Eye, eye (Asda Opticians)

Member Name: Tamarind

Product:	Asda Opticians
Date:	30/10/09 (128 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good choice of frames

Disadvantages: None

I was fortunate not to need glasses until later in life. It all started with my vision not being quite as sharp as it had always been, so thought I'd better book an eye test. The optician confirmed I had what they called "age deterioration" - in other words, I was getting old! To make me feel better she said it usually happed around age 43 and, as I was well past that, had had a good innings. I can't say her statement made me feel any better.

That first eye test happened a few years ago and I have had numerous eye tests since then at various opticians. Although the service I received was always okay, it was never that good that I felt compelled to return. It was coming up the time for my 2-yearly eye test and was wondering where I could try, when my friend suggested Asda Opticians. I commented that I didn't even know Asda had an optician as my local store didn't have one. She said she had recently used them and showed me her new pair of spectacles. They looked great and best of all was the price. £99 for designer glasses was a lot cheaper than I had paid previously. I checked on the internet for my nearest store that had an optician and decided to give them a try.

I popped into the store to make an appointment rather than phone. I thought this would allow me to have a look at the frames they had on offer as, if they didn't have a selection to my liking, there would be no point in making the appointment. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the wide choice available and range of prices as well. It was obviously a popular place as the first appointment they could offer was the following week but as I was in no rush, this was not a problem.

The appointment date duly arrived and I arrived in plenty of time as I hate being late. I was greeted in a friendly manner by a member of staff and she explained that before seeing the optician, she would perform the usual pre-examination tests. For those of you who don't wear glasses it is where they blow a little puff of air in each eye. This didn't take long and by the time she had finished the optician was ready for me.

The optician was very thorough and patient, especially when I kept asking if I could go back and try a certain lens again as I wasn't sure whether the first or second one was clearer. The examination lasted about half an hour and at the end she explained that although I needed new reading glasses I didn't need to buy new varifocals if I didn't want to as my old ones were still okay. This was the first time I had an optician tell me not to buy new glasses unless I wanted to.

I then chose my frames. (A member of staff will assist you if you want but I prefer to decide for myself.) I was really pleased at the price range and chose a non designer frame which looked really trendy. I have found in the past that the non designer offerings in other shops have looked liked National Health frames i.e. cheap and nasty. This was not the case in Asda. The assistant who took my order didn't try to sell me all the usual add-ons like scratch proof lenses etc. which tend to bump the price by quite a bit. This was a refreshing change from the usual hard sell I have encountered from other opticians. I did, however, decide to take out their offer of insurance for £16 as my glasses take quite a beating!

I collected my glasses 2 weeks later and was happy with my choice. A few weeks after this I snapped the leg of my varifocals (the ones that didn't need replacing!) I knew they were unrepairable so popped into Asda, explained what had happened and asked if I would need to have my eyes tested for varifocals as I hadn't bought any from them. The assistant explained that as they knew my prescription all I would need to do was choose new frames and they would be able to make me up a pair. I chose a pair of Morgan designer frames with a nice chrome case and although slightly more expensive than the £99 I had paid for my other glasses, they were certainly cheaper than what I would have paid at the likes of Specsavers.

I have now used Asda Opticians several times and will continue to do so in the future. I can certainly recommend them.

Summary: Reastic prices and no hard sell