Two very different experiences...

Today I went for my second eye exam this year. Mainly because it was required and free, and because to be honest I had issues with the last one.

So let's take a short trip in the way back machine here shall we?

In the first week of March I went for an eye exam at Lenscrafters.  Mainly because that's where I've always gone over the years.  The difference this time of course was the fact that I really needed to go because even I could tell my eyes weren't what they once were.  In fact for me they were a dramatic change from what they used to be.  Six years ago I had better than perfect eyes, and could see things at much greater distances than say the average person with 20/20 vision.  That was then, this is now.

My exam at Lenscrafters honestly felt rushed.  And while they did indeed have a pair of glasses ready in about an hour, and they did make a marked difference in what I could see, they weren't quite there.  I'd gone in because my right eye was much changed, and frankly made driving uncomfortable.  Thus my decision to have them checked.  The rushed exam, and the single vision plain glasses that were better than my eyes, but still cost a small fortune and didn't have things like Transitions lenses, or nonglare/nonreflective coating, mainly because I couldn't afford them.

This left me doing research into where else one could get glasses that didn't require taking out a loan. Especially given that the ones I got from Lenscrafters were on special just plain, that a single pair with the options I needed would be over $600.  That's just crazy!

So I found my way to America's Best the home of two pair of glasses for $70 dollars if I just wanted plain glasses, and that includes an eye exam free.  Today I went in for my exam and to pick out frames.

Before I go further, it's also important for me to mention that men terrify me. Perhaps not as much as spiders or clowns, but I'd say they are still in the top five. In fact being that most clowns are guys, and often vice versa, I'd say they were tied.  I'm sorry, that's just how I feel.  Now the guy at Lenscrafters was cute, friendly and well behaved. But I felt rushed, and him calling out numbers and flipping settings on the machine like it was a race didn't much help.

Today was very different. A male tech by the name of Mike got some of the preliminaries out of the way, and then he had me sit in the big chair and wait for the doctor.  In comes Adrienne. Nice grey slacks, beautiful blouse, great shoes. Very well put together, looking calm, cool and professional.  She was great, listened to my concerns, my experience with Lenscrafters, and really gave me an eye exam.  Did a bunch of things the guy at Lenscrafters didn't do, confirmed that yes, the prescription from Lenscrafters would have helped, but not as much as it could, and additionally checked things that they didn't over at Lensecrafters, like for astigmatism, and that my eyes needed prism lenses, because they point inward toward each other.  Took a bunch longer, and she said that for whatever reasons she couldn't get the right one corrected as well as the left, and had no idea why. Which is not to say that the correction we did settle on wasn't much better, because it was.  I then went and picked out two pair of frames.  One a pair that would go with anything, they didn't have a midnight blue, so I went with black metal, the others are much more expressive and fun.  They are a bright pair that's a cross between purple and electric hot pink.  Really lovely. So me.  I mean I have clothes these are going to go well with, and accessorize the color scheme of my bike quite well.  In fact, come to think of it, they are about the same color as the accents on my bike frame.

With full coatings, including Transitions lenses, non glare, uv, extra scratch resistant, and a one year warranty for full replacement and the extra 15 dollars for eye health exam, all total 300 dollars instead of the 200 I paid for the basic bottom of the line pair at Lenscrafters on 50% sale.  Since I returned the Lenscrafters ones, that 200 went to the two pair I got today.  They don't do them in house in an hour, so I have to wait seven days for them to come in, but hey, that's okay by me.

So Lenscrafters was rushed and didn't quite do me any favors while costing me 245 some odd dollars including the exam that was rushed.  America's Best, was a much better eye exam that looked for things and took steps to find the right correction for me that was really going to work. And I left with two pair of glasses that will really work, and let me ride, automatically adjusting for light and the glare of on coming head lights, and corrects the astigmatism.  I quite approve!