Why do I always start seeing double when I look at your user name?
I need new glasses now. I have, so far, only looked in one shop, and not gotten an eye exam yet, but I am beginning to shop around. At the one place I went to, they told me it would take at least a week if I wanted to simply replace the lenses in the frames I already have (which is what I’d like to do, they are less than 3 years old). I don’t know my exact prescription, but it isn’t too severe.
The frames I have are half-rims (rims on the top only). Is this something LensCrafters can do in an hour? Even a day would be ok - thing is, I work 50+km from home, and cannot drive without them and can’t really afford to take a week off work just for glasses! I have tried on other frames, and either didn’t find anything I liked, or basically found identical frames to what I already have.
Need to shop around more, I guess.
It would of course depend on the condition of your old frames, but assuming they’re in good shape, that your script isn’t too severe, it should be no problem. My glasses are also rimless (what we call half-rims, the completely rimless are called drill-mounts) and mine were done in an hour and a half.
Because it’s time for your annual vision checkup, silly!
Sounds like you had a crappy consultant. Was your order a partial order? (i.e. you bought only lens or frames, not both together). Those have a tendency to nail people on two fronts: LensCrafters coupons only cover complete orders (lens and frames) so your coupon is useless on a partial order, and most insurances/AAA/AARP will pay much less for partial orders, ex. AAA discounts 30% for a complete order but only 15% for a partial.
Sans insurance or discounts, an estimate of $250 for a complete order is, uh, unlikely. Assuming a pair of $130 frames (pretty average price) plus $120 plastic lenses is $250 without tax. If you want fancier frames, or need bifocals or Progressives, expect the price to climb into the $300s and $400s. Also, the phones at our store are perfectly capable of making outgoing calls and we’re happy to let customers use them.
Sounds like to me you were either ripped off, or you have some insanely difficult perscription that required outside processing to complete.
Round frames are IN. I personally prefer glasses with more lens area, so I feel your pain. Funnily enough, our highest loss due to theft is from our RayBans, which are neither the most expensive (we have some Dolce & Gabbanas that will eat up your kid’s college fund like it’s nothin’) nor the sturdiest (Titanium or flexons are what you want). But people LOVE to make off with RayBans, bypassing more valuable or prestigious brands.
What kind of coating? Sunglasses coating? Just plain color coating? Anti-glare isn’t coated anymore, it’s built into the lenses now.
I’ll have to get back to you. I don’t have my sales slip with me.
Quite possible. She had all kinds of trouble navigating the computer.
Full pair of specs. The $250 quote was after a $75 deduction for my coupon; I supppose she would have quoted me $325 if I didn’t have it. And my comment about the one-way phone lines was made, not because I wanted to call out. I added that because the store folks, didn’t seem capable of initiating a call to tell me about the delays (and there were multiple delays, every time I talked to them it was gonna be “another couple days”) in getting my specs assembled. I had to call them to found out anything.
I suppose that’s possible; I don’t really know. But if that were true, wouldn’t they know that? And be able to inform me up front that it’s gonna take longer than “about an hour?”
I agree with the Ray-Bans being a thief-magnet, which is why we lock them up. It’s the only decent sunglass we stock, as we have no real market for plano suns.
But round frames are IN??? Who’s making them? BLECH! A round frame instantly makes a person look like they’ve gained 40 pounds.
Larger styles are certainly coming back, but I’ve yet to see a sales rep show me a current style that’s round. And we see sales reps more than once a month. And I’m certain that Lenscrafters stocks about a billion more frames than we do. (I work in a small privately owned office).
BTW, is Lenscrafters using the 1.74 index lenses? They are gorgeous! I recently dispensed a -9.50 that looked like a -2.50. Positively beautiful.
Mississippienne, if you’re still around, can you explain this index numbering scheme? I purchased Kodak 1.67 lenses for about US$80 (in India). There were better lenses offered (1.71 ???) about almost twice the price, which I refused. So I assume a higher number means a thinner lens. But what is the meaning of the number? And why are they so bloody expensive?
Sorry to answer this on you Mississippienne 
But, it’s early, I’m here…
Yes, the higher the number, the thinner the lens. The number signifies the material’s Index of Refraction (a good explanation I’m sure can be googled). I can’t recall exactly, but I think “standard” plastic is 1.53. The 1.67 that you purchased was the best available for a long long long time (at least in the States, though I’ve seen glasses made in India, and there is no doubt that optical technologies are progressing more quickly there, and are far less expensive). We currently have a 1.74 available, but they are prohibitively expensive. We’ve sold exactly one pair, and the guy who purchased them nearly broke into song when he saw them. US$80 is cheap for a 1.67 index. Standard plastic (CR39) often costs more than that in some shops. However, they are costly due to the whole supply/demand thing. If my eyes were as bad as some of my patients’ eyes, I would gladly pay whatever I had to in order to have comfortable glasses that actually look good too. Or, I’d just have LASIK or clear lens extraction, since the office I work for does those procedures
Now, my questions for Mississippiene:
Do you have to be licensed or certified in any way for what you do? In your state, do opticians have to be licensed? (pretty sure you mentioned that you are not an optician, but a consultant) Are you ABO certified? How long have you been working in optical? Is it something you actually like doing, or is it a stop on the way to a better place? I only ask that one because about 50% of the opticians I know are old timers (myself included), and the rest seem to look at it as “better than fast food”.
No problem, feel free to answer questions. There’s plenty I don’t know and I wish I had answers for everyone.
No, I am not licensed or certified. A friend of mine is working on her ABO certification, but while I like my job, this isn’t something I plan to do forever. I’ve been working at LensCrafters since August 2005.
Is it unusual to be told, “Your prescription won’t fit in that frame,”? It happened to me once when I was trying to get a pair of prescription sunglasses. I understand I have a pretty goofy prescription.
I have had great experience with my local Lenscrafters in NC; the attending retail guy was very helpful, even with my unhappy self with the current trend in tiny Euroframes. I left with a fine pair of googles for my use.
So, Mississippiene: my quandary with glasses is that I work outdoors bright sun, in a retail job. Wearing dark glasses is not conducive to dealing with customers in that setting, although my wonderful clientiele would probably take it in stride. So, Transitions is not a great option. Dark glasses in retail are oft-putting, and eye contact is important. Any suggestions???
Do the people who make frames advise you of quality problems? My last frames, which I liked, clearly had a flaw - some part in the right stem would crack (you could hear it) and it would come loose. Happened three times before I gave up and got new glasses. (My eye doctor replaced it for free, but it’s still annoying.) It only happened on the right side, I take off my glasses with two hands, and this has never happened in the nearly 50 years I’ve been wearing glasses.
I asked about this, and they claimed there was no known problem - but they manufacturer could be lying to them, or they could be lying to me.
So, what is the quality of frames in general? Are there recalls?
Except, of course, not everyone is a good candidate for the surgical procedures.
Which is why some of us pay through the nose for lenses and console ourselves with “Well, at least my vision is correctable”
“actually look good too”? Screw that - first priority is correcting my vision to normal, then comfort. Fashion is a very, very distant third. I once got up and walked out of a place, taking my business with me, because the frame-fitter kept nattering on about looks rather than listening to what I wanted, needed, and desired.
And, I, too, absolutely DESPITE those slitty slitty frames with the teeny lenses. It’s like looking through the wrong end of bionoculars. Actually, I have a cruder description, but I try to avoid such language outside the Pit.
Why don’t more Lenscrafters employees take advantage of their discount at Things Remembered? Since the aquisition, we’ve had exactly one Lenscrafter employee walk down the mall and shop with us, even on the 50% off days. Don’t you guys get invited to weddings? We faithfully deliver catalogs and info on the sale days, but you get a great discont everyday, and no one seems to use it.Does that mean you are as poorly paid as our part-timers? Or do you just not like us?
Love, Your new little sisters.
I just recently got some new glasses (from my family optometrist) and the anti-glare coating (I assume that’s what it was) cracked, leaving lines all across my glasses. Obviously they replaced them, and I asked if they could just leave off the coating. I was told that my prescription was too high for that (I’m -8, -8.5). I didn’t quite get it - maybe you could elucidate?
Also, what’s the highest prescription you’ve seen?
That’s good news. I had problems a few years ago with the anti-glare coating wearing off. If it’s impregnated into the polycarbonate, that’s really good.
I had a pair of titanium frames once. They worked good until the weld between the bridge and the lens rim broke on me. I couldn’t get anyone to fix them because welding titanium takes high heat and an inert atmosphere. Titanium was nice, but I don’t want to spend that much money to get a slightly lighter frame when I’ve found the better way to get my glasses lighter is to get the lenses thinner. My father swears by titanium, as he’s got a really high prescription and is willing to pay whatever it takes to get the glasses as thin and light as possible, though he’s now also having to buy bifocals. (My scrip is fairly high, but nowhere near as bad as my father’s.)
With any luck, surgeries will advance to the point where almost anyone is able to have some sort of corrective procedure. I am holding out for lens implants. In about five years or so, I’ll be able to have my medical insurance cover it (I have cataracts). And, of course, not everybody wants corrective surgery.
As far as fashion being last on the list, I absolutely agree. However, if I could get you into a pair of glasses that corrected your vision appropriately, felt great on your face, and looked great, wouldn’t that be even better?
I wear fairly small frames myself, but I fully understand why a lot of people don’t like them. If you see the frame all day, that’s a pain in the…um… neck. And if your glasses distract you, they’re certainly not doing their job. And neither is any optician who is trying to sell you something that simply will not work for you.
Are contact lenses an option for you at all? I do a lot with contacts, and I’d be happy to offer anything I can about that (though we should open a new thread for it I guess). I have several patients who can’t wear contacts, so I understand if that’s not something you’re able to explore.