I recently went out to get new glasses as its been two years since my last pair.   I went to a well known eyeglass store to pick my frames after getting my prescription at an ophthalmologist.  I worried about doing this because I know if things don’t go right they can each point the finger at the other, and I’ll be caught in the middle.

I went during the day to try to get the best service (instead of after hour part-time help).  I walked in to pick up my prescription.  The clerk found my prescription, put them on and asked me what I thought.

I looked around, looked down and tried to read. I could read at the very bottom of my progressives, but it was a very small slice of space-smaller than my last pair. That alerted me that something wasn’t right.  I then looked at the distance and compared the new glasses to my old prescription.  The distance was the same. I could see clearly.

But what I noticed was the intermediate was blurry. I could not hold a magazine and read it.  I couldn’t see my husband  in focus who was sitting next to me in a chair. He was blurry.

The clerk at the shop said to me that my husband was too close. He had to scoot back.

What???

Mind you he was about one to two feet away.

I about died.  

I then turned back to the clerk and said, “I can’t function telling everyone I interact with to move away so I can see them! That’s not my problem–it’s your problem!  These glasses aren’t right.”

She looked at me, took the glasses and said, “Yes, I agree. You need to go back to your doctor and have him fix it. Something is wrong with your prescription.”

I about died again!!!  Seriously??

This woman was lying with incredible ease. Simple plain logic told me that.

I retorted back losing my patience, “I can see far, and I can see near–but I can’t see intermediate. That’s not a prescription problem. That’s YOUR PROBLEM. It’s a progressive problem!! These were made wrong!”

I put the glasses on the table mad at this point, and she knew it. The game was over.

It didn’t take the clerk but a few seconds to say, “Yes, I don’t think these work for you. They need to be fixed.”

Hello!

She tried to push it off on me and when that didn’t work, she pushed it back to the doctor!  And when I didn’t buy her nonsense either time, she finally fessed up.

I am appalled at how quickly businesses will lie to you today.  More and more businesses are lying to save a dollar when they make the mistakes! They are masters at pushing their problems on to you, and the ease with which this woman did this, I can assure you it happens all day long.

I suspect many good kind people trust the eyeglass shops and their workers to know eyeglasses better than they do.  It’s natural to believe that!  I wonder how many people go home and just accept they have to adjust instead of having the glasses adjusted so they can see properly?  And how many people trust the clerk’s recommendation to go to the doctor, make an appointment and waste a whole bunch more time–only be told they are the monkey in the middle?   I cringe to think about it.

In the end, all they get is the run-around which is designed to wear them down. If you aren’t good on your feet and good at calling out liars, you will just end up feeling frustrated and likely settle. And businesses know that.

I’ve seen it happen to me time-and-time again!

That wasn’t the worst of it. They also charged me without asking me for insurance and a lens kit–neither of which I wanted. I found out by calling my insurance company directly, I didn’t need it their insurance–I already had it for free– and they knew it!  That reduced the price of my out-of-pocket by one-third which is quite considerable.

Buyer beware! 

I can’t stress that enough.