I am writing to let you know how disgusted I am with the experience I had with Dr. Rita Patel at the Belleville Walmart Vision Center. At my first appointment she told me she wanted me to try a new brand of contacts that corrected for my astigmatism. Because of complications from previous eye surgery, I can only comfortably wear one brand of contacts, but I agreed to the trial. The lenses were the wrong prescription, but she said she was only testing the fit of the lenses. It seems odd to me that she would give me the wrong prescription lenses for a trial. The lenses were very uncomfortable, and I asked to go to my original brand. She encouraged me to try another trial, which had to be ordered and took two weeks to come in. Keep in mind, that aside from my original appointment, I would have to pick up the trial, then schedule a follow-up. This was very inconvenient, and when they called to tell me the second pair had arrived, I told them our car had broken down. My husband works late and I have four young children, making it very difficult for me to get to the Vision Center while it is open. They told me, “That’s fine, just come get them whenever you can.“ It was not implied that there was a rush. It took me several weeks to make it back up for the second pair, which again were very uncomfortable due to my eye condition, not to mention the inconvenience of going back for repeat visits. The doctor again gave a different but still incorrect prescription, and again stated she was simply testing the fit. She asked me what I thought my prescription was, and I said I wasn’t sure. (I later called my former eye doctor to find out, and verified that the ones I was given were incorrect.) So since my first appointment on February 6 until the beginning of April I was dealing with uncomfortable trial lenses that were the incorrect prescription or wearing glasses, as well as the inconvenience of the trial lenses that I did not want. The doctor also wanted me to try two more brands of trial lenses, but at this point I could not take any more. I told her I was done with trials and I wanted to go back to my original brand. I had told her this on every previous visit, but she had always been very rude and condescending, asking me, “Why don’t you want to see clearly? ” When I refused any more trial lenses, she told me the Secretary of State would not let me drive with my original brand of contacts, since they did not correct me to 20/20, and would restrict my driving to daytime only. This is ridiculous and untrue. My vision is not that bad even without corrective lenses, and I was humiliated by her harsh treatment and baseless claims. She then went on about how irresponsible it was of me not to correct for my astigmatism, since it would sharpen my vision.in spite of her rude tirade, I said I wanted to go back to my original brand, since they are the only ones I can comfortably wear, and that I wanted the correct prescription given. To this point, she had not once given me the correct prescription, always using the excuse that she would fine tune it when I found a lens for an astigmatism that I could wear. She asked me, “Well, what do you think your prescription is? ” This surprised me, since I had paid for an eye exam and assumed that was her job to figure out my prescription. I had called my eye doctor and gotten my prescription from four years ago, and I said, “Last I went to the doctor it was -1.25 and 1.5.” I assumed she needed a starting point. She went and took a trial lens from my original brand in that prescription, handed them to me and said, “Put these in so I can make sure you can legally drive.” I read the chart, and my vision was 20/30 and 20/40 in my right and left eye respectively. I said, “Aren’t you going to make sure this is the correct prescription? Shouldn’t you do an exam of some kind? I am just telling you what my prescription was at my last eye doctor years ago.” She just shrugged and said, “If you aren’t even going to try to correct for your astigmatism, you won’t see 20/20. I just need to make sure you can legally drive, and I can’t guarantee the Secretary of State won’t restrict your license.” I was taken aback, since I have never been treated in such an unprofessional and incompetent manner. I said, “It has been very difficult for me to deal with these trial lenses. Maybe I can try at another time…” She just waved me off. I went to check out in a daze, and they told me the doctor was assessing me a $25.00 fee for not completing my follow-ups within 30 days, per a form I had signed at my first appointment. At this point I was so upset I started crying, and I told them it had only taken longer than 30 days because the doctor was pushing me to try trial lenses that I did not want. The lady went to ask the doctor to waive the fee, and the doctor refused. I asked to talk to the doctor personally, but she refused to talk to me. They pointed out how long it had taken me to pick up the trial lenses and come for follow-ups, but I pointed out that I had told them that it was very difficult for me to make it up there between our car situation and having four young children. I said I would not even have agreed to the trials/follow-ups or even come back at all had I known they planned to charge ME extra for all the inconvenience, and asked why this was not clarified with me. She snidely said, “It’s not our problem to read the form to you. You read it and signed it, it’s your responsibility to remember what you read.” Again, I was in tears at this point, embarrassed by my treatment, and worried about spending more money that we don’t have. I can’t believe your company can drive a customer to tears and no action was taken to show any compassion or understanding of my situation. The longer I pled my case, the meaner and more impatient they got. I finally paid the $25 fee, but could not order any contacts. I went home and called the store manager, but he never returned my call. I am telling all my friends and family and posting it anywhere I can on the Internet what an awful, humiliating, frustrating experience I had with Dr. Rita Patel. I am especially outraged that at the end of it all, she asked ME what my prescription was, wrote down what I guessed, and then charged me a follow-up fee when no exam was performed to verify my prescription. Also, none of the prescriptions given to this point were correct, and she told me she would correct them once they found a lens that fit. I have since found out this is not a safe practice and could have resulted in further eye complications. I would really appreciate if she was reprimanded at the least, even if I am not reimbursed for the follow-up fee which, although legal to assess according to the forms, should have been made an exception for considering the circumstances. The lack of compassion and respect was appalling, and I will make sure my story is told in as many venues as possible so that people can avoid Dr. Rita Patel at all costs.
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