Reply With QuoteMassive difference in the quality of eye testing in my local town
Time I went for some new glasses: I bought my current ones 4 years ago from a small but very comprehensive little shop in Tavistock.
I need varifocals, and one eye has slightly different vision. Is there any difference in the optician's though? Is the accuracy of the prescription different depending on if you go too spec savers or boots or an expensive independent? I know there is a huge mark up on frames.
Massive difference in the quality of eye testing in my local town
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Just pay for an eye test including the digital 'back of the eye photo's' and then order online.
I saved nearly £200 on an identical pair of glasses - arrived in 8 days and are superb.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Ordered from who Chris?
GF recently decided to have her eyes tested at Tesco and the specs built elsewhere. The Tesco prescription was wrong and she's currently trying to reclaim the cost of the test and the lenses.
That's not good news!Originally Posted by gentlemenpreferhats
They've just told me I've got perfect vision :(
Sorry mate - Glasses123
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Or get your existing frames (if you like them) reglazed. Plenty of options if you google.
My current pair are from Costco and i am happy, reasonable price too
I had the same experience at the local specsavers ,the manager wouldn't return my calls for 6 months , when I finally got hold of her she basically said told me tough shit
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Manual/old fashioned eye test and local independent optician.. I won't touch any chain shop with a barge pole..
Fas est ab hoste doceri
visit Scotland for the day get the full test done free then buy online.
I hope that you didnt let it go? She may not care and she might think that she can mug you off, but the district judge will almost certainly not agree!
i stuck it on my cba list
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Should a parent have suffered from glaucoma, your eye test will be free of charge. [ they don`t check this claim] This should enable you to have your minces tested by a number of opticians and compare their findings. I have used D&A for some years now for glasses and contact lenses and am happy with their service.
So you're defrauding the NHS (or suggesting the OP does)?
What are 'minces'?
Minces = Mince pies = eyes
Cockney rhyming slang
Buying varifocals online can be bit of a gamble.
As well as the prescription you will need the interpupillary distance which your optician may be reluctant to provide.
Well, my mother did suffer from glaucoma and they never asked her to confirm that this was the case. I merely recounted my experience.
I use a small local independent who I have been going to for 20 years and I have confidence in both his testing and his advice.
I also have a two year test at the local Spec savers paid for by my employer, because I use a VDU all day.
Spec saver perscription was bang on to his.
I do not buy specs from Spec saver because I want a higher index/performance lens than they offer so use the local for my varifocals and use 2 different types:
Occupational for computer work and reading at my desk (large reading and mid but no long distance) and a premium varifocal for outside work.
With my perscription, one pair will not cope with all situations.
I would be careful about buying varifocals on line. It is important to get the zone hights right so they usually need to see new frames and measure on your face. They might be able to judge this from even an old single glazed pair but starting from scratch with new framesits very unlikely.
Hope that helps!
just quote Data protection act, any info they hold on you they must provide on request. Or measure it yourself.
Had an eye test last year - they suggested that a 1-dipotre lens might be helpful for reading, which I manage fine without, except for small print in low light, where I have to concentrate a bit harder.
Question now is, do I buy a Rolex SD, and a pair of glasses, or get a 16610 Sub, or 16710 GMT II, with a cyclops, and continue to manage without?
Understood.
I recently went to Optical Express and was very happy with the service. Also, went for contact lenses...can thoroughly recommend them over glasses.
I had a similar experience with D&A in Milton Keynes. Got eyes tested at D&A then bought frames and lenses from Vision Express. After a day or 2 my eyes started to hurt. Too much strain. D&A said VE put in the wrong prescription, VE said D&A prescribed wrong. I had to visit another 5 or so opticians to find out if the lenses matched the D&A prescription. Half said they did half said they didn't. In the end I went back to D&A with the slips from the other opticians who said the lenses did match the prescription. D&A eventually agreed to a re-test and to change the lenses.
Short answer, yes there is a difference between opticians. I guess you just need to just ask about for experience in your local area.
Just to throw my (admittedly biased) hat into the ring. I am an optometrist and practice owner working in the independent sector (which accounts for 35-40% of eye tests performed in the U.K. - i.e. non-supermarket). I find it disheartening that intelligent people on here don't value their eyesight and would consider buying their spectacles online - especially progression addition lenses (a.k.a. varifocals).
I had a patient that walked into my practice a couple of months ago who had had his sight tested at Specsavers and then proceeded to search around online to buy some £350 rimless spectacles and 'Nikon' varifocal lenses. They fell apart within two weeks and he asked us to confirm that they were indeed Nikon lenses and made to British Standards. We sent them away to Nikon for analysis and lo and behold they turned out to be unbranded and the level of construction and finish was appalling.
It is very frustrating when lay people refer to opticians as 'rip offs' and excessive mark ups on products. I think you'd be shocked at how little profit we make from a pair of high quality spectacles when you take into consideration the time involved in the prescribing and dispensing of your optical appliance. Like many professions I guess, the highest mark ups are normally associated with the cheap, low quality frames and lenses. People often forget how little they pay for their eye checks. What should be a thorough and comprehensive assessment of your sight and ocular health (I allocate 40 minutes for patients new to the practice on their first visit) has devolved into a 15min rush job in many 'Shopticians' in a desperate bid to get a 'change' and hence a sale.
It has been said for countless eons, but in life you only get what you pay for. Online retailers championing reduced prices to 'drive down the cost of rip off opticians' are simply offering lower quality products with no expertise, professionalism or support. Remember the horsemeat scandal? If you pay peanuts...
If anyone lives in the South East of the country (Leigh-on-Sea, Essex - more specifically!) then come and see me and my team and we can sort you out. At least you can be satisfied that you've had professionals looking after your eyes and specs and it may not be as expensive as you think. Shameless plug over ;-)
Quality of eye testing varies greatly between individual branches of the multiples . I would always go for a good independent though . they are like good dentists - hard to find , but once you've found a good one its worth sticking with them .
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
The worst glasses I ever had came from Boots the chemist. These were half-frame varifocals which felt strange when I went to collect them but they said "it always takes a couple of days to get used to new glasses". The problem was that the actual prescription lens part of the lens was too small and the transition between distance and near too rapid, I was always hunting for the "sweet spot" and peripheral vision was blurred. Combine that with the fact that the polished part was also in the wrong place (I would have needed my left eye on my forehead and my right eye on my cheek to make them work), I felt disorientated when I wore them.
I took them back and the manager agreed that the lenses had been measured wrong and they re-made the glasses. The second pair were little better so the made them yet again and whilst there was some improvement, I was never happy with them. I used the prescription to get a pair online, they sent me some glasses with plain lenses on which I had to mark the position of my pupils with a marker pen and then return them for the spectacles to be assembled. These were much better than the pair from Boots.
Another gripe is the cost of the "free" pair on a "buy a pair, get a pair free". These offers are only for a handful of frames, don't include varifocals, coated lenses, transition lenses, thin lenses, etc; my last "free" pair (Optical Express) cost me over £300 when I'd specced them up like I wanted.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
OK fair enough- Im in private healthcare too and agree with the 'tanstaafl' sentiment ( there aint no such thing as a free lunch)
I assume you guys have a governing body ( like I'm stuck with the hpc) Would that give me some idea of who I would want to go to in my region/town? Or is there another way I can find someone of a good standard?
They saw you coming.
I'll get my coat.
I had the same problem Eddie , when I complained of headaches with my new glasses I was told that 'I would get used to them'
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
http://opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk/ which explains a bit.
Sight testing in the U.K. is regulated by the General Optical Council (GOC) and is protected in statutory law by the Opticians Act (1989). It is a given that the person checking your eyes is a suitably qualified professional. When it comes to the dispensing of spectacles, however, there are no such guarantees. This is an excerpt from our information leaflet we provide our patients:
'The prescribing and dispensing of spectacles are very closely linked. In accordance with the General Optical Council (GOC) guidelines, we recommend that you have your spectacles dispensed where you have your eyes examined. It is often more difficult to resolve any problems you may have with your spectacles when prescribing and supply are separated. We also recommend that your spectacles are dispensed by a registered optometrist or dispensing optician.
General Optical Council (GOC) Advice and Guidelines
-The GOC recommends that the dispensing of all spectacles or other optical appliances sold or supplied should be carried out by or under the supervision of a registered optician.
-This applies even if the sale could otherwise be conducted by an unregistered person.
-Statutory regulation states that unqualified persons are not permitted by law to dispense to children under 16 and patients who are registered as blind or partially sighted. Sales of spectacles to persons in these classes can only be made by or under the supervision of a registered practitioner.
Is the person supplying your spectacles a GOC-registered optician?
-The supply of spectacles without practice support or individual consultation regarding patients’ measurements, visual requirements, verification and aftercare (i.e. from an online spectacle retailer/website) can put the patient at risk.
-A dispensing service should not be provided by a procedure where the aforementioned measurements, requirements, verification and aftercare cannot be ensured.
-These important patient safeguards should apply to any supply of spectacles whether regulated or unregulated.
-If an optometrist is supervising the supply of spectacles s/he must ensure that they are in a position to intervene in the supply and exercise clinical skill and judgement if necessary.
See http://www.abdo.org.uk/adviceandguid....php?item=1032 for further information.'
I'm just on my way out of work so I'll add to this when I get back from squash later. I feel the OP may have opened the optical equivalent of Pandora's box... ;-)
I agree with PJSayer - we have been using the same optician for the best part of 16 years now and they have been superb. It really is a skill that qualified opticians have and I even fly back to the UK to see this optician as their results have been fantastic.
I certainly would not use a supermarket or even chain of opticians as I have never been impressed with their results from the limited experience I have had with them.
I use a contact lens system called Ortho K which alters your cornea temporarily and works brilliantly - but it does take a huge amount of optician time and skill to have these lenses constructed properly.
Chris
Chris sounds like just the kind of patient we love to cater for - he obviously values his eyes and wants them looked after properly. I think you'd find it hard to find a Specsavers optom fitting reverse geometry contact lenses these days - it isn't deemed profitable given the chair time involved.
In terms of locating a 'decent' independent optician in your local area - I would suggest doing some simple Google research or ideally be guided by a recommendation from a friend or relative. I'd like to think that when any new clientele goes through our patient journey they won't want to go anywhere else.
Now if they made Omega spectacles I'd be a very happy camper indeed ;-) (We're an authorised Tag Heuer specialist but alas no Omega!)
Everything he said!
Online is a gamble, if it goes right, then more power to you but high prescriptions or varifocals plus home measuring pupil distance does not make for correct vision.
Also, your pupil distance measurement is part of the dispense process not the eye test so the optometrist is not obliged to give you this info if you are just having a test and not buying spex.
Andy
I think the large chains such as Specsavers are very sales-orientated; they are very keen to sell you the most expensive glasses and to talk you into 'add-ons' (anti-reflective coatings, top of the range lenses...) to get more money from the customer. They don`t like replacing glass into existing frames becaue they make less profit.
I ended up having an eye test at Specsavers, buying frames only from D & H for £30, then crossing the road to a another shop (White Rose Opticals, Wakefield) to have varifocal glass fitted for £69. All-up cost of the glasses was £99 and they're excellent. Crazy way to do things, but that's how it worked out. D & H would've charged me double for the glass!
The lines between professional ophthalmic advice and salesmanship have become very blurred! Certain styles of frame are less suitable for varifocals, but no-one tells you that. I worked it out for myself. The ones I ended up with have virtually no peripheral vision problems and are easily the best I`ve owned, but I spent a lot of time choosing and talking to different opticians.....and sifting out the bullshit. It shouldn`t be like this, but it is.
Paul
Perhaps I was lucky but I was very impressed with my local Specsavers when I changed from single vision to varifocal.
They spent ages discussing & helping me choose the right frame - correctly identifying that too small a lens size can cause focus issues - explaining the difference in lens type.
They spent a good amount of time too on the fitting process.
My last eye test was a freebie from Tesco - that seemed pretty comprehensive - and it turned out that my prescription hadn't changed, so there was no pressure to update/upgrade my frames.
My experience is that the chain stores are pretty good, so I suppose (like everything) it depends on who you see, when. Not all independents are good or better.
My wife, who's a bit of a traditionalist, has just got new glasses from a local independent. Cost? £580. Versace frames & a
varifocal prescription. She likes the optician (or opthalmologist, what's the difference?), had a twenty minute eye test &
about the same actually fitting the glasses when they were ready.
Me? I went to Specsavers & from my wife's description of her eye test, mine was very similar, including the photos of the
back of my eyes. Two pairs of glasses for my simple reading only prescription (although left & right eyes measured differently)
were £125. There was no hard sell for coatings, different lenses, cleaning fluids etc.
At Specsavers prices, I suppose they're catering to the fashion end of the market as well, for people who change their frames
to suit their mood or whatever & will buy a few pairs a year.
BTW, does anyone have "tool" spectacles
Strange that Versace watches are seen as '"fashion" watches (with low prices to match) but their frames are not!My wife, who's a bit of a traditionalist, has just got new glasses from a local independent. Cost? £580. Versace frames & a
varifocal prescription. She likes the optician (or opthalmologist, what's the difference?), had a twenty minute eye test &
about the same actually fitting the glasses when they were ready.
Me? I went to Specsavers & from my wife's description of her eye test, mine was very similar, including the photos of the
back of my eyes. Two pairs of glasses for my simple reading only prescription (although left & right eyes measured differently)
were £125. There was no hard sell for coatings, different lenses, cleaning fluids etc.
At Specsavers prices, I suppose they're catering to the fashion end of the market as well, for people who change their frames
to suit their mood or whatever & will buy a few pairs a year.
BTW, does anyone have "tool" spectacles
Another vote for White Rose Opticals.
They are tool spectacles if you need them to read your tool watch.BTW, does anyone have "tool" spectacles
They're seen that way by me! The worst part of buying glasses is that 95% of the frames everywhere seem to be 'designer', which as far as I can see means they've been 'designed' by Dame Edna. Whenever I've bought two pairs at once I've struggled to choose a second pair-last time I got two the same!
I had a test in Boots today, obviously I may have just been lucky, but it was very comprehensive. Took about forty minutes.
I've worn glasses for most of my adult life and my dad has glaucoma, so I get my eyes tested regularly, and since we've moved around I've been to a range of opticians.
My experience: it all depends on the optometrist, not whether its independent or part if a chain. I also make it clear that I'm picky and relatively well-informed which seems to help. I've never left with a bad prescription.
As to buying: an old pair sent to Glasses Direct - I knew my PD was correct - and buy varifocals from them, on my fourth pair now. Can't fault them and I won't be buying from the high street - chain or indy - until prices are competitive with GD. I also like buying stuff direct.
I get mine from Mallon & Taub in Marleybone High St. I have previously used Boots, and several other independents. I would never ever go back to the others if I wasnt forced to by cost - M&T aren't cheap, but they invest a lot of time in the test, asking how you're getting on, treating it as a medical exam AND then spend an equal amount of time trying frames with you, recommending things to fit your combination of prescription, face shape, and aesthetic preference... by the end you get a pair of specs that give great vision, look great, and fit your desired image. As a result I generally have 3 sets on the go at once... A 'work' pair, a 'going dancing' pair and a backup pair.
So yeah. uh.
I think I just made myself sound like a total knob. Oh well. I recommend them ;-p
We went to our local Specsavers. Thorough and careful eye test, glasses at decent prices, no hard sell and they were brilliant with helping my 6 year old choose her first glasses. Had poor experience before at Vision Express in a large shopping mall and I think the key is going to a quieter shop in a small town.
So youre a cock-er-ney?
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Since needing specs in 1998 ive tried Boots, but i couldnt see through the soles, so ive now been using a small indy since 2001
D Banks,
South Elmsall Pontefract,
The service is A1, costs are competetive for specs, for contacts and even prescriptions lenses in my Raybans, dont see the need (and i can see very well thanks to my specs) to go to anyone else.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I'll pitch in here with the identical admission to PJsayer. Practice owner and optom in the independent sector.
Fortunately being a little further north (Swindon) I won't be treading on his toes.
For whomever asked ophthalmologists are medics who specialise in eyes we ,mere, optometrists are primary NHS care clinically and for the provision of prescriptions and optical appliances - glasses and contact lenses to you and me. Just don't ask an ophthalmologist to give you a prescription for glasses, or if you do don't believe it!
There will always be a wide range of requirements in our area with regard to product and service. Some require the cheapest price possible and are willing to do all the research and take decisions themselves. Others are willing to take professional advice and accept that this and a high street presence and the convenience that this allows requires a price premium. There is no right and wrong just different approaches.
In this respect it really is no different to anything else. The internet has added another layer to this but fortunately the supermarkets and major multiples have more competition.
I hope the patients that come to my practice feel they are happy with the charges but more importantly they go away comfortable with how they have been advised and the decisions we have taken with them.
Someone mentioned Versace as being a fashion watch but ok for frames. We sell lots of "designer" frames and they are well put together and have quite alot of thought in their design. However I also try and stock product from companies who predominantly make frames - silhouette, lindberg, oakley, Rayban etc
Its no different to buying a Rolex or Patek against buying something quartz from armani or hugo boss. They all tell the time but the choice is for an individual.
I've had a couple of TZers come and see me so if there is anyone else out there who would like to they would be very welcome.
Well, there are more than a dozen dispending opticians excluding supermarkets within 10 miles of me. I guess its just 'pot luck' whether they can offer a decent service or not.
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