Specsavers rubbish varifocal specs

Vari_expert_1977

A ex-colleague use to work in a fancy boutique opticians in London, had all the gear and used to dispense on average 13 pairs a week but the value of the spectacles was insane, frames could cost £400 alone, and also the clinical tests were all charged extra, if you wanted the autorefracter, non contact tonometer, fundus photo or even a fields these costed £20 extra per test, and I think it was £40 for the sight test anyway!

nedmundo

That is extreme! - I certainly wouldn't be comfortable charging those sort of prices for both glasses and clinical work. The idea of charging properly for clinical work is that it reduces the cross-subsidy from dispensing, which should in theory mean cheaper specs, not more expensive ones.

roddydogs

varifocal wrote: »

My varifocal glasses have been dispensed by my local optician for many years at a cost of around £240 & have always been excellent. I saw a pair of frames I liked in Specsavers & as I was due another eye test elected to have one there & then.I was given a very thorough eye examination & treated with respect by a very pleasant optician. The frames were £69 & were supplied with free Pentax varifocal lenses. The frames are of excellent quality & vision with the basic Pentax varifocals is excellent. I have nothing but praise for the staff at this very busy branch which is incidentally at Washington, Tyne & Wear. I know where I'll be going for my next pair of Specs!

Someone resurrects a 2 yr old thread critisizing Specsavers, then a "First post" someone praises them????

Vari_expert_1977

nedmundo wrote: »

That is extreme! - I certainly wouldn't be comfortable charging those sort of prices for both glasses and clinical work. The idea of charging properly for clinical work is that it reduces the cross-subsidy from dispensing, which should in theory mean cheaper specs, not more expensive ones.

I do feel that clinics like that do give the rest of us in the industry a bad name, but if people have more money than sense!!!

For me, I think providing the right advice is more important than charging for the extra tests, if a customer leaves happy even if they didn't require or purchase new specs, I can at least sleep easy!

To the above poster reference the post about how good their varifocals are.... Bit of a cynic are we??

wallbash

roddydogs wrote: »

Someone resurrects a 2 yr old thread critisizing Specsavers, then a "First post" someone praises them????

Can't be me I praised two years ago .# 14

speccynerd

My experience of Specsavers. A few years ago I used them and their free second pair was completely wrong and gave me double vision. When the assistant claimed that they could 'adjust the lenses in the frame' I left in disgust. I assumed this was a 'one-off' and recently tried another branch for a pair of varifocals. One pair gave me double vision, so I checked the PD (distance between pupils) marks which were still on the lenses. They were clearly out by about 4 mm. They admitted this but claimed that they had measured correctly. I asked for a full refund and will not use this firm again.
I did some homework and found that Essilor varifocals are probably the best quality for a reasonable price. Boots franchises are contracted to use Essilor lenses so I will use them in future.

Siegfried_2

I know this is an old thread - and thus apologize for "bumping it" - but it still shows a high search ranking on Google and I also noted that a few professionals had got involved in the discussion. Would anyone know what PALs Specsavers are presently re-branding as Pentax in the following ranges: Premium and Elite.?

I believe in general it used to be AO Pro Easy and Hoya GP but this was a number of years ago - they are now old lenses obviously.

Any help appreciated.

pollypenny

I'm a fan of Specsavers. They are franchises and have a vested interest in keeping their local customer base happy.

The odd problem I've had has been resolved quickly. In match I noticed that one lenses seemed cloudy, glasses were 18 months old. Both lenses replaced with no quibble.

Wahid

Would you mind sharing the name of the site that provided you with decent varifocals please. Can't afford to pay £288 to spec savers !

daddy_bro

I just got a pair of varifocal glasses from specsavers and they are my first pair. I have used Specsavers before and for the most part was happy enough but the varifocals I got are completely useless to me. I have one eye very dominant so they made the other eye a simple +1.25 which is was the prescription for distance for me but I'm having a couple if issues with them.

First 1.25 is too strong, I have a pair of glasses I use for driving which are +1 and they are better. That isn't a major issue though as +1.25 is pretty close and I'll probably need it in a year or two anyway.

Second but much more important is the useable focal width is so narrow I can't use them for anything wider than a mobile phone without constantly turning my head. I was told I would have to do that but using these glasses to work on my laptop is almost impossible, I can only see three or four words at a time and the keyboard is totally blurred unless I move my head so my head is bobbing up and down like a nodding donkey. Also the wobble in vision as I leave the focal point makes me feel nauseous.

Third is the useable focal width is very slightly too far to the left for me so that to read the right hand side of my laptop screen I need to twist my head so far it becomes uncomfortable after a while.
I'd love to hear from an expert if the second two issues are due to me having only one vari lense. Is it possible I would have almost twice the width of vision if I had two eyes with equal strength, this was not mentioned in the shop as I was buying them.
Needless to say I'm taking them back and will probably go for bifocals instead unless they can resolve the issues.