Local source of eyeglasses

[hikermtnbiker.livejournal.com]

I finally have to admit to myself that cheaters no longer work and I need proper reading glasses. What recommendations do you all have for a local eyeglass store?

As a first time eyeglass wearer I'm mostly interested in a shop that will take the time to help me select the right kind of lenses for my usage and get the prescription fine tuned. I'm less concerned about a wide selection of frame styles. I'm no fashion plate.

Has anyone tried the place on Elm across from Posto?

Comments

[elements.livejournal.com]

OH lord, no, not them! My past interaction with them involved them lying to me about the total cost, presenting a cost package once we actually added in everything that was more than twice what they quoted, and then arguing with me trying to persuade me that spending $1,100 for glasses was a good investment while I was unemployed. I had begun my interaction with them telling them about my unemployment and my maximum TOTAL for both frames and lenses, and they had continually reassured me as I spent two hours trying on frames there that each one would be within that maximum of $500. I found much nicer glasses that year at Saragas in Davis, still one of a kind designer, which including my lenses were $417. That was a few years ago, but damn. I have rarely had so negative a customer service experience.

Saragas is awesome, and has real eye doctors there, and the small + local thing. They have a range of stuff but especially lots of good one of a kind things.

My current glasses are from See in Harvard Square - who are also re-lensing my Saragas glasses. I had a Groupon (which pops up fairly frequently for them), but still, excellent price (harder for me to quantify when all I remember is I paid ~$350 post-Groupon for one full pair of frames and lenses, plus another set of lenses). They did a great customer service experience too.

Other places I would recommend are Cambridge Eye Care (?) in Harvard Square, on the rounded-edged corner of Mt. Auburn opposite the Harvard Square Hotel, and if fashion isn't a factor, the place on the first floor of the Harvard Vanguard building in Davis.

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

Well let me preface by saying that I am glad you have had a good experience with Saragas.

My experience of him...is that he is an unethical hack. He had me going in twice a year for checkups for macular degeneration (despite no history and no problems). So, ok there was never any evidence of anything but hey, safe, not sorry, etc.

The way he worked it, I would get tests in one appointment and then in a follow-up appointment he would sit with me for 5 minutes and tell me everything was ok. So he was able to bill my insurance for two appointments. Even that was marginally acceptable, although no one I knew had any sort of experience like that with their eye doctors.

The final straw was when they tested one eye and then tried to get me to come back to test the other eye (!) in addition to the follow-up consultation to review test reviews. Total scam to try to bill for three appointments.

This was a few years ago and I posted about it here, as I recall, just to see if anyone had similar experiences with him. Saragas charged me $20. in order for me to get my records so I could take my business elsewhere. I ended up going to the eye place in Porter (above the Pier 1 space). When I described my experience to the optometrist there she rolled her eyes and made some non-committal comment, and has always run the same tests, (for both eyes!) and reviewed the results in one appointment.

Saragas. Ugh. A creep.

[elements.livejournal.com]

Gah, that sucks! I never used them as eye doctors - I go to Harvard Vanguard for my opthalmologist - so there wasn't any possibility of trying to milk extra insurance money when I was just going to get glasses. That is a real bummer to learn about them though.

Maybe the lesson is, every place is going to be icky sometime. I hope not, but...