Beware, and fair warning…read more
I paid $445.02 out of pocket (no insurance) for an eye exam, contact lens fitting, and glasses. More than two months later, I have neither working contacts nor working glasses.
My comprehensive exam on July 21 was performed almost entirely by a technician who introduced herself to me as an intern. She did all of the testing, including the refraction that determines your prescription. The practice's website describes her role as pre-testing, special testing, contact lens ordering, and assisting the doctor. What I experienced was her running the entire exam. The doctor came in at the end for a short visit, briefly explained one finding, and prescribed a medicated drop. He never asked about my goals, never asked what I do for work, and never discussed the images of my eyes that were sitting right there on the screen. For a self-pay comprehensive exam, I expected far more of the doctor's time and attention than what felt like a brush-off.
Everything built on that foundation went wrong. Over the following weeks I was given three different trial pairs of contacts. Two of the three were the wrong type of lens entirely: the first had no astigmatism correction, and the second had no multifocal correction at all, which was the whole reason I came in. The third pair was finally the right category, but still not the right prescription. At one point I received a text that a trial pair was ready, went in to pick it up, and it wasn't there. It felt like nobody in the office was communicating about what had already been tried.
The glasses were no better. Two separate sets of lenses, both wrong, neither close. They did remake the lenses once at no charge, but the second attempt missed too. Nobody asked what I needed the glasses for or how far my screen sits from my eyes, even though I do detailed graphic design work on a computer all day. I also never received a walkthrough of lens options and what each one costs before ordering.
I returned the final set of lenses on September 15 and then sent a letter to Dr. Smouse by USPS Certified Mail with Restricted Delivery (a service meant to limit delivery to the addressee or his authorized agent), requesting a full refund. The delivery record shows it was signed for by a member of the front office staff, not by Dr. Smouse. As of this review, I have heard nothing back, and I have no idea whether he ever saw it. No one has contacted me about a refund, including for the lenses I handed back.
Dr. Smouse himself was personable, and I have no quarrel with his knowledge. But I paid for a process that never produced a working result, with very little doctor involvement and poor coordination behind the scenes. I won't be going back, and I'd encourage you to look elsewhere too. If you do book here, ask exactly who will be performing your exam, and get pricing and lens details in writing before you pay. I hope this helps with your decision. Cheers.
