[ music | Johann Sebastian Bach – Toccata and Fugue in D minor ]
I had an eye exam a week and a half ago at Walmart’s Optical center. Why there? Well, five years ago I had a good experience with them. This time the eye doctor was excellent. That’s when the good times stopped. They still have good prices on frames, relative to the insane prices most places charge. However, unlike 5 years ago, they don’t have the “bundle” prices anymore. It used to be the frame price included the base lenses, and you could upgrade for moderate charges depending on your choice. No longer. Now even the cheap plastic lenses are another $40, which I was told they didn’t even sell (I found out later was a lie, not that I was going to buy them, they’re terrible quality).
The set I was looking at ran $110 per pair, and that was the lowest of the three upgrades lenses. The sales lady of course tried to talk me into the $220 lenses, which I immediately told her I was not going to buy, twice. She proceeded to give me the sales pitch anyway, which consisted of her tellign me that basically their lens grinding process ruined the cheaper lenses, and only these super expensive lenses would actually work. I said a third time I wasn’t interested because if the lenses didn’t work, I would demand replacement sunder their warranty policy, and that it’s illegal to sell products you know are defective but still advertise as functional. She finished by saying she really recommended them to everyone with my type of vision (I’m nearsighted). I didn’t bother to mention that’s a lot of people to push pricey lenses on. So I settled on a mild upgrade to $140 because that set of lenses was significantly thinner, and had anti-glare coatings, etc.
Then I learned they no longer do the lens grinding in-house. It takes a week because it’s sent to their labs in Indiana. This really displeased me, but no one nearby does it any faster anyway, which is why I went to Walmart. So fine, it takes a week.
I went in Thursday to pick up my glasses. I put them on, and vision in my right eye was still quite blurry. I pulled of the glasses, they were clean, put them back on, still very blurry, but different from my normal vision. Immediately I knew what happened. They screwed up the prescription, or the lab used the wrong lens. The girl this time tried to tell me it was my eye that just needed to get used to the new glasses. “Excuse me? If any old lens worked, and my eye just needed to ‘get used to it’ then I wouldn’t be here spending $200 on these. This is wrong.” Another moment of arguing about it, and finally she conceeded and wrote on my chart “patient refuses to take glasses home and try them out for a while”. She went to go get the doctor, and I added to the chart, “because the lens is wrong, and he knows taking them home won’t fix the lens.”
Well, after a few minutes with the doctor, lo and behold I was correct and the lens is wrong. Whoever entered the doctor’s report into the computer ordering system introduced whatever the optical equivalent of an “off by one” error is. The lens was one power “notch” lower than it should have been, according to the doctor. So this time they double checked all the entries, and reordered the glasses. There’s no such thing as a rush according to them, and so I must wait another week. I was too busy, and too angry at the situation to deal with it, so I let them continue, although tomorrow I plan on having a word with a number of people about this. Especially the part about how my eyes would just “get used to it.”
On the brigh tside, I still have 20/10 vision with corrective lenses, and the doctor compared my prescription now to what it was 5 years ago, and my eyes have slightly improved from then. Apparently this is not unheard of to eye doctors, although it’s incredible news to me. I thought that my current glasses weren’t strong enough, but it’s that now they’re actually too strong, however so slightly.
Tabee I am glad to see you responded so many others just tuck and run. You assume a premise I do not subscribe to in anything, that is, that something has to be all good or all bad. Wal-Mart is with out a doubt a successful company whose people do a tremendous amount of good, both in terms of how powerfully the company has impacted the lives of people who can make their money go significantly farther and how it has forever changed the way the WORLD does business, more profitably. Wal-Mart after all represents nearly 1 percent of the WORLDS economy. I see first hand how Wal-Mart is a positive force in the world; I contribute to this mission daily. But I am not disposed to dismiss all the real problems that exist for the sake of a delusional sense of egocentric perspective. Wal-Mart has serious issues to deal with you and I both know that. For example wage and benefits are problematic enough that they cause a higher percentage of Wal-Mart employees to be on public assistance than other large companies. That while the average workers wage has barely kept up with inflation the CEO salary has rocketed to nearly 1000 times that of the average worker up form a few decades ago when that was less than 50 times more. These numbers are supplied in your shareholders packet don’t take my word for it read it yourself. I have personally witnessed awful behavior by management that supports the contention that things need change always champion positive change. I was approached by a customer who advised me that an associate was lying on the floor and needed an ambulance. I went over to her talked briefly with her, went and called an ambulance. As I returned to sit with her while we waited for the ambulance I saw not one or two but THREE members of management (store manager and two co-managers) standing within 15 feet of her walkie- talkies in hand just standing there. NOT ONE of them asked if there was anything they could do. NOT ONE of then knelt down next to her to comfort her as she lay on the floor waiting for her ride to the hospital. NOT ONE of them got a blanket or folded a jacket to put under her head. This is only one of MANY examples I can give you. Does this suggest that Wal-Mart is an evil empire that actively seeks to destroy and exploit…not in my mind. Back on point, there are real issue with the quality of the eyewear and what I have personally encountered and who I consider to be intransigent members of management who seem to fight tooth and nail doing the right thing. As for my contribution to the company, I do my job, I am always reviewed as meeting or exceeding expectation and my personal file is filled with letters from customers who were appreciative of the assistance I gave them. I have always been regarded highly by my peers and subordinates. I have a genuine love of people that I can not hide and I do my job, aside from the money, as a way to interact with people. I do not like to see the unassuming and trusting taken advantage of. I was promoted about six months ago and have been with the company for nearly five years. My contribution is as well to facilitate positive change and sometime that makes people uncomfortable. I encourage you to seek out and find the areas that need improvement and make a change. Don’t get stuck in the comfort zone of complacency. A wonderful woman once said when asked how to find purpose in life “Go to the darkest place you know; and be the light”
Lee–This is the first thing I have read here that comes the closest to the truth about our company. Yes, there are many improvements that must be made. I too have helped a customer in distress while our store manager stood and watched, seeming put out by the customer. (Whom he never approached.) I also have no doubt that there are improvements that need to be made in optical. Just today I had a customer with a problem I had witnessed only once before, but not with our product. Despite the gentlemans long past warrenty date, I immediatly set about to fix the problem. Another happy patient. My stance here has only been that some of us do try to do the right thing despite the cost. I hope that I do not become so comfortable with my position that I neglect to make changes with myself as well as to make a positive difference in the lives of the patients I see on a daily basis. Thank you for the enlightening statement above. Maybe I was wrong, maybe you are good for this company!
I would NEVER GO TO WALMART FOR GLASSES AGAIN!
I had an awful experience with the lenses peeling. I have spoke with many people who have experienced the same problem. I love the frames and the price but the service and product is a problem. They dont stand by their product!
i use to work for a lab in louisville ky that did all walmarts glass jobs."OPTICAL DYNAMICS" this company was buying lenses from india in bulk, the quality was quite sad their flat top 28’s seg ranged between 25 and 31 mm and we was made to use these inferior lenses.75 % of all lenses that the prescription that was +3 and above had major orange glow, all polarized had pealing. the funny thing or sad however you look at it was there was an ongoing joke, if we had a question the lab manager would say its within walmarts standards. the axis could be .25 cyl 15° off .50 cyl 7° off .75 5° off 1.00 and above 4° off. if you do buy walmart lenses make sure not to buy glass.
any question’s about the quality of walmart optical’s glass lenses my email is ukwildcatsare1@mail.com
It’s amazing to me how much time people spend knoocking Wal-mart and at the very same time they are the first in line to ask for a donation for their business or charity. You people need to get a real job to where you don’t have time to get on here daily. Wal-Mart has great employees but just like every other place there is always a few bad apples that makes it bad for everyone. When you talk negative constantly like this website does, you need to remember all the job and lives you are effecting and I’m not talking about the Wal-Mart employees
LEE SCOTT – why don’t you use your real name. If you have something to say, stand tall and be proud of what you have to say, don’t hide behind a name thats not even yours. Untill then keep your opinion to yourself.
Tonya Wow! Good points. Relevant, logical,reasoned,and thoughtful. You said alot more about yourself than you realize. Your not all that bright are you? The argument is sound no matter who wrote it.
Hey I just had a question. Anyone that works for Walmart, does anyone know how to search for job for walmart in different states? I’ve been trying to figure it out forever. Any help would be great. Thanks.
I can’t believe you have the gall to complain about WALMART glasses. You get what you pay for buddy. Don’t complain that you want top quality for dirt cheap prices. You’re a piece of work.
If you bothered to read my post, I paid over $200 for them. But since you’re obviously a frigtard, I’ll restate it here. I paid over $200 for the glasses, and after having them remade TWICE they still didn’t work.
I am a former vision center optician. i have had 4 pairs of glasses from them. 1 time the RX was wrong and another they came without transitions. Iam the first to say our labs suck, I checked in hundreds of glasses over 7 years and once a day something was wrong with a job. Frames come in bent. RX is wrong. No roll and polish…no UV..no transition…etc.
I can say we were short handed all the time and all they cared about was matching last years sales for the day. The day I quit was when all opticians had to email the district manager ( who had no prior optical experience before she got the job…as useful as a stone) about why each of us personally didn’t sell a 5.00 lens care kit.
Excuse me but walmart doesn’t pay me enough to explain why I don’t sell lens care kits when we have 20 exams a day plus all the other shit we are required to do during the day, our regionals and district managers can get off their ass and work in our shoes for a day.
I haven’t worked there in 6 months and haven’t been back for any sort of vision help. Contacts are reasonable but glasses are questionable, I’m real fussy over how they are made.
I don’t have time to read all of these entries. Simply stated; all places of business that sell and manufacture glasses have the same problems. If you were able to survey all consumers at every optical goods business; you would hear the same problems. These are unfortunately normal problems that have multiple and cumulative sources. They start from the responses of the patient in the exam room to include the doctors techniques, the sales person, the optician, the lab that manufactures the glasses, back to the dispensary and the patient/consumer and everything in between. So, multiple sources for errors. In America we are, all of us consumers and service providers,too embedded in immediated gratification. Quite frankly, there is never enough people to allow the time that it takes to provide a truely quality product or service. We are all in too much of a hurry to recieve the service and/or product as well as to meet and exceed last periods revenue levels. There will always be these problems in the optical business as well as most other areas in our society.
Gary,
You said you did not take the time to read all the posts yet you took the time to post your own. Take the few minutes required and read them.If you are willing to set your current belief aside, it may be that what you read will allow you to rethink what you think you have correctly identified as universal issues. As I read through this I see a more unique constant that I believe drives this thread. The commentay I read sites a spacific and troubleing mindset and philosophy and that connot be corrected with empty words and excuses no matter how clever and self satisfying.
Gary, how are things in Bentonville? Your rhetoric is classic and typical of those entombed in corporate denial. It is as though necessitated by persistent failures, intellectual capital is wasted on formulating a plausible deniability instead of solving problems that present too great a challenge. It is apparently easier to spend years wrestling with incompetence than it is to find an objective and forthright voice. It is profoundly sad commentary on you to admit making a conscience decision to base your comments on a knowing and needless ignorance, yet you do it with such caviler ease. The philosophy you subscribe to is your weakness and limitation. The problems that create and fuel this and countless other blogs and personal opinions is perpetuated by your attempt to excuse and shift blame to everyone else most astonishingly to the consumer, shame on the consumer for wanting what they were promised. But as you said it is likely the fault of the doctor, optician, and consumer. And like you said there is never going to be the level of quality in products and services at Wal-Mart people expect because you over sell your services and then blame the consumer for unrealistic expectations. For you to suggest that higher levels of quality do not exist is to show ignorance that boarders on stupidity and a cancer in the values Wal-Mart espouses that should guarantee your removal. If you don’t know what is possible no wonder your products are bad enough to keep this and countless other blogs going.
If your appointment at Wal-mart optical is for 10:20 am, they will see you at 11:10 am.
It’s funny how the guy on here claiming to be Lee Scott is probably some loser who got fired from Walmart. Grow up.
I am very impressed with walmarts quality in the vision market, lines are a little slow but still love that Sam Walton philosophy.
hey lee scott, you’ve got so much time why don’t you make glasses for everyone at a good price and do it with a smile on your face.
I have an eye clinic in Minnesota and we regularly advertise the exact price comparison with Walmart optical and other chains/offices in out area. Walmart is not the cheapest and I can prove it. Out Varilux Comfort progressive lenses are $189.00 per pair in a plastic frame. Walmart has the exact same lenses priced at $194.00
We are also certified opticians and can do more than most other optical offices. The real problem is that most of the people at Walmart are not opticians. They are sales people and their job is to SELL!!!! If you go into any optical office, ask to see their ABO certification. This will not mean that they are extremely well versed in optics but it does mean that they have a certain level of education which means that they are more likely able to give you straight answers, not just parroting a sales pitch made by a company that sells something through Walmart or works for Walmart themselves.
As for the guy who said that he works for Walmart and they have the same lenses that everyone else has. That is both true and not true. Walmart does have some "name brands" but they also buy lenses from China and some of those do have inferior optics. As for the frames, many of those are discontinued (old styles or not made anymore). It is always possible to buy frames from many vendors that are discontinued and really cheap. Also, not all lenses come with a scratch resistant coating. The people in optical offices are sometimes told that but it is not true. The only ones that do come with that coating naturally are Polycarb and most High Index lenses. CR39 lenses do not come with it.
The real issue is, are you getting eyewear that is going to solve your problems. Do you need an anti-reflective coating? Do you need a scratch resistant coating? What type of progressive lens do you need based on the Rx, frame, and your needs? Did you know that there are 307 different progressive lenses? All of them are different and the wearer can do some things better than others with each of them. There are 129 types of lined bifocals and all of them are good for some things and worse for others. If your optician doesn’t know that or doesn’t know the difference between them, they aren’t opticians, just sales people. Come to Minnesota and I can help you.
my only question is "Good lord, where are these stores?" I don’t have "sales people". or "associates". I have opticians. Some are ABO certified some are not.
It isn’t mandatory in the state but at this point my non-certified opticians are working up to taking their ABO test. If you encounter opticians that are reluctant or refuse to take care of you, speak with the manager. If that is of no help, move up the chain. Why would you spend that much on eyewear and say "oh I’ll just go somewhere else?"
I defy you to find the "perfect" optical provider, retail or private practice. It does not exist. Opticians are human as are you. Lab associates are human as well. Anytime human interference is present…so are errors.
The optical team is only as good as their manager. I am ABO certified and will take the NCLE next year. I don’t stress the importance of sales to my opticians, I stress the fact that optical knowledge = sales. That’s just a given. If you know what the rx and lifestyle requires and you can educate your patient on the need and benefit, as well as inform them of the occasional delays before they happen, then you’re almost there, but even then you’ll have those exceptions where nothing you do is enough and they end up commenting about their "terrible" experience with a "crappy" retailer.
My store revolves around taking care of our patients. If that means replacing a broken frame a year and a half after purchase…so be it.
Best advice, when you begin to experience problems with your eyewear, whether it’s purchased from Walmart or not, notify the optical provider immediatly. Ask that notes be made on your order. And be honest about what happened. Sometimes the frame or lens choice isn’t compatible with the usage. It happens. But give your ECP the information they need to troubleshoot your problem.
Have REGULAR eye exams, a new eye exam doesn’t always mean new glasses, if your vision hasn’t changed you keep your old pair but now you have a CURRENT prescription that can be filled if anything happens to your glasses.
Get regular frame adjustments. Do you drive your vehicle for years at a time without a tune-up?
Opticians everywhere deal with the same problems. Retail or private practice.
Check out all your options, we car shop and compare…do the same on your eyewear. Get specific and detail price quotes from three different optical providers, look for the better value.
I have been with Wal-Mart for nearly 7 years. I come from a private practice background, as an optician. I currently work for the Worlds Largest Optical Lab (Wal-Mart) and I assure you that quality is our main focus! We have opportunities to improve, there is no question; frames that are purchased by our frame buyer leaves plenty of room for better quality; as does our grade of plastic used for lenses. When I was a VCM I did not sell plastic lenses; and there were a couple of frames that I did not place on my frame board because I knew that the quality was less than satisfactory.
Hey, there are things about Wal-Mart that I am not particularly proud of; however, there are MANY aspects of the company that I am very proud to be a part of. One is the opportunity that Wal-Mart provides for average "joes" to establish a true career in optics…not just a job. As training improves and the optical industry grows within Wal-Mart I believe that you will continue to see an improvement in the quality of the eye care service within Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart knows that it must rely on associates with optical knowledge to make decisions concerning this facet of their business. I am sorry to say that in the beginning this was not the case. Wal-Mart tried to run their optical division as they do Division 1 department… and it was not succeeding.
As I say to the associates I work with: "We are not making pizzas, we are making prescription eyewear". We take our work very seriously at the lab. I hope that the day will come when this site will be overwhelmed with good reports about the care patients receieved at their local Wal-Mart Vision Center; along with the great product that our lab supplied them with!
In the 1980’s corporations took over the optical industry. Everybody ran into chain stores like lemmings because they could save a few bucks. Most private optical places were driven out of business. Opticians in chain stores are "dumbed down" into selling the most profitable items. Corporations lobbied against education laws for the field so they could hire cheaper help. I became so embarrassed with my profession I got out. There are still good honest opticians out there but its like rolling the dice. Good luck.
PS. ABO certified is a joke. Before corporations took over ago you had real standards.
I went to the walmart optical center for an exam, and he had me in and out within 5 minutes. Normally being in an out of anyplace in 5 minutes is great, but not when your going for an eye exam. All the guy did was get my prescription and thats it. No glocome test, no blue light test, nothing. I had told him I was having a lot of trouble with my contacts and told him all the kinds i had tried. He insisted that i try this other brand… so he put them in.. and i told him IMMEDIATLY that they felt horrible. He insisted that I then give them a week to "adjust". I tried to keep them for a week, and the entire time i had them in i wanted to scratch my eyes out. My eyes turned so red and i had to rip them out while i was DRIVING!. I wen tback the week later (after takling to several eye doctors that i know that live out of state) and they told me to try night and days. I went back.. told him that they didn’twork.. just like i told himon day one.. and said that i wanted to try the night and days and he REFUSED! and just brushed it off.
It was a terrible experince witht this guy and with walmart. Never again will i go back. Not to mention this guy never pickedup on the freckle i have on the insideo f my eye that EVERY EYE DOCTOR is always ocncerned about, but he also didn’t pickup on the fact that i have astigmatism. NEVER GO HERE.
You only get two eyes in this lifetime.
You also get what you pay for. I am an optician for a private pratice and trust me, you cannot get two pairs for 99.00! I know wholesale prices and you are getting pure junk. I think its funny people want the cheapest glasses they can get their hands on for their eyes; but we have how many TVs,cars,and whatever other material things we think we need. Private pratices are right in line with prices as long as you are comparing apples to apples. What you need to be aware of is that you are really getting what you are paying for like transitions,crizal,varilux lenses which you can only purchase at a private practice. Varilux only sells their lenses to private practices. So be careful out there. Unfortunatly there are alot of dishonest people.
I just bought 2 pair of glasses at Wal-Mart. I picked them up today. When I got out to the car I noticed that the bifocal length was off. I returned them. The optometrist said the optical center of the glass was way off and returned them to be redone. They were cross-eyed.
They didn’t catch the mistake. I had to catch it.
Sorry Kim but patients are able to purchase Varilux lenses at Wal*mart. They are not just sold at private practices.
WM 3247 Manager, thats a partial truth. You can get one kind of Varilux at Wal-Mart and that is the Comfort an outdated design that is well over ten years old. If memory serves me Wal-Mart cannot get it on their own they have to source it from outside labs. Duffins is the lab I remember that I believe at one point supplied Wal-Mart
Opti07Person, I have to laugh at your post. You just don’t get it and I expect you never will. Your point of view is the problem and you are either unable or unwilling to set aside your brainwashed thinking and meaningless title and recognize that most of what you belched out was rhetoric and propaganda, utterly meaningless and only serves to further isolate you from the reality that will make you a tolerable person.
In your first paragraph you claim ownership of the people you are directed to be a “servant leader” to three times. The people you work with are not “yours” to even suggest that demonstrates a sickening arrogance. And you mention “I” or “my” with more frequency than anybody else who has posted in the last few years that demonstrates an ego way out of kilter with reality.
I would give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you are not a liar and that all you care about are the optical issues of the vision center but then I would have to wonder what you think all of the conference calls and daily sales reports and the daily sales goals and never ending barrage of sales specific communications is all about. When the DM calls asking questions about the sales numbers do you tell them “Oh that’s ok we are doing really well with PD measurements today” and they say “ Great good to know Keep up the good work”
I like how you “defy” everyone to find the perfect place to get glasses it’s a great way to excuse laziness and incompetence. You must have put a lot of thought into that argument. I bet your even more competent a manager than the people who own you, you know your store department managers, and co-managers, well any other manager in the store because you’re the only hourly manager. That was changed a while ago because you don’t really manage you are a worker just like the people you own. You may have bought into the exempt, non-exempt issue however you have come to terms with it that is ok.
Another point worth making is you are wrong when you say the more you know about optics the more you will sell and tie it in to all that life style nonsense. That is simply not a true statement. First, you are being taught or more accurately indoctrinated by your company they are the ones telling you what the good choices are. Facts about the need for and benefits of various materials and treatments are lost on you because you only know and blindly accept what your owners are programming into you. But you choose not to see it for what it is and that’s ok if it works for you. Second, given what seems to be your arrogant disposition you would never be open to learning anyway.
And I have to ask why do you bother posting arguments that have already been lost? If you would have read this blog before you thought you were having an original thought you could have saved yourself the ten minutes of mental taxing it took to establish that you really do own the people you work with and you could have taken another hit off that hash pipe.
So do us all at Wal-Mart a favor and don’t claim to represent us whenever you talk about anything. You are far more damaging to our image than those who complain about our products and services. And for the sake of all of us in a democratic society please don’t vote and don’t raise your own children.
Walmart does not sell the same lenses as anyone else, neither do any of the other chains. I am an optician i have been for 10 years. i have worked at closeout houses, chains and private practices, after working for private practices i will never work anywhere else. Varilux which are the most technologly advanced progressive lenses (no line bifocals) available today only sells their product to whole sale labs. That means for a chain like Wal-mart to get you these lenses they have to go out side of their lab market and they lose their buying power beacuse they cannot but in bulk. The same is true for their premium anti-reflective products the Crizal family. These products truly are superior and Essilor (Variluxs parent company) backs them with outstanding warantys if you are unhappy with their lenses they remake them into the lens of your choice at no chare to the practice you purchased them at, their Crizal products carry a multiple replacement scratch warranty that lasts the lifetime of the rx. If you got one of these products and you are not offered these waranties you should find a new office that is not so money hungry. Essilor does have a line of lenses that they sell to chains that are good but not as good as Varilux, this is what you get at a chain when you pay for the best upgrade. Ask you eye doctor what they would want their mother to wear and if they don’t say Varilux ask them why. You will pay a little more at some private doctors offices but usually if you are comparing apples to apples there is little to no difference in price. I offer premium products 1st because i want you to be happy with your eyewear. I will go through all the information on these products because i want you to be informed. I will do this if you plan to buy your glasses from me or not. If you truly do not want to spend alot on your glasses or cannot afford to there are less expensive options. Also one huge thing to consider is the customer service you get at a private office. I bend over backwards for my customers and so do my coworkers. And 9 times out of 10 if the doctor owns the practice he will make sure his staff is highly trained. In short…FOR EXCELENT VISION AND SERVICE SEE A PRIVATE EYE DOCTOR!!!!
I just found out that my son needs glasses. I was thinking of going to Wal-Mart, but after reading these stories I think I’ll stick with my doctors office.
Hey, I right clicked on the fake calling himself Lee Scott,I know his Walmart email, you don’t because you are not him, stop frauding this site by saying your somebody else when your not. Your a fake, Lee Scott has Integrity and is a well known man who cares deeply for Walmart and Sam Walton as well as I do and would never write anything that you have written.
Read the book Made In America by Sam Walton.
Please anyone that reads that fellows notes here please disregard that fake person, he is not Lee Scott, Right click on the link of Lee Scott above his/her entry, you will notice the scums actual email, it is not actually Lee Scott. The email actually changes to different ones throughout the different post. Lee Scott really is a wonderful person.
Shame on that person. Your a scam and fake and don’t belong on this board, shame on you for misleading good people.
I got my previous pair of glasses at Walmart. On the down side they took 3 or 4 weeks to deliver my glasses. On the upside, they were the best pair I ever owned.
I have never had a perfect experience purchasing glasses, and have had most of the problems expressed here at one time or another with various local vendors.
Walmart eyeglasses guarantee? What guarantee? My frames broke and used only for office and never slept in them. Walmart’s answer was they could not refund or fix but Lenscrafters could fix them. I’ll go a step further and do my future business at lensecrafters. The problem walmart optical store is in Huntsville, Alabama.
Purchased my glasses at the Walmart Vison Center in Laredo (loop 20 store) a year and half ago, had the old pair 10 years, now needed bifocals. Got a new pair, polycarbonate, photogray, after eye exam, prescription was the same as old pair, just added the bifocals. About 6 months ago there was some fogging on lens at bridge, which slowly got worse. I ignored the problem, until last month, when the coating started fogging at the temple. Took the glasses to walmart, the vision center manager said that she had never saw a pair of glasses do that before, but because they were over a year old, there was no warranty, and I would need another eye exam.
I’m now again wearing my 12 year old pair of glasses which still have a perfect photogray coating
I have read most of the comments about Walmart Optical both good and bad. I recently went to Walmart to get my eyes checked and new glasses for the first time in 7 years. I also decided to try out contacts. I have to say the doctor that did the exam was very pleasant and from my point of view did a very good job. After I picked out my frames and placed the order it took exactly 1 week to get my new glasses. My eyes had gotten far worse than I had thought but since I also opted for contacts I labored that first week wearing the contacts and my old glasses at night. I could definitely tell the difference in my prescription. After I got my glasses which I have had for 2 months now I can say nothing but good things and am totally happy with my experience. I have since adjusted to my contacts and ordered my first 6 months supply from Walmart. I only wear my Walmart glasses at night and occassionally on the weekends.
My son needed glasses and I didnt hesitate to go back to my local Walmart. The doctor again was very pleasant and worked with my 9 year old to make him feel at ease during the whole process. We got the prescription and went next door to pick out the frames and order the glasses. My son was treated very nice and the sales rep made him feel at ease during the process. I picked up his glasses 3 days later. My son loves them and from what I can tell the glasses were made perfect.
The other day I saw a story on Headline News talking about this exact problem. They took the same prescription to 5 eye glass chains to have the glasses made. After the glasses were received they were verified to see if they conformed to the prescription by multiple licensed eye doctors. The results were not to unbelievable to me. Out of the 5 Walmart came in 2nd and the worst was LensCrafters, which was also most expensive of all 5.
As a few people have commented already I will also say. First of all you don’t always get the best from the most expensive guy out there. It depends on how much pride the person making your glasses takes in their work. Also you get a worse product if it is made on a Monday or Friday it a proven fact (too close to the weekend). Second, customer service varies from store to store and also sales rep to sales rep.
I would not give up on Walmart just because someone else had a bad experience. I would bet you that for every bad experience at Walmart someone else has had a good experience (as I have twice now). It is just that more people will report on the negative experience as it is human nature to complain in a forum like this but not address the problem to the appropriate people.
Shawn I so agree with your comments. Thank you for posting that. I wasn’t going to post on here after reading all of the comments + and -. What I will say is: I have been an optician for 35 years,I am ABOC and have run a full service lab. There is little I haven’t done. I am currently a Vision Center Manager for WM. I have worked for Sears, Lenscrafters and private practice. There is good and bad in all, as there is in every industry. WM does have a very good training program for it’s associates up to and including the ABO exam. And for those of you who think that isn’t important: This is a 3 hour exam that would be a license board in a state that requires it. I believe it does depend on the person who takes care of you…their knowledge and expertise. I train all my associates in the same way and double check all their work while they are training. I did this at every company I worked for. Do all managers do that…no…and it doesn’t depend where they work. I am paid very well for what I do, equal to anywhere else I have worked. Do I see problems in the labs and VC’s…of course but no different that anywhere else I worked. Would I pass poor quality…no and my district manager would never ask me to. Wal Mart is striving in a very positive way to bring professionalism to it’s Vision Centers and I believe they will succeed. I am very proud of my staff and the work we do every day.
very unhappy with what (phillip) at pinnacle park sold me,the expensive lenses.an eye doctor in duncanville told me there is a very small area where i can actually look through.i went back to phillip once,but he said"give it two weeks,and you will get used to them". so $400. wasted.too late now i am sure.
I have been an optician for over 30 years and have worked for every concievable type of optical business. Discount chains stores, full service optical stores, one hour optical, private practice ophthalmologist and optometrist, etc. The best advice I can give any one is that you get what you pay for. Low prices and fast service general equates to poor quality. There are few exceptions to the rule and I for one and sick and tired of people coming to my practice and complining about what they received at the last place they went, especially when they are complaing about how much they hated the glasses but bragging about how little they paid. Do you want them fast or do you want them right? Do you want quality or quantity? I have quit several times because of being required to dispense glasses to patients (or “customer” as they are refered to at chain stores)because the glasses did not pass inspection but I was told to let thm go. This used to be a “profession” that required traing and has now become all about the sales and the bottom line. I’ve worked at opticals where meeting “quotas” mattered more that suggesting the right type of lens for the patient. Not every presciption need ultra thin or lightweight lenses and not every patient appreciates anti-reflective lenses. There is no such thing as scratch proof lenses nor is there an unbreakable frame. If you buy your glasses from a place that can’t be bothered to teach you the proper care of your glasses then you deserve what you get. By the way, I have worn glasse since I was 2 years and I have NEVER had a pair “fall apart ” on my face. Face it, if they break you did something to make it happen!
Ya fact of the matter your eyes are worth more than 50 bucks.
I also went to Wal-Mart optical and had no problems. I had them put lenses in frames I already owned and they have been great for 2 years now. My son also had his frames break after 9 mos and they were replaced for free (because I had the $20 1 year warranty) while we were in another state! I am definitely glad I went and will continue to be a customer there.
I am a retired optician. After working for 25 years in private offices, I never thought that I would buy my glasses at Walmart. One day I stopped by just to satisfy my curiousity…and I was AMAZED at what I found! Walmart was selling a variety of nice frames and premium quality brand name lenses at close to the cost price of my former employer. (Yeah for volume buying..) They also offer lower quality merchandice for even less. I did purchase glasses from the store a week later..for $90.00 less than the same frames and lenses I’d seen in other stores. What the consumer doesn’t realize is that the markup on glasses in most opticals is RIDICULOUS!!!!! Walmart seems to be selling a good product at a fair
price….Oh…by the way…glasses require care and maintenance… EVERYTHING falls apart if it’s not taken care of….dont’ smash them….buy a screwdriver….(put oil in your car)…duhhhhhhhh
I won’t buy another pair of glasses or contacts from Walmart either. After having my eyeglasses for three weeks one of the nosepads fell off they charged me a mere two dollars to replace it even though recently I have seen their commercial advertising they replace or repair for no charge for up to a year, “no questions asked” well when I asked why they where charging me for them I was told that only covers manufacturer defects. Sounds like false advertising to me.
I use to work for the Walmart Vision Center many years ago as a doctor’s tech. At that point we had in-house labs and only sent out certain jobs. I can say that most of the time, our customers were happy with the product. However, a couple years ago I went back to the same vision center I worked for, had an exam which was very rushed and the glasses I received were junk. I am very dissapointed in the downward slide the vision center has taken.
Years ago I worked at a Wal-Mart Vision Center in MD. That was when they still had in-house labs which did make a difference. I have to say most of our costomers were happy with their puchase. 2 yrs. ago I went back to the same vision center I worked at, had an exam and bought glasses. The exam was over within 15 min. and the glasses where a lot to be desired. I found out from going to another eye doctor that my vision was perfect, but I had an astigmatism. So it’s not just the product, but you have to becareful about the doctors.
If you really want to save money check out:
https://www.zennioptical.com/home.php
Glasses for $ 8
Don’t use JC Penney!! I order a pair of progressive lense glasses from them and still don’t have them. When I ordered them (approx 9 weeks ago) they required payment in full and told me that they would call when they came in. At that time they told me that would be approx 4 weeks. After 5 weeks I called them and they told me the glasses were there. No one called me. When I went in to pick them up, the one lense was ground wrong. After about an hour of telling them the lense was wrong, they agreed to have the lense redone. Told me they would be in ~2 weeks and assured me they would call when they came in. After 4 weeks, I called them and sure enough they were there and no one called me. Person on phone was rude and disconcerned. I will be talking to the manager tomorrow when I pick up glasses – hopefully they were done right this time.
Bottom line – Don’t use JC Penney!! I had better service at local doctor’s office.
went in to get glasses the doctor didn’t even look at type of lenses i had gave me bifocals witch i counld’t see out of. after reserch and looking at my own glasses found i had progressive glasses. i’d never been in a old pair of bifocals so i thought something was wrong when i counld’t even drive. had to go to eyemasters and get someone to look to see what they had done wrong. now i have to pay for another exam because they refuse to give my money back and they were the ones who did’t know what they are doing plus lens crafters were cheaper 55.00 cheaper. the doctor should be fired CHINA MART IS RIGHT I WANT AMERICAN MADE AT LEAST I KNOW ITS GOOD. DO THEY SEEND EMPOYEES TO CHINA TO LEARN.
On 2/5/2007 I ordered a pair of glasses at a Wal Mart in Clermont, FL. The cost was $572.00 and I do not feel that I got near what I paid for. I was examined in Johnson City, NY and the reason I got them filled in Wal Mart was that we travel a lot and we are always near Wal Mart if I need any adjustment or repairs. While in Arizona in the second year (out of Warantee) I had one bow partally break. I went to a Wal Mart in Phoenix and was told that they didn’t repair them that I would have to buy the whole frame. They had the exact same frames on display at their optical store. I went to the store manager to complain and was told that they were seperate from Wal Maart and she had no authority over them. I told her that they had Wal Mart over the door and it was in a Wal Mart store so they were responsible but that got me nowhere. When I got back to FL I went to the store where I purchased the glasses and was told the same thing, that I would have to buy complete new frame. I complained and was told by the salesman that he would take care of me. When the new frames came in I only had to pay $108.31 instead of the original $118.00. The frames now need streightening and adjusting so I went into the local Wal Mart in Vestal, NY. I was asked if I bought my glasses there and I told her that I bought them in a Florida Wal Mart. The girl told me that she would be vary carefull working on them but if something broke they were not responsible for them. I talked to the store manager and was told that the optical was a seperate store not under Wal Mart. Let this be a WARNING to anyone thinking of getting glasses at Wal Mart, THEY TAKE YOUR MONEY AND ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR NOTHING!!!
People should be ware of jcpennys, they try to rip senior citzens off. my mother went to jcpenny , because of the money. She lives on a fixed income. because other places will not let seniors on a fixed income make payments and will not give glasses. So my mother went to jcpennys they sold her a pair of sun glasses and had her perscrption glasses filled in them. The glasses were to heavy and hurting her eyes we went to another eye doctor they were made wrong and the frames were not regular glasses, they charged her over $300.00 they made her a second pair with no charge. But she complained they were made wrong. jcpennys kept saying they were made right. They were not. I took my mom for a check up at another office, the doctor there said these glasses were not made right, measured wrong, her tris were 10 inches off and the lensa was not starght. I was told not go gpo back there because jcpennys hires off the street and there is no doctor to recheck the lens. this place does after they are made. It cost her over 300.00 for glasses that will be made right! pass jc pennys to