After many months of contemplating about writing a review, I am very sorry to say that I feel compelled to leave a negative review of Taras Optical in Latham NY. Ashley, the office assistant was polite and helpful and tries her best to smooth over the crass, rude, fast talking, intimidating owner, Tom.
I will be completely honest here, I should have trusted my initial instincts when he offered to submit a post- dated bill to my insurance company so they would pay a portion of the bill. He wanted to sell me glasses right there and then and didn't want to wait a couple of months. During one of our conversations, which he liked to dominate and speak loudly, I requested gradient shading for sunglasses. He outright lied and told me no one makes gradient shading for sunglasses any longer. I found out from Lenscrafters that his statement was absolutely false! Apparently, he just didn't want to be bothered with it. Unfortunately, I went against my better judgment, had an eye exam and bought a very expensive pair of glasses from Tara's. I also felt he talked me into adding a special anti-reflective coating on the lenses which I wasn't quite sure I wanted.
When I picked up my glasses he told me it was best to clean them with soap and water and dry with a soft towel. I had never heard of this before in the 59 years I have worn glasses, but I figured he knew best. * I noticed right away how difficult it was to keep them clean. A couple of months later I was on the road for business in Florida and called Taras, spoke to Ashley, and told her about the difficulty I was having. She replied that she understood because she thought the anti-reflective coating seemed "oily". I explained that when I'm driving for hours in a car, which is required for my job, I do not always have access to soap and water. I've never had a problem with using regular eyeglass cleaner solution before, so I used it with a soft eyeglass cloth and one time (which I know for a fact is not uncommon for us women and have done many times in the past), I used my very soft dress to clean. I was shocked to see the anti reflective coating start to peel off!
*The real deal breaker! : The horrendously poor, basically absent, customer service!
When we returned from Florida, my husband and I stopped in to Taras with my glasses, the lens cleaner, cloth and even brought in my dress so he could see how soft it was. I started to explain to Ashley what happened and showed her the cloth I used and my dress and admitted that I used them both and was about to say that I realized that it was probably my fault but I was on the road and needed to clean them. I barely got a couple words out when he became very animated, loud and intimidating from a the other counter while he was with another customer. I asked if he would just let me explain and show him the softness of the cloth and dress, but he wouldn't let me and continued berating me. My husband, the other customers and I were shocked by his brazen and presumptuous response! He then proceeded to completely ignore me and speak directly to Ashley about repairing my lenses for approximately $98. I told him that I didn't want the anti- reflective coating, and then was charged approximately $30 more! At that point I was close to tears and just wanted to get out of his presence. So, once again, feeling intimidated, I agreed and left.
I ended up spending approximately $600+! More than I have ever spent in my life! I feel that I was ripped off and especially disregarded by Tom, the owner.
*The frosting on the cake was that he lied (once again) to my insurance company, telling them that buttons on my dress scratched the lenses! There are absolutely NO BUTTONS on the dress! It is made of a very soft cotton like material and he knew this!
Perhaps there are satisfied customers who have not had this terrible experience. Nonetheless, for me and my household, we will never go anywhere near Taras Optical again.
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