Thorough eye test, good range, rubbish customer service (Dolland & Aitchison)

Member Name: crispybacon

Product:	Dolland & Aitchison
Date:	24/02/09 (129 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You get a thorough eye test but don't expect to get all your results!

Disadvantages: Poor customer service, product knowledge of their own range

Having had glasses since the age of 11 I have been using private opticians for over 20 years and started to get fed up with the lack of choice so thought I'd pay a visit to the D&A store in Cheltenham. This is my experience:

Eye Test
The optician I saw was really nice and put me at ease so this was a good start. The number of tests I had was very comprehensive as I would have expected as a potential new customer. I was advised on my prescription and given (some - more later) of measurements on a customer care card and then handed over to the shop staff.

Choosing my glasses and customer service
Once I had been handed over by the optician I then had the shape of my face analysed so that the advisor could choose frames that would be better suited to my face. This I thought a bit odd considering D&A had an add running claiming their customers weren't in a 'sausage factory' and the didn't have a one size fits all approach.

Walking round with the advisor whe picked out frames she thought would suit me which was fine but I then had to be a little pushy to get her to show me what I was interested in (rimless glasses were what I really wanted to look at).

Her product knowledge was not great and I had to find frames myself as she did not know which manufacturers produced what.

I then had a further problem as I have a nickel allergy (which is a material commonly used in glasses frames but the allergy is common too) and the advisor couldn't even tell me which frames had this material in them. When I asked if she could find out her response was 'But I'd have to ring the manufacturer'. So yes, but when I'm spending £400 on a pair of glasses (I have to have thin lenses due to my prescription otherwise I'd have a pair of milk bottles on my frames!) I need to know if my face is going to start to rot!

The advisor made such a big deal over this that after 15 minutes I just left the store.

I then tried to get my glasses from somewhere else but D&A then refused to give me all the vital measurements from my eye test which would allow another optician to order my frames and lenses so I had to pay for another eye test there.

So ultimately their customer service, product knowledge etc you could argue could have been a bad member of staff but it seemed that this came from the top down. I won't be going back.

Summary: Despite their claims you are just a sausage!