Which Optician?

ddraver

Evening all

I need to go to the optician soon as I really really need to replace the glasses I lost 4 years ago and also get some more contact lenses as all the ones I ve got left over from NL (where you can buy them in a normal chemist!!!) are gone!

Anyone been recently and had a particularly good experience? Other wise it's Boots and glasses from online...

MrSweary

Don't go to the Optical Gallery in Twickenham.. went Saturday and they got my prescription way way wrong and failed to spot my astigmatism! After that I went to David Clulow who seemed very good.

rubertoe

Dont go to boots.

They are expensive. Go To spec savers and get their 2-1 deal. They have some pretty good glasses and you can also get sunglasses as part of the deal.

slowbike

rubertoe wrote:

Dont go to boots.

They are expensive. Go To spec savers and get their 2-1 deal. They have some pretty good glasses and you can also get sunglasses as part of the deal.

Specsavers are a franchise - anyway, any opticians is only as good as the optician you see ..

cyclingprop

lensway.co.uk

You can order from the UK (if you have a current script), or from NL if you don't. And its legal.

Gazzaputt

Ask around and see if you can find an independent.

Been taking my son to Boots for ages and the quality of glasses are shocking.

Went to a local independent and straight showed why the glasses from Boots fail. Put him in proper child glasses and spent time doing a through eyetest not something we got at Boots.

Kieran_Burns

Gazzaputt wrote:

Ask around and see if you can find an independent.

Been taking my son to Boots for ages and the quality of glasses are shocking.

Went to a local independent and straight showed why the glasses from Boots fail. Put him in proper child glasses and spent time doing a through eyetest not something we got at Boots.

Yup, going to Boots would be a spectacular mistake (did you see what I did there? ) My Mum had a nightmare there as well. She got completely the wrong prescription which is still affecting her eyesight now.

I have read elsewhere about using a recommended optician for the sight test but then going online to find the glasses as they are MUCH cheaper. The problem I have with this is that it hits the good local optician...

ToeKnee

MrSweary wrote:

Don't go to the Optical Gallery in Twickenham.. went Saturday and they got my prescription way way wrong and failed to spot my astigmatism! After that I went to David Clulow who seemed very good.

David Clueless do have a good range of frames and were attentive up to the point they had my money. My post sales experience means never again ... they just couldn't care less.
1) the original lenses needed to be replaced immediately because they had fogged - how can they not have noticed? This took longer than it did to get the glasses in the first place.
2) when the side arm broke they brazenly lied about being able to replace it expecting me to buy new frames/glasses.

schlepcycling

rubertoe wrote:

Dont go to boots.

They are expensive. Go To spec savers and get their 2-1 deal. They have some pretty good glasses and you can also get sunglasses as part of the deal.

Depends what you want them for I guess, but I recently got a new everyday pair from Specsavers for £69 with free reactions lenses, the optician was excellent and the prescription is spot on.

ic.

ASDA are not too bad tbh. I've switched from Vision Express to ASDA past few years.

I particularly like it when they forget to charge me for things.

They're also pretty good with me when I've run out of lenses and need a couple of pairs to see me through till they can order more, they have little trial boxes they give out if you smile nicely

essex-commuter

Got mine from Vision Express, but only because they were the only ones in town that sold Oakley frames!

drlodge

I've used Specsavers in the City (the one by Liverpool St Station) and felt rushed, and passed from pillar to post. Must have been seen by about 6 different people! So I tried my local store in Guildford - much better service and they seemed happy to answer all the questions I had regarding varifocals and occupational lenses. I had no idea there is such a selection of lensee, of different quality and graduations. Mindblowing.

ddraver

essex-commuter wrote:

Got mine from Vision Express, but only because they were the only ones in town that sold Oakley frames!

See now i was going to go for Oakleys...

Kieran_Burns

ddraver wrote:

essex-commuter wrote:

Got mine from Vision Express, but only because they were the only ones in town that sold Oakley frames!

See now i was going to go for Oakleys...

Oddly enough I did that for the same reason, one pair of half-framed and one pair of cycling

DonDaddyD

I wear contacts lenses (monthly disposables) and glasses. Have been since I was a child.

Glasses got too expensive too quickly in my opinion, despite Dolland and Aitchison (now Boots) offering half price incentives.

I get my contacts from Boots through the post £25 a month (to be honest I scouted around to find out how much signing up to a new deal would cost and was quoted some £80 - £100 for the test and to sign up to the deal at other opticians, which is shocking).

And my perscription glasses from here: http://www.selectspecs.com/

I get my free eye test with my year contact lens check up which is free.

My last pair of perscription glasses, nice thin metal rim with scratch and reflection resistant lenses, cost me £8. I have a -6 perscription. You can also go direct to a lens manfacturer as these often sell glasses frames on site as well. There's one near Croydon and Derby, both has saved me a couple £100.

DonDaddyD

Also one thing I will say,

Boots, SpecsSavers, Vision Express et al are franchises. The quality of service will be down to the staff and optician at the specific store. That said, the Dolland and Aitchison (now Boots, Eyeland on London Road near Mayday Hospital, now Croydon University Hospital - Thornton Heath) I've been going to for years has diminished in quality dramatically.

greg66_tri_v2.0

Specs of Kensington. Brilliant. Most thorough opticians I have been to.