Here's my rant!
I have been a faithful Lens Crafters customer for ten years. I have probably spent $2500 over the years. Wheter it is a $1 or $2500 doesn't matter. I always went to LensCrafters.
The story goes like this:
My 10 year old accidently broke my only pair of eye glasses the week before last. With my back against the wall and little or no money available I had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to buy a new pair of glasses. Fortunately (or unfortunately as I now see it) Lens Crafter's had a "wonderful" deal going on. Any frames costing more than $169 and the lenses were free! And on top of that I have AAA and receive a 30% discount as well. Sounds great right. I'm broke and I need to spend as little as possible.
Because I hadn't gone to the eye doctor for an exam I had to get one. The doctor was great and gave me my prescription. I take it to the Lens Crafters in the Cross County Mall in Yonkers, NY and start my search for frames. I pick out a frame for $180 dollars. The sales associate does her thing on the computer and tells
me that the glasses will be $290 dollars. I do a cartoon double take and ask why did they cost so much. She tells me "well, you see, if you get the AAA discount it will reduce the cost of the frames to $128 which makes them fall below the $169 level so you have to pay for the
lenses". Of course I ask the ridiculous question of why and she explains is again. I say "ok, here's what I'll do find some frames that are priced a bit higher so I can keep the price above $169 so the lenses will be free. I spend another fifteen minutes and find a frame
I like. The sales associate then tells me "the total cost will be almost $300". I do another cartoon double take! I ask the same crazy question. Why are they so high with the discount and the free lenses? She goes
on to tell me that now I can't combine the AAA discount along with the free lenses discount. She could have told me all of this in the beginning.
At this point I've spent close to an hour looking for frames. Absolutely spent and frustrated, I tell her go find me some frames to chose from that will keep me close to the $169 discount price. She walks to a display case and quickly pulls three frames off the rack.
She could have done that in the beginning as well. She finishes the process I pay for the glasses and leave. An hour later I go back to get the glasses. They look good and I can finally see again.
A bit of investigation on my part uncovers that there are online services that you can use to buy glasses for 1/10th of the standard retail price. I do the research and they all get great reviews. I look at my prescription and realize that the pupillary distance (PD)
measurement is not there. You need that one to make the glasses in the first place. So, back to Lens Crafters I go.
When I arrive the same sales persons are there from two week ago. I tell them the glasses are great but I need my PD measurement. The lead sales associate tells me "you can't have that measurement". She goes on to say "It is confidential information, and you aren't allowed to see it". I ask her "you're telling me that a measurement that was taken from my body, used to make my glasses that I paid close to $200 for is not
releasable to me"? She says "yes, we can't help you".
I leave go to the closest eyeglass store (one of Lens Crafters rivals) and they make the PD measurement for me. It took them less than two minutes. They were gracious and pleasant.
Here's the thing that disturbs me. Ten years of service was thrown out the window for information that should have been given to me. Horrific customer service!!!
I am going to try the online companies. Considering that they charge between $10 and $50 dollars for glasses, I am willing to take a chance on them. Lens Crafters has lost a good customer.
Oh, by the way the store was in the Cross County Mall in Yonkers, NY.
Everyone beware and know this, "YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY THESE CRAZY PRICES FOR GLASSES". Take a chance. Hell a slice of pizza and a can of soda cost as much as some of the glasses you can get online.
Bye bye Lens Crafters!!!
John
Yonkers, New York
U.S.A.
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