Declining eyesight..

[PaulSB]

I think it's the name 'Specsavers' that does it, just sounds so downmarket to my ears. It doesn't help having the 'Spec' bit as someone who was made to wear glasses from an early age and hated them so took them off as much as I could.

For me you hit the nail on the head. I think "Specsavers" sounds as though the company is a cheap, shoddy set up which needs to cut corners at every step to maintain its low cost model.

I wouldn't risk my eyes or ears under such circumstances.

I didn't say this earlier as I always felt I was being a bit "snobby." I saw them as the cheap and cheerful down market option i couldn't quite trust. I was wrong and I'm happy to say so. I went for hearing aids because I already had a prescription from Boots! I knew NHS aids are pretty standard, I felt under those circumstances I could tale the risk of going to Specsavers.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Their staff are always smartly dressed and professional, and everyone I see in there seems to be fairly clean, so it does come up to my standards!
Once though, about 10 years ago when I wore contact lenses, I went in there to have a lense check. You are told to wear the contact lenses in with you and once I was half way through the check they asked me to take them out. I was being seen my a young girl who just sat me outside and asked me to take the lenses out, so I just stuck my finger in (my eyes), took them out and put them in my pot. She then very abruptly said "Sorry, I'm an Ophthalmology graduate and it's so annoying when I see people doing that without washing their hands."
I then replied "well I can go elsewhere if I annoy you so much? And also there are no hand washing facilities out here in the waiting room"

Another member of staff heard the conversation and took the young girl away, apologised to me and said the girl would receive a talking to.

 

[cyberknight]

I had a 'fitness to drive' medical recently from a private occupational health organisation. The eye test was ... cursory.

For my reading glasses, I usually go to specsavers. Their testing is much more thorough.

We have the same at work although it's pretty thorough along with hearing tests as we have to wear earplugs due to the noise .
Mrs CK has to have eye tests for diabetes and they found she has a blocked vein in one eye

 

[icowden]

I've always found SpecSavers to be great. Beware Boots as their Opticians are all private franchisees and therefore will try to oversell / upsell.
If you find that you just need reading glasses, get your prescription and buy a load of the right strength from Amazon. I have 3 pairs of half moon glasses for £14. They are fab for accompanying and theatre work as I can see the music/script and also people. The prescription ones from SpecSavers I only use for the computer really.

 

[postman]

I have been talking to one of my mates today,New glasses had them three months could not see with them properly.He went back,Sorry but you have had them three months,so if we check your eyes again you will have to pay.So he paid.After the test,oh we would like you to go and see this chap.He came to Chapel Allerton and he needs cataract surgery.He cannot understand how they did not spot something was wrong at the first eye test.It was a well known,and i don't like the company on the high street.

 

[Drago]

For me you hit the nail on the head. I think "Specsavers" sounds as though the company is a cheap, shoddy set up which needs to cut corners at every step to maintain its low cost model.

I wouldn't risk my eyes or ears under such circumstances.

I didn't say this earlier as I always felt I was being a bit "snobby." I saw them as the cheap and cheerful down market option i couldn't quite trust. I was wrong and I'm happy to say so. I went for hearing aids because I already had a prescription from Boots! I knew NHS aids are pretty standard, I felt under those circumstances I could tale the risk of going to Specsavers.

The name is a bit cheesy, but they're all franchises, independent businesses, and as such a judgement on one cannot be applied to others.

There are good ones and bad ones, just as there are good and bad opticians with all sorts of other names over the door.

 

[cyberknight]

The name is a bit cheesy, but they're all franchises, independent businesses, and as such a judgement on one cannot be applied to others.

There are good ones and bad ones, just as there are good and bad opticians with all sorts of other names over the door.

last time mrs ck went there the glasses provided after the eye test were never right even though we went back a few times they blamed "new supplier" and other excuses , in the end we had to go to another optician who flagged mrs ck eye issue that specsavers had missed completely .

 

[Salad Dodger]

Mrs Salad and I both wear glasses, and have done since our early teenage years.
Mrs S has been particularly troubled in recent years with double vision, to the extent that she voluntarily gave up driving, as she was seeing two of each car coming towards her!
She went to our local Specsavers, explained her problem, and they offered to give her a referral to the local hospital. It took a few months to happen, but on the day she was put through a huge amount of eye tests and examinations. It turns out that the muscles controlling one of her eyes have gone weak, so it can't keep both eyes focussed on the same point, and hence the double vision.
The consultant put a temporary "patch" over one lens of Mrs S's glasses. The patch was made of clear gel, but with vertical lines moulded into it, and looked a bit like the things you stick on your headlights if you take your car abroad, to "bend" the light beams. The lady said that, if it helped, then the opticians could make glasses with "prisms" in the lenses, to correct the double vision. She was also very complimentary about the level of detail in the referral letter from Specsavers.

So, back to Specsavers, clutching a detailed prescription from the hospital, for Mrs S to get some new glasses with prisms lenses. I said I didn't care about cost, as long as they helped her to see better. To my astonishment, the finished glasses, including single vision thin lenses, prisms ground into the lenses, and reactolite coating, cost £180, which seemed very reasonable in the circumstances, for something so specialised.
She gets on really well with them, and is back to safely driving again. So that's a pat on the back for our local Specsavers.......

 

[Jody]

Buy some cheap ready readers if it's just aged related accomodation issues. Short/Long or Astigmatism will need proper glasses but 40 odd years old is prime time for close up to start degenrating.

 

[All uphill]

I've worn glasses since I was six.

What works for me is to get the prescription from Vision Express and buying the glasses online from DirectSight. Two pairs for £140.

The trick buying online is to know your size and accurately measure your inter pupil distance. Frame size is something like 55 17-140 and can be found on the arm of the frame.

 

[icowden]

Can't complain as I've made it past 40 with pretty decent vision..
However, a while ago I noticed my ability to close-focus was declining, while everything defintely seems to be getting darker (both expected).

By the way, welcome to "what's up with my eyes club". I made it to about 45 before my vision started to change. I now can't read anything without glasses on.
As mentioned previously, once you have had your eye test the cheap Amazon reading glasses are fantastic.

 

[Dogtrousers]

A quick pat on the back for Vision Express: In 2021 I had a loss of vision in one eye, so my wife (who has retina problems) insisted I see an optician. The lady there ran some tests and sent me directly to my GP (go directly to GP, do not pass go ...) and I was diagnosed as having had a TIA ("mini stroke").

 

[tyred]

It's all about choosing a competent optician.

 

[mistyoptic]

I've always found SpecSavers to be great. Beware Boots as their Opticians are all private franchisees and therefore will try to oversell / upsell.

Specsavers is also a franchise, so not sure of your point?

End of the day, there are good and bad in both the independent and corporate sectors of the market. Find somewhere that suits your needs and stick to them.

 

[icowden]

Specsavers is also a franchise, so not sure of your point?

Largely that i hadn't realised that specsavers was a franchise as they have never pushed me to have extra coatings or pointed me towards designer frames (unlike Boots Optician).