Dilemma about my new varifocal glasses

lilac_lady

I no longer use Specsavers.

The last time I did it was apparent to me that the glasses they prescribed were not correct. I refused to "take them home and try them out for a few days" and got my £84 deposit refunded. The spectacles cost £184 so what made them think that someone would accept them when they made their eyesight worse instead of better?

I went to a local optician and got 2 pairs of perfect glasses at a much lower cost.

GlasweJen

We only use the back surface cut varis for new wearers, people who have preiously been wearing varifocals get the nearest lens possible to their old one. We developed this practice because of the high number of non-tolerance cases we were having when we introduced the "custom varifocal" lenses to our range.

I second nedmundo, ask specsavers to replace your lenses with hoya ones and take your old glasses in so that they can compare the lenses they have available with your old one, this is important if you never got your glasses from there.

Fortyman

Thanks for the advice nedmundo and GlasweJen. I went back to Specsavers and they offered to put Hoya lenses in at no extra charge. They have also decided to re test my eyes. Hopefully this will sort out the problem. I will let you know. One of the problems was knowing that things weren't right but not being sure exactly what, nor how to express it. I eventually found the Hoya website and they state that their glasses are manafactured so their customers do not percieve a narrow corridor (not sure of the exact wording but this is the jist). That is how I felt in addition to the poor near vision. Incidentally, I scraped the cill of the car with the motor mower exhaust, in my opinion, becaues of the difference in vision. I had been persevering with the new specs for5 days but after that I put my old specs back and went back to Specsavers.

Fortyman

I went back today and had my eyes re-tested. Afterwards they refitted the last frame they had given me and told me they needed adjusting (this would be for the third time) suggesting that either they had been incorrectly adjusted before or my ears had moved in the mean time. The optician told me that I did not need a varifocal lens in my left eye, as my right eye was dominant. She told me this was common practice to save the customer money. Forgive me, but as they were now upgrading them at their cost, I was suspicious. I replied that if this was common practice, why had they not suggested it for the two pairs I had just ordered with them, or my previous optician metioned it with the two sets I had bought from him. She also suggested that my near precription be slightly strengthened above that of my old glasses. Why now? I can see better with my old glasses than any of the ones Specsavers had prescribed? Both she and the assistant referred to my having had the various types of varifocal lens explained. I replied that they had not, in spite of all the problems. I was the asked to trust them while they fitted the Hoya lens. Having reflected on it, the upshot is I will ask for my money back and go elsewhere. I have had too many conflicting tales and explanations, too many conflicting alterations of frame and lense to have any faith in their professional capabilities. A pity. I am sure there are many happy customers but, as I said, I came in here on 10th September (written 12 October) for spectacles to replace my exisitng varifocals which had been damaged. I am still waiting for a pair of varifocals that enable me to see as well as my old. In that time I feel I have been wasting hours of my life.

BT

Googling around found Asda len details:

http://www.asda-contactlenses.co.uk/content/Optical%20list%20of%20lens%20exclusions.pdf

Fortyman

The long shot is I did a search and found out that Asda sell Hoya lenses. (Thanks to BT on these forum pages who also let me know). Their service lacked some of the customer relations polish that Specasavers have, but they were helpful and I now have a pair of varifocal specs, with Hoya varifocal lenses in a very nice frame for a fraction of the price Specsavers charged, let alone what they would have charged me for Hoya lenses). I have had no problems with them. I also had my eyes re-tested by Asda and their optician seemed very thorough and helpful too.

GlasweJen

Sorry you felt asda didn't have the same "polish" to their service stanards as specsavers, did you get your varis on the current offer (£90 complete)?

I'd make a point of popping into the store to get your glasses cleaned or getting the fit adjusted, our service standards are usually comparable with the high street but we have been rushed off our feet with this offer that's going on just now.

tidus

Good to hear you're sorted now.

Just a general comment though - its a bit unrealistic to expect brilliant service at ASDA. Their staff are poorly trained (the person dispensing you spectacles may have been on the tills the week before) and usually rely heavily on the one or two professional staff who, if you are lucky, will be in when you visit (they have extensive opening hours). They are normally extremely busy and are starting to attract many high prescriptions and complex cases attracted by their policy of one price for all. Many of these people really need to see a dispensing optician but many won't due to the dispensing optician being pulled 3 ways at once by managerial tasks, staffing issues and so on.

You've probably paid less for the spectacles than most independant opticians could purchase them for - if they work well for you brilliant. But good service isn't free, its built into the cost - buy cheap, get cheap.

GlasweJen

Excuse me, I take offence to that!

Asda optical staff are not just pulled off tills and set dispensing! We are all trained to the same legal standards as everywhere else in the area. We are all trained in fitting glasses, adjusting glasses, using pre-test machines and selecting appropriate lenses for prescriptions. We use a lot of locums who always return because they like working with our staff as we can all get on and get the menial jobs (such as filing and NHS claims) done because we're not chasing after commission.

Fortyman

Tidus-I understand what you are saying and have some sympathy, but I have had poor service from independent opticians over the years. I have worn specs for nearly 50 years. Problems have included being prescribed lenses that were too strong, inappropriate frames for my lens strength, not being forwarned about vision distortion with early high index lenses before I left and attempted to drive a car, too much adjustment for astigmatism (which I don't have), having a lens checked out of view, coming back scratched and then being told I had scratched it (simply untrue). When I read it was supposed to have been my fault several years later on my notes and corrected the senior partner, I was told it was in the past and did not matter- but it did to me. I had a superb independent 35 years ago and then after moving 30 years ago who expanded. This one expanded. He was brilliant but those around him as he became bigger were not. My main problems have been with the dispensing staff making decisions for me and not WITH me, not being presented with all the choices facing me, but rather what I later took to be the most profitable and poor measurement and fitting. This has been especially the case with varifocals, later in my old opticians after he retired as well as Specsavers. I am a member of a Royal profession myself and value professional advice, appreciate it has to be paid for but, I resent to paying for it and not getting it. I read recently on a review of an opticians international conference that British opticians said customers were not interested in the various options facing them, only style and price. If that is so, one cannot blame the uneducated customers but their professional advisors whose role is to educate them. Sadly this has been missing nearly all my life - I for one would value it and pay for it.
One last thing, the assistants in Asda did their best and corrected their position for the difference in our respective heights which is more than they did in Specsavers. They also spent more time trying to ensure the glasses fitted properly before I left the store, which is also more than happened in Specasvers. If Specsavers dispensing staff had been better trained, I can only say it did not show in the end result and I had more than one person who 'fitted' me.