Having watched a documentary about how Luxottica owns my eye insurance company as well as lens crafters and all the eyeglass brands they carry, I realized it was time to be a true New Yorker and look for new frames and a local shop. My pursuit focused on pricing of the Lindberg brand as my research showed them to be some of the best. To my surprise, there are very few shops that carry these, and those that do have them priced quite high. My search came to an end when I called Pildes Optical and Jay provided the pricing - which is the best in the city. He was open, honest, and very informative about the frames as well as their pricing, this is what brought me to the store.
Upon arriving, Jay spent as much time as I needed to get comfortable with the right style of frames, fit, and size. He then proceeded to walk me through the different types of lenses. While this is something optician should and will do, Jay's time spent with showed me that he was dedicated to me as a customer - even though I wasn't one yet, and not just some employee trying to sell but rather a VERY informed, educated, and experienced optician that loves what he does as much as he loves his clients. I can be quite indecisive about things, this didn't phase Jay one bit.
No offense to the other employees at this shop, but the time Jay has spent with me each time I come to the shop has been stellar and he is the only person I work with. If I need an adjustment, he takes care of it immediately, if I need a new nose pad, it's taken care of. From the first time I walked in the door of Pildes, Jay built a trusted, open, and honest business relationship with me - which is something I never got from any other optical shop in the city. As a result, I am now a dedicated customer and can't say enough about how wonderful my experience was - never any pressure, never any issue, never any complaints. In my 12 years of living in the city I can't believe it took me this long to find Pildes Optical and Jay, but I am happy I did as I won't deal with any other shop from here on out.
Many thanks to Jay and the employees at Pildes Optical for not only providing the best service, but doing it in a way that clearly displays the value in doing business with them.
+ After reading the other posting here, I had no idea that Jay is one of the owners of this shop. This is important because he provides the same best service everyone else there does and doesn't present himself as someone superior to anyone else in the shop. More importantly, he takes an active role in the shop, answering the phone, helping customers, and providing the best service I have ever had in the city.
+ Also wanted to point out that Jay responds to EVERY single review where a customer had an issue and explains the situation or how it was resolved - this is the sign of someone that really cares about their customer and their business. If you have a bad experience for some reason (no one and nothing is ever perfect) then it is your responsibility to provide the appropriate, honest feedback and give them a chance to fix it, before posting something here (my opinion). It disappoints me to read some of these negative reviews - Like complaining because the shop wont be responsible for taking possession of glasses to send to the lab to have new lenses put in when the shop doesn't even carry the glasses? They have no way to replace the glasses if something happens to them, and I know for sure that if something happens to a pair of glasses you buy from them they will replace them. I know we are all busy in NYC and don't have time to wait for things, or get frustrated when things don't go the way we expect or demand them to go, or the experience might be different than that from other, larger shops, but I can tell you the whole reason I left Lens Crafters after years of going to them is the transient, uninformed staff they had working there as well as the process of getting you in and out as quickly as possible, building no trust or relationship with the client (needless to say the lack of inventory and time it would take to order certain frames). If you don't have the time or patience to work with someone on getting something as important as a pair of glasses, then lens crafters might be the best for you, because the employees at Pildes have the experience, time, and patience in making sure you get the best for what you need. As well all know, it takes two to make a thing go right. read more