwarranted behavior happened multiple times over a period of many weeks. By luck of the draw, I ended up repeatedly interacting on different days with the same person - one who is quietly condescending and consistently pissy without cause. There's no reason a customer should have to play retail Russian roulette, bracing for which employee they might be helped by when going in to select, or pay, or pick up, etc. Further, there's *absolutely* no reason that one should spend hundreds of dollars at a given business, only to be treated with inexplicable contempt during what should be friendly, predictable visits. It would be great to go back in time and make my recent purchases at a different shop, but it's too late for that. So, unless you're a customer service masochist, consider the possibilities and save your shopping sanity. There are plenty of optical shops in Austin where anyone and *everyone* on staff will be genuinely happy to assist you...and you won't have to cross your fingers about whether that certain employee is about to walk up and speak (down) to you again today. read more

I have keratoconus, so my eye exams are critical. Dr. McGowan is cordial and detailed. His referrals and recommendations have always been spot-on. Matter of fact, I had issues when disregarded his recommendations and used my own judgement. As far as the staff they are really nice and are experts repairing glasses. They fixed my frames in like 2 minutes. My only issue is they weren't very helpful in finding my preferred Nike Titanium frame (it's discontinued). Yet, while the Flexon frame they recommended doesn't look as cool, they are "indestructible". read more

I had a very poor experience at Tanglewood. My sons had appointments and they went ok. I would give it 3 stars. Very expensive compared to anywhere else I have been and just normal service. However my youngest needed to go back, to try and get contacts. The appointment was just for him to try and get on contacts. I am coming from outside Austin, and was 12 minutes late. When I showed up I was informed I could not be helped as there is a 10 minute late policy. Totally understand. However, it is not an exam. We can try contacts for 48 minutes and call it a day. The receptionist asked if I would like to reschedule or speak with someone. When I asked to speak with someone, she rolled her eyes and said she would get me someone. I was asked to come to the back, which I thought would be our appointment. I was told again of the late policy. I again stated I understand but this is not an appointment. No eye check. No glasses fitting. No dilation. Just trying for my 8 year old to get contacts in as he really wants them. I was given the same line of policy. I asked that since she is here now why can't we just start this. She states the policy again. I get policy. I get the reason for it. But to follow it no matter what, to the letter of the law, as opposed to the reasoning for the rule, is ridiculous, and shows a lack of customer empathy and ability to work with people. I was middle of the road after the original appointments. This experience really drove home the type of place this is. I would not recommend for anyone to go to this eye center. read more

I thought my vision got worse, but as it turns out, my "new" prescription was just really off

Had a great experience here today! Got some great glasses and had awesome customer service and support! Will definitely come back! read more

Tanglewood Vision Center - Optometrists Near Me - Austin, Texas

I am fanatical about my eyes. I may take three years to go for my annual well woman exam but I am punctual AF when it comes to my eyes. That being said, I have gone to many many optometrists in my 31+ years of having eyes and Tanglewood is ranked way high up there. To schedule the appointment, all and they will ask a few questions about insurance and then get you right in. I called last week and they could have seen me the next day but work stuff was already scheduled. They are open a bit later so you can get an appointment at 430 if you need it. I got here a few minutes early to complete my paperwork and boom, five minutes before my appointment they pulled me to the back to do the normal testing and such. They do offer this optical scanning test if you don't want to or can't do dilation and it is sometimes covered by insurance and sometimes not, if not it was $39 bucks for me and I will drop some bills on my vision. Waited maybe five minutes for the actual doctor to come in and do doctory things. They have a huge variety of frames in all price ranges for men, women, and children and offer sunglasses too. They are also honest as heck. I have had to ask for an opinion before as to which frames worked best with my face and instead of going with the most expensive, I was told the cheapest pair was the best fit. I feel like they actually care and genuinely want you to walk out with your best, most confident face forward. Honestly, I love this place and don't see myself changing doctors ever. Tip: if you just need an exam and are going to go elsewhere for glasses (cough cough Warby Parker cough) they will give you your RX and not shame you for not buying here. Just a lovely business. read more

I stopped by to shop for eyeglasses. I was told that I have to make an appt due Covid. Well, no staff are wearing masks and why make an appt if I want take a look at the glasses? If I don't find what I want it would be a waste of my time to drive over for an appt. Stupid! read more

What a great experience. Everyone on staff was nice, happy and helpful. Would highly recommend to everyone. Sending Carrie over next week. read more

I had a great visit! The staff and optometrist were fast, friendly and efficient. I had a thorough exam with my eyes dilated and everything and I was still out of there in less than an hour. The staff member that helped me pick out glasses was very knowledgeable and guided me to choosing a great pair. I found my eye center. read more

Soooo I freaked out because I didn't read any of these reviews before I made an appointment here so I went in freaking out like oh no they may over charge me but..... I actually had a very pleasant experience here! When I called the day before to make my appointment the receptionist was knowledgable about my insurance. When I went in I made sure that I was only paying the copay and wasn't snuck into anything I didn't want to pay extra for. Everything was in writing there when you go in - it's not like they don't tell you everything. I asked the questions and they gave me answers. My eye exam was quick and even after spending some time picking frames I was only there for like 45 minutes. I didn't pay anymore than what I thought I would. Also the staff are all really nice people! So in conclusion the reviews I read here made me worry for nothing. read more

Took my 9 year old daughter and they were all great! Very patient with my lacking visual terminology and her little eyes. The exam seemed more thorough than other appointments she's had and the Dr. never seemed rushed with us. The glasses selection was also so cute!! We've never been able to find glasses for her so quickly. Very excited for her to get the new pair. read more

I have been a patient with Dr. Mcgowan for about 8 years. My yearly exams are always something I look forward to. He explains everything going on with my vision and the staff is very informative and friendly. My entire family are also patients of Dr. Mcgowan and they are extremely happy with all the staff at Tanglewood Vision. I highly recommend them for all your vision needs. read more

So I stopped here to get my contact lenses, mainly because they were super close to my house, and I needed to make an early appt so the closer the better. Upon walking in, I was greeted and asked what I was there for (pretty standard) I can understand some of the reviews where they talk about the front desk staff being snobby, BUT in their defense they get their job done so I can't really complain, they haven't been RUDE. When it came to the exam itself it was also pretty standard. Nothing super warm but, I guess I don't really care how much people TALK to me as long as the job is getting done correctly. The optometrist herself was very pleasant. the second time I went in to actually get my contacts the male optometrist was late by like 20 minutes, and wasn't really my cup of tea but one again whatever.. The ONLY issue I had was the fact that they got my Rx mixed up. I've never worn contacts before so I didnt really know what to expect. They put the "L" Sticker on the "R" box so I ended up wasting like, 3 pairs of contacts before that came to my mind of just switching eyes. You kinda trust the people to do their job.. But they did rectifiy the situatuion and gave me a replacement pairs. So Hey, as long as you can acknowledge your mistake,it's all good. I would recommend for contacts, their glasses selection is not super great. read more

I can't say enough good things about Dr. McGowan. His staff is great also. I had my husband and I transported from his nursing home for an eye exam. He has Alzheimer's and a form of Parkinson's, and is wheel-chair bound. Yen, Dr. McGowan's assistant, tried to use the high-tech machine that tells them all sorts of things about the eye. However, due to him not being able to get close enough in his wheelchair, she was unable. Therefore, Dr. McGowan had to do everything manually to look into his eyes to check for diseases and check his vision, using magnifying lens and comparing to his last exam. This was very time consuming and Dr. McGowan was very patient with him and me and explained things as he went, even though he knew he would make little off of the exam. I would recommend him and his staff to anyone and everyone. Carole Cantrell read more

The new office is lovely! Everyone is super friendly and patient. They answered all the questions I had and were genuinely kind. I've been going to this office for several years now, despite moving further central. I would refer anyone their way! read more

My family and I have been coming to Tanglewood Vision for years. All staff are always friendly and listen to any concerns we may have. My husband had an emergency that had to be seen right away and Dr. McGowan came in just for him. Office is clean and very professional. read more

Love this office ! Always greeted with friendly customer service . The staff is always nice and professional. Easy to make appointments and love the selection of eye glasses to choose from in this office as well. Dr of this office is also very friendly and provides good customer service . Overall happy with this office , I've been a patient here for a year :) read more

Great Optometrist! Really took the time to talk with me and get my prescription instead of feeling like a head of cattle getting rushed through the shoot. Poor staff. Didn't listen to me. EXTREMELY SLOW getting my glasses. Didn't fit them or listen to me when I told them things looked funny after they had my glasses sent back the first time. I experienced some slight motion sickness bc they weren't fitted correctly. The people inside the Wal-Mart optometrist office actually had to help me. She looked at me, said "turn to the side....now take them off" She took them to the back, and came back...voila...no more headaches. She said whoever gave me those didn't care about the way they sat on my face or she would have seen it instantly. So...get your prescription with Tanglewood...but go somewhere else for your glasses. Plain and simple. read more

My family and I all get our eye exams and lenses here. The staff have been very helpful and friendly they've gone out of their way to make sure we have the frames, lenses and contacts that we need. I've really appreciated the doctors and supports staff. read more

The doctors and staff are the absolute best. They immediately put me at ease because they know I have a phobia about doctors. Because of that alone I travel all the way from Kyle to have them monitor my eye health. read more

This was my first eye exam in many years so was y sure what to expect. The staff was so nice and the exam room was clean. It was fast and painless. Definitely coming back! read more

It was LITERALLY my first vision exam in abt 23 yrs (last one was free one done is high school) The receptionist, assistant and Dr. Mock were excellent and made me very relaxed. She was patient with all my questions and great "Bedside Manner" Dezteny helped me with info on soooo many diff pair i tried on and was super helpful. I'm glad they helped me and were all great. Be back to get em' when they come in, and look forward to seeing them ALL again! 5 stars, for sure read more

Quick service and friendly staff! They were able to get me in the same day for a contact appointment - - and we're happy to fix my bowed glasses that I brought in! read more

My family and i have been seeing Dr. McGowan for a few years now and he is by far the best. Not only is he great, but his staff is amazing!!

I hadn't been to an eye doctor in...ummm...ever? Probably like 25 years. My reading visions been getting a little foggy lately so I went here for a check up. Everyone was friendly and my appt started on time. After the check up it was recommended that I start with over the counter readers. I appreciated that they didn't push me into a needless frame purchase. When the time comes that I do need to get perscription glasses....and it will....i will definitely purchase them here. read more

I would definitely recommend them to anyone in the Austin Healthcare community! Whether it be someone living , working or traveling to Austin I would send them here. The front desk representative is a very good resource and informative on educating people on the services provided to patients ! read more

We love Tanglewood Vision Center so much we continue to make the drive even though we now live in Round Rock. The staff is always very friendly and professional. My daughter (age 5) just had her first appointment there and they treated her so great and made her first eye appointment very special! read more

Excellent staff, easy to get an appointment and Dr. McGowan is super knowledgable and helped me to find the right contacts for me. Definitely will continue to go to Tanglewood Vision Center and would recommend to friends. read more

Love that all the staff is wearing masks, makes me feel like they are prioritizing health and safety!

Tanglewood has been my one-stop service center for my vision for several years. I am very happy with their service. The office staff is professional and caring. I really like Dr McG - he knows his stuff. He had to give me some difficult news, and he was caring and professional throughout. read more

I came for a routine annual eye exam, I was referred here by a friend, and I must say I'm really happy I found a new Optometrist. Dr. Doan was very nice and professional. I really liked how she elaborated on what was going on with the exam and what she was looking for. She was also very understanding to what I wanted for my eyes and what worked for me. I highly recommend this place and Dr. Yen Doan. read more

Well, I got my glasses in and the prescription seems fine, but my $300 frames are scratched and wonky. I'm taking them in tomorrow to ave them take a look and see if I can get new frames. read more

Store saw my comments and contacted me. Long story... short version, they took the time to find out what happened and made things right. I wasn't expecting that but I'm glad it happened! read more