The gift of sight. (Vision Express)

Member Name: Ghumphrey

Product:	Vision Express
Date:	27/07/09 (93 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great service and very detailed eye tests

Disadvantages: Try not to go at busy times and you will get better service

Vision Express

I have needed glasses since I was 16 and in that space of time I have tried a number of opticians. When I first moved to England in 1998 I decided to try out contact lenses. I asked around a few places and vision express appeared to have the best deal so I decided to give them a try and I have been with them ever since.

Who are vision express?

Vision Express is a chain of optician in the UK. The company began in 1988 in quickly expanded throughout the UK. There are now over 200 vision express stores in the UK. The main selling point of vision express is their ability to provide made to order glasses in one hour.

Are they expensive?

I have found vision express to be reasonably priced. Their glasses do tend to be more expensive that rivals such as spec savers. For instance I last bought glasses in September 2008. They cost me around £190 quid for one set of glasses whereas I know I could have easily got two pairs in spec savers for the same price. However I felt that the frames in vision express were a bit more superior to the ones in spec savers so I didn't mind paying the premium.

I joined vision express to try out contacts and I have had a direct debit set up with them ever since. Originally this cost me £15 a month and in ten years this price never changed for me. This paid for monthly disposables. (Lenses that lasted for a month). I also got free replacements, free aftercare, free eye tests and more cleaning solution than I needed. I realised that I wasn't using the lenses as much and I spoke to the optician and then decided to change my order. For only £10 I get 15 daily disposable lenses a month plus all the after care and free eye tests.

My opinion

Over the years I have been very surprised and impressed by the level of service that I have received from vision express. I was able to transfer my account very easily when I moved back to Belfast and have since transferred again to another branch closer to my work. Both transfers were very easy and done via a two minute phone call.

The service from vision express is generally excellent. I have had one poor customer experience when buying glasses from a manager but I feel that this was due to the store being very busy and the manager probably having to step into unfamiliar territory and cover for a no show. The buying process just took a lot longer than normally because she kept getting called away. This experience however is not the norm and now I have changed to a smaller branch the service is excellent and friendly.

I get my eyes checked every 6 months for my lenses and every 12 months for my glasses. I have found the opticians to be friendly polite and very professional. On one visit the optician found a bit of damage in my left eye. Following consultation she decided to send me to an eye specialist. She was concerned and I got to see the specialist very quickly and it turned out to be rust damage from when I worked as an engineer. It was so miniscule there is nothing that can be done and it won't have any detrimental effects on my eye sight. But what impressed me was the fact that it was only this optician that found the damage when I had quit being an engineer for over 4 years by that stage. I had my eyes checked every 6 months back then so plenty of other opticians had missed it.

Overall I would be happy to recommend vision express. They use state of the art equipment and it's very easy to get an appointment. I have been very happy with the service I have received and can't see me leaving vision express any time soon.

Summary: Best opticans on the high street