Is there a noticable quality difference? I talked to a guy I know who’se an “independent” (as my insurance referred to them) and he had nothing good to say about the big chains. Then again, everyone I’ve talked to who went to a local optometrist had nothing but bad things to say about them.
Is there, in general, a quality difference that would make the increased prices worth it?
Also, what should I look for in an optemetrist?
I have been to both. Usually a so-called local one, but I went to a chain once in an emergency (not a real emergency, but you know what I mean). My only bad experience was with a local one, when they talked me into some new type of lens. Unfortunately, it created a prism effect so that when I was reading a book, all the letters would be shadowed by blue just above them and red just below (or maybe the reverse). They swapped out the lenses with regular plastic at no charge to me, the only expense being a few headaches.
If I may, this is the recommendation I’d make. Go around your building, office, or whatever, and take a poll. I actually did that, generally w/ people I was at least on a “hello, how are you” basis with, when I was looking for a mechanic in the area. The results were pretty good, with the additional comments being suprisingly helpful. (e.g. “I worked with him at a dealership before he opened his own shop. He may charge more, but there is one thing you can be sure of: He won’t go under your hood and mess something else up to pad the bill.”)
Good luck.
I used to use chains a lot. Then I briefly worked with a woman whose father is an opthamalogist. She told me that her father would not allow her to go to any optometrist – they have far less training than opthamalogists. MHO: Unless you have some sort of chronic problem, an optometrist will probably be perfectly capable of determining your prescription. The other reason my cow-orker’s father wouldn’t let her to go a chain optometrist: their instruments are not necessarily calibrated as frequently as they need to be, so you can get inaccurate results which could be damaging to your vision.
I used my HMO’s optometry office to get a 'script, then go to the chains who have the coolest, trendiest glasses. In the future, I plan to find an opthamalogist about every five years or so, so that an actual doctor has looked at me. In other years, I’m just looking for new glasses so bottom line: I think it depends on what you’re after.
But I do not trust any medical establishment that treats its patients like cattle. (Herd 'em in, slap new glasses on 'em, herd 'em out as quickly as possible.)
OK, this one p*sses me off. Optometrists are specialists in refraction and prescription of glasses and contacts. They spend FOUR YEARS learning how to do this. Ophthalmologists spend that much time in medical school, period. If you have an eye disease which requires medical attention, or if you need surgery, then an ophthalmologist is what you need. But if you need new glasses, an optometrist is more than a suitable substitute for an ophthalmologist – he is the PREFERRED SPECIALIST. In my experience, many ophthalmologists don’t have the time or inclination to maintain their skills in refraction, and are sloppy and inaccurate as a result. Optometrists are also qualified to perform screening for ophthalmic conditions, and in most states can be qualified to prescribe and dispense prescription drugs for glaucoma, infections, etc.
The problem with chains is not that they hire optometrists – it’s that they don’t give their optometrists the time or tools to do the job right.
I know that the ‘local’ optometrist I see covers weekends at some of the chain places - so my guess is that the dominant variation between the two won’t be in the quality of the optometrist.
The other thing I just realized is that it’s been at least 4 years since I’ve gotten a new pair of glasses. What horrible effects will this have on me?
IANAD (or an optometrist or opthamologist) but I have been wearing glasses since I was 9. My guess would be that it should have little to no effect, especially if your prescription hasn’t drastically changed. My eyesight has been settling down some now that I’m older, but when I was getting new glasses every year or two when I was younger, my eyes were going through some pretty drastic prescription changes which I never really knew because the gross correction was close enough for my brain to do the rest of the corrections. I would suggest going for a checkup, if only to check for nasty eye diseases (in an attempt to catch them early if there is anything there), especially if your insurance will cover the examination and a new pair of glasses.
My former optometrist saved the life of one of his patients when he noticed changes in her eye that indicated a brain tumor, and sent her to a specialist. He was right and she lost the eye, but she could have died if he hadn’t caught it.
So I’d say he qualified as a bit more than a glasses-dispenser.
This week I just got new glasses for the first time in 7 years fom a big chain. Before this, I went to a smaller, regional chain, optometrists at both places. This last time I was asked to come back in three months for glaucoma screening, as the test results were not normal. I am fine with the fols doing the screening, but I understand that if anything irregular comes up I will be referred to “real” ( 
) doctor.
I have no complaints with anything except the wide variablilty in the skill level of the opticians there who fit the glasses. The first guy I saw didn’t know jack. The cond guy was little better. The third guy was much better, but the fit still seems a little off. And maybe another thing is that there is a slight air of “herding” in the place. There is an assembly line process going on. They get you in here, adn you see this person then this person then this person and then you get out, with some waiting here and there.
Unforutnately, my answer was made for me…the local guys didn’t have any appointments open before my insurance expires, so I’ll have to go to a chain, at least to get my perscription taken. Oddly enough, there’s a place not too far out where they’ve got a sale on lenses and frames that will be better than what my insurance covers, so I might end up taking the perscription down there.
I do generally like to give my business to the little guy, and it looks more or less that I’ll be doing effectively that this time.