I went to Cohen Optical in the Upper Level of the Staten Island Mall just before I was to go in for kidney surgery. I am disabled and have difficulty walking. When I came into the store to for glasses, I needed to sit down to collect myself. One of the employees looked at me and rudely asked why I was just sitting there. She went on to say that this was not a resting place. At that point, I should have left, but I wasn't physically up to it. I told her that I was there for an eye exam and purchase, but needed to rest first because I was not feeling well. She told me to come back when I felt better because they did not want to be responsible if I got sick in their store. I asked for a manager. The manager came over and she was a little bit better, not much, but better. While I was waiting the other employees were talking about me in a derogitory manner loud enough for me to hear what they were saying and laughing at one another's comments. Even though there weren't any other customers in the store, I was told my wait would be at least an hour if not more. Normally I would have left, but I was going into the hospital the next day for surgery and I would be laid up for several months and just want to get this over with. I was there for 3, yes 3 pairs of glasses... Distance, reading and DVT. My insurance from my union covered 2 pairs and my health insurance covered the 3rd pair. I was told that if I got the Progressive Tint it would be better than the tint my coverage paid for, I would have to come out of pocket at the amount of $200.00. I should have realized that this was a rip off since she tried to get me to get this tint on the other 2 pairs of glasses. I asked why would I need tint for my reading and DVT glasses and she couldn't answer me. I was told that the tint for my distance glasses would ward off the glare at night when I was driving. It didn't. The worse was yet to come. The doctor who did the exam did not hear me when I said I couldn't see the smallest line on the chart. If I could see that line, I wouldn't need glasses!!! He insisted and wrote the instructions for the lenses according to that. I noticed there was a certificate that said he was a member of Mensa... Well, what was he doing in Cohen Optical if he was that intelligent and couldn't understand that me when I told him I couldn't see the bottom line??? He adimantly insisted that I could see it and he was correct. When I picked up my glasses, I reiterated that I couldn't see and everything looked too small and slanted. I was told that things looked slanted because I was walking with a cane and in time I would "get used to it." I went home and needless to say, my distance glasses with the expensive tint did NOT work in the sunlight and more importantly, I almost had an accident because I couldn't see the signs and because of the slant, the road looked different than it actually was. I took them off and was able to SEE BETTER WITHOUT THE GLASSES. When I got home, I tried out the DVT glasses while on the computer, but the lenses were so slanted, it made the screen look like it was about to fall off the desk. Again, I was able to see better WITHOUT the glasses. Then I tried out the reading glasses and surprise, surprise, I couldn't see a thing because the print was smaller than the actual print in the book!!! I called and was told I could come in and see the "other" doctor. Again, I was treated rudely and with contempt. I explained to the "other" doctor that I needed to have the perscription adjusted and why. He told me it was "my FAULT" because I have an astigmatisim and no one could give me a correct lense, but he would adjust the lense just the same. I thought that when you have an astigmatism that is why you wear glasses. The new glasses were EXACTLY THE SAME AS BEFORE!!! When I was recouperated from my kidney surgery, I called to complain and was told that I waited too long and there was nothing they could do, but I could come back in and PAY for new glasses and new tint. I had told the manager when I first went in that I was going for surgery and she assured me that I had 6 months. I questioned that and she insisted that the guarentee was for 6 months. When I called it was 7 WEEKS later... So what happened to the 6 months??? When I asked about that, I was told that "I must have "misunderstood" that it was 6 weeks and NOT 6 months."!!! I know what I heard and it was repeated several times... 6 months... By the manager!!! When I said I was going to report them to the Corportate Office, they said go right ahead because it was independantly owned. When I asked to speak to the owner I was told that I could not speak to anyone other than the manager and she had the final word. When I asked for the name of the owner because I was going to take it to Small Claims Court, I was told that I could not have the name and that I would loose in court like everyone else!!! I am using a $1.00 pair of reading glasses from Dollar Tree and they work better than the glasses I got from Cohen Optical. I wish that a lawyer would form a class action suit against Cohen Optical individual owners and the corporation. I would be first in line to do this. I am not one for seeing people loose their jobs, or seeing companies go out of business, but Cohen Optical is definately the exception to the rule. Has anyone else had problems with this store??? I am quite confident there are people who have had problems with Cohen Optical. If I was physically capible, I would stand in front of the store with a sign warning people not to get their glasses there.
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