Short-sighted? (Specsavers Opticians)

Member Name: sweet_decline

Product:	Specsavers Opticians
Date:	02/11/08 (212 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Value for money, knowledgeable friendly staff at one branch

Disadvantages: Disorganised, rude and money-grabbing at another branch

I've had pretty mixed experiences with SpecSavers, as the branches are run separately from each other.

The first branch was fantastic - wonderful facilities, everything was explained clearly and I was taken through the options for contacts lenses and glasses. When I did suffer from problems with my contact lenses due to allergies, the aftercare service was great. The staff were all friendly and I got to know them well over the 10 years I used that opticians. Nothing was too much trouble (and I do spend hours choosing frames, and asking opinions on them!), I was given advice on what would best suit both my lifestyle and my purse.

However, I moved house and tried using another branch of the chain. What a difference! The staff were rude - I was kept waiting for over an hour for my appointment with no explanation. On another occasion I was told my appointment had been canceled but they had forgotten to tell me (and I had taken the day off work especially).

The optician treated me in a condescending manner and did not explain the issues with my eyes or any options open to me. I felt like they were shepherding me into taking the most expensive contact lenses and glasses. The contacts they did order in for me were the wrong prescription. I ended up not replacing my glasses at all because I was so fed up!

I have used the Lensmail scheme for many years, which is largely great - everything arrives promptly. It is not as cheap as buying contact lenses from the internet, but because I have had troubles with allergies in the past, I feel safer knowing that all my aftercare appointments are covered by the plan.

I have recently had to move house again, and I contacted SpecSavers to get my Lensmail details changed. It took four months, three delivery attempts and hours of sitting on hold to get it sorted. I'm told this was largely the fault of the second branch I was a customer of - they managed to lose my details!

So now I still need new glasses... and can't decide whether to give another branch of SpecSavers a chance - as they are still the best for my budget. Hmmm....

As an update, I have tried a new branch of SpecSavers after moving house yet again. I found the service to be fantastic for glasses - they coped with my constant changes of mind very well. I hate choosing glasses and they had a system whereby they took photos of you wearing different pairs so you could see how they suited your face on a computer screen and compare frames. I did feel a bit rushed through the contact lens process, but no change was needed to my current prescription in this case.

However, my partner did not have such a good experience. He chose two frames on the buy on get one free deal, and they managed to make up the glasses to the wrong prescription. It took him a lot of effort to get the situation sorted.

In conclusion, a bit hit and miss - but good value for money.

Summary: Mixed responses - one branch great - another branch dire