General Chat

No one likes bad publicity Shirley, so sometimes making a fuss in front of other customers gets a previously absent solution.

Since you can hardly use the lens without the frames you would think they would be
quite inexpensive.

You can get your contact lenses online cheaper than the shop, more choice too.

Has any one considered laser corrective surgery? For the price of some frames?

Well I wouldn't touch the local spec savers with a barge pole

Our grandaughter wears contact lenses and she has a monthly contract with them for disposable lenses . She has had several run ins with them over the quality and one time they did the wrong prescription in one of the lenses

She went back several times saying these aren't right and am getting headache and eye aches .and they refuted anything was wrong .
It was only when she finally made a big fuss in the shop and threatened to take it further that they checked them and said yes one lens is wrong prescription

She pays a monthy fee and can't afford to go elsewhere but she isn't impressed

We have few opticians in the local area so not much choice

The local Boots is very limited in frame choice too .

My normal varifocals cost around £ 390 . Frames are around £135 so the rest is the lenses .

Several times I have just had new prescription lenses in the current frames but they don't like to do that too often

I wore contact lenses for a while - but as I needed 'larger than average' lenses, it was anything but cheap!!
Then as I got older, I needed glasses to read if I wore contacts, plus a pair of distance glasses (my loo is downstairs - no way was I going to stagger down the stairs half asleep and unable to see :-0), so I gave up contacts and now wear varifocals :-D

I've needed specs since I was 11. When I got married, we didn't have much money, so I chose nice, but not too expensive frames.
When my ex needed glasses, at the relatively late age of 40 - apparently money was (and is) no object :-S

:-0 :-0 :-0 :-0

That would take me well over £1000. My last pair were over £400 incl £50 frames.

Not even fancy lenses - just something I can see with. My opticians always have to ring around to see if someone can actually do my prescription

Men like posh frames too!

While I was waiting to pick up my new specs a young-ish man came in to look at the choice of frames before making an appointment. The ones he liked the look of were top of the range at £850.00 - and that's before you add on the cost of the lenses. :-)

After he'd gone the manageress said he wasn't that unusual.

Thanks Ron!

Are you suggesting that if I was a man I would get my lenses at a reduced rate?

My lenses alone cost a lot more than £180.

Cor! Women will fork out for "posh" specs. I use Specsavers, have my free annual eye test there. Has to be annual as am diabetic. Have to have bi-focals. Good selection of frames for both sexes there. Think most I've ever paid is around £180. NOT had a problem with Specsavers over the years. Used to use a local "posh" firm but I had prescription probs with them - headaches etc. Was also kept waiting at one appointment - no apology.

Specsavers - went once - returned complaining each time I wore new glasses I had severe headache. Was hearing every excuse under sun. I refused to move and demanded to see an optician. Reluctantly and to get me out of reception, my glasses taken to optician who came down apologising - wrong lens put in frames - only 3 times the strength of my prescription.

Never again. I asked for return of my money, took it and my prescription, went elsewhere.

I must admit that I have nothing but praise for Specsavers.

I rang them at 9:30am on 28th Feb 2014 because I had moving "lights" and floaters in my peripheral vision in my right eye the previous evening. Given an immediate appointment. Pressure tests and field vision tests done on arrival followed by thorough eye examination with a slit lamp. Sent straight to eye hospital for emergency laser treatment for retinal tear.

This was followed up by the Specsavers optometrist two days later to "see" how if I was ok.

I had to ring them again 6 months later because I had lost all peripheral vision in my right eye and what vision I had left was obscured by what looked like thick fog. The optometrist phoned me back ten minutes later after obtaining another emergency appointment for me at the eye hospital. It turned out that I had a bleed behind my eye.

So, in my experience, I can not fault Specsavers :-)

I do think with Specsavers that it depends on the actual branch. My sister goes to SS in Hampshire and has very good service from them. :-)

We get glaucoma checks as part of the standard NHS free eye-test, along with a peripheral vision test. My glaucoma reading is so good (for my age) that on one occasion the optician did it again!!

OH uses Vision Express and has no complaints. However, they are in Glasgow and are so busy that their drop-in service has been more-or-less replaced by an appointment system, so he is thinking of switching to one nearer home.

When I was young I was constantly told to stop screwing my eyes up when I was reading, but no-one thought of testing my sight - pre NHS days. As soon as I was old enough I took myself to an optician and was diagnosed with astigmatism. Brilliant - sudden good vision, no more screwed up eyes :-) :-)

When my son was 5 I noticed that he was screwing up his eyes to read, and promptly took him for an eye test. I couldn't believe the diagnosis!! Yes, he had mild astigmatism but No, he didn't need glasses. Why not?? Because he would become dependent upon them. :-0 :-0 Much better, said the optician, for him to get used to managing without them, as his eyes would get lazy!

We were living in Singapore at the time, so as soon as we were back home I took him to my own optician, who promptly prescribed glasses for close work. Son told me it was nice not to see two of everything!!

We use independents now, mainly because we find they give a much more personal service and secondly because we need glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy checks, which the big boys can't or won't do.

We expect to pay around £450 for varifocals, but price varies depending on the frame and lenses you go for. Cost of lenses can vary just as much as frames, especially for multi focus ones.

Of the big boys, in our opinion, Specsavers are useless Vision Express much better. Most of our family have tried both at one time or other and all say VE offer a far superior service, although cost of spectacles tends to be a bit higher.

After three visits to SS they told my grandson there was nothing wrong with his eyes, despite him complaining of eye strain and struggling to read the board at school. They even suggested he might be dyslexic. His mum took him to VE who said straight away he was short sighted. They also recommended that a formal complaint was lodged against SS for professional incompetence.

I was advised not to have contact lenses by the hospital surgeon after having cataract operations done on both eyes , different surgeon each time but the same advise given

I got new specs last week from SpecSavers, cost about $250Au. Multifocals/varifocals with extras... they change into sunglasses.

They had hundreds of frames to choose from.

My previous specs from a local optician cost well over $1,000!!

Yes it is my lenses that are expensive. I couldn't wear contact lenses my eyes are very sensitive and water at the slightest provocation, heat, cold, some smells, some perfumes.

I had new glasses a couple of weeks ago. One pair of bifocals for everyday use, in new frames and one pair for computer work in a pair of frames I already had.

Total cost £130.00. I gather from the optician that the lenses cost the same wherever you go - it is the frames that make the difference. My new ones were £50.00.

Try Asda. Been going there for 8 years. OH last year had new specs - variflex (nice frame, turned out to be designer) and prescription sunglasses also - £140 - £150. for both.

Always impressed with examinations. Optician insisted for some years on an annual visit by OH. Last week he insisted he sees GP first.

Yeah, astigmatism is a real nuisance. I suffer from it too but those who don't have no idea how can they? Fortunately there have been solutions for both contact lenses and any form of spectacles for yonks.

I go to VisionExpress who are fast and polite with all the latest gadgets.

The lady I usually see is Turkish so the way things are going I'll have to fly to Izmir next time. Never mind my cousin lives there too and we could have a party.

I have varifocal reactolite and also have astigmatism which makes the prescription not quite straight forward. My last pair were about £450 in March from an independent optician. I don't go to specsavers since they gave me one pair some years ago that had the lenses reversed!!!