Eyeglass World in Grand Rapids, MI Warning- Read the fine print, if you can see
My wife, Kelly, went to receive an eye exam and get new contacts for her eyes. Eyeglass World (Grand Rapids,MI) was running a promotion on a specific Bausch & Laumb pair of contacts. They charged us $59 for the exam, and $15 each ($30) for the contacts, a total of 90.80 w/ tax that we paid by credit card.
My wife can not wear these contacts in her eyes. They hurt, and she can't keep them in. Carol, the store manager, refuses to give us a credit, or another pair for a reasonable price.
The only solution that the she is offering us, is to pay nearly $90, in addition to what we've already spent, for a pair of contacts that my wife is able to wear (we've got the specs from our last out-of-state doctor), saying that without
the promotion, it would have cost us $165. These contacts that we need are available at other retailers for $14 each,
the equivilant price of the original contacts that my wife can't wear.
We've called other Optomitrists in the area describing our situation, and all have said that it is their policy to keep trying until a product is comfortable with the customer.
The Store Manager, Carol refused to ever call me back (called 3 times & she had an employee call me back), and refused to give me the name of her superior. She gave me the number to the customer service center, who then put me into the Regional Manager's Voice Mail (Faye D'Maico), and now SHE won't call me back. If I treated my customers (CPG company) like this I would get fired, or the company would go out of business!
I've got no problem paying for the exam that she received ($59). I would be more than happy to go to another retailer to buy the contacts that we need (less than $30), but we're still out the $30 for contacts my wife can't wear. I was also told that the store does not have the ability to apply a credit to my card, because this was against their corporate policy.
This is the absolute worst I've ever been treated by any retailer in my entire life. No one in this organization cares about my wifes ability to see, they only see dollar signs.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Sarah
Mt. Pleasant,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
in some States its against the law to offer a "free exam" if a patient purchases either glasses or contacts
#4Consumer Comment
Wed, January 21, 2004
First of all in some States its against the law to offer a "free exam" if a patient purchases either glasses or contacts. Second of all its against the law to dispense contact lenses without a proper fitting. My husband is an Optometrist and I have seen him on numerous occasions fit a patient with as many as 12 contact lenses before he found a suitable one. I have also NEVER seen him charge these patients for multiple fits. He charges one flat fee and that covers all trials and followup care for a year. My suggestion is do your homework. Look up the licensing information for your state and report them. They DO respond to complaints. Also look up what the law is in your state as to contact lenses etc. We have numerous patients come into our store with similar stories so I can sympathize with your situation. I always tell people if it looks to good to be true I'd run the other way! Go to a reputable optometrist, I know for a fact that most of them not only will stand by their work but their products as well. Good Luck!
M
Phoenix,Arizona,
U.S.A.
file a complaint with the board of health if they refuse to provide service and leave you with a product that is only hurting you.
#4Consumer Comment
Sat, July 26, 2003
I work for an optometrist and it is our policy that if a certain type of contact lens does not work for a petient, we will keep trying different brands until we find one that will work. The doctor should not charge for these additional visits because they should be able to correct a problem. I do agree that if there is a price difference between the lenses she originally bought and the new lenses, she should have to be responsible for the difference only. As far as the comment made by the Eyeglass World employee stating that taking contacts back is not allowed, that is completely not true. All the contact lens companies we deal with give us a 90-120 day time frame in which to return the lenses for credit if they do not work for the patient.
All I can say to Kelly is to file a complaint with the board of health if they refuse to provide service and leave you with a product that is only hurting you.
Becky
grand rapids,Michigan,
positive response
#4UPDATE Employee
Wed, May 08, 2002
I work at the Eyeglass World in Grand Rapids, MI. There is an ad that runs every Sunday in the Grand Rapids Press from our store. One of the coupons states $88.00 contact lens special. In the middle of the coupon it states that you receive a contact lens exam, an eyeglass exam, one pair of BAUSCH & LOMB contact lenses, 40% off all glasses with service plan, and 1 pair NP (non-prescription) sunglasses.
The contact lenses in the advertised special are our most popular conventional brand. You get one pair of contacts that last nine months to a year and most patients, who's prescription allows-meaning that they don't need a specialty lens such as a toric- do not have any problems with those contacts.
You cannot go into a store, find something that is on sale, and expect that the store is going to substitute it for something more expensive. If your wife needs a certain brand of contact other than what is in the advertised special, that should have been addressed at the time of the exam.
We do try to keep our patients happy and do what we can to fufill their needs, but unfortunately and unlike the allegations in other articles about Eyeglass World, we cannot take back contacts that have been opened, let alone worn. That is very unsanitary and a great way to spread diseases and infections.
I am sorry that this patient feels like he has been ripped off, but he has not. There is not another optical place that I know of that will accept worn contacts and replace them free of charge.