You only get what you pay for! (Specsavers Opticians)

Member Name: janharper

Product:	Specsavers Opticians
Date:	16/10/08 (283 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap

Disadvantages: Slow service, lomg wait

I was walking past our local Specsavers when I noticed a board outside which offered 'Free Eye Tests' and I had been meaning to renew my reading glasses for some. There was no one waiting inside so I went in to find three assistants standing behind the counter.

After ten minutes they decided to stop their conversation and one came to see if he could help me. I was told that I could have an eye test there and then if I waited five minutes, so I agreed.

I was given a form to fill in because I hadn't been there before, but fifteen minutes later I was still sitting there.

Eventually (I had been inside the shop for almost an hour) someone ushered me to a small darkened cubicle where the eye test took place. The optician was efficient and fast but not exactly friendly. This is a strange sensation when you are in the dark with a person who is close enough to examine your eyes but who doesn't seem very friendly.

After this I waited again for almost half an hour before someone came to show me the available frames. I pointed out that I didn't want to spend a lot because they were just reading glasses. The assistant started at the top end and tried to get me to pay over £100 for frames. Eventually he got the idea and showed some from a range of about £40 to £60 which was more suitable.

I chose the frames and then waited another twenty minutes while the paperwork was completed. I was told that I could collect them the next day.

I called in for my new frames at 3pm and it took an hour for the staff to decide that they weren't ready. The next day I called to get them but there was nobody available to fit them properly. I left with the frames and a promise that if there were any problems they would correct them if I called back.

So, it had taken me over five hours to buy a pair of reading glasses in Specsavers. This is not acceptable as far as I'm concerned. I would have expected to spend round about an hour in total.

The staff in our local Specsavers were not interested in doing their job and couldn't care less about their customers. Perhaps other Specsavers shops are not as bad as this but there is no way I would go back there. The service and the attitude of the staff was awful.

Quality of the glasses? Standard lenses and cheap plastic frames that lasted all of three weeks before I snapped the arm on them. To get anything more substantial I would need to pay twice the price in Specsavers. I don't think that their cheap frames are value for money. You only get what you pay for, despite their advertising campaigns offering two for one and all the other things.

Summary: Cheap frames,