Doug wrote:
> I need some advice. After 12 years with the same pair of glasses I've
> had to
> replace them. It's not that the distance prescription is very far off, it's
> that the lenses and frames are so beat up that they're no longer useable.
> Additionally I'm 47 and need different glasses for close up work.
Welcome to the club. I'm still able to get away without bifocals (I
turn fifty in a month), but my opthamologist said "This is your last
uni-focal pair, I'm afraid."
> The question I have is how did you find a good optometrist and optician?
Bit of a crap shoot, I'm afraid. If I go into a new
optometrist/opthamologist and my spidey-sense starts tingling, I leave.
I wish I could give you more concrete advice.
> I
> went to a chain (America's Best) with the idea that they'd be inexpensive
> enough that I could do some experimenting. I didn't expect miracles. I
> expected to have some assemble line feel to it and that the frames would not
> be the top of the line and so forth. The experience turned out to be just
> awful.
Yeah, here in Canada one of the (inter)national chains is Lenscrafters.
Their "advisors" are usually CYT's (Cute Young Things) who've had
about two days' worth of training and are simply glorified saleswomen
whose job is to up-sell you into really expensive designer frames. Easy
on the eyes, though (no pun intended).
> The problem is that I need a fairly strong prescription both in spherical
> and
> cylinder and I'm very sensitive to distortion. I'm sensitive enough that it's
> one of the things for in the windshield that I check. In fact it's one of
> only two must haves in a vehicle. The windshield must be low enough in
> distortion and the seats must be comfortable, all else is negotiable in the
> price.
>
> America's Best put me in a pair of progressive bifocals which were the worst
> things I've ever delt with. I didn't think I was going to live long enough to
> adjust with them.
Progressives are for people with lots of money and vanity -- they're
around twice as expensive as normal bifocals (at least here in Canada),
and many people I've talked to who've bought them regret them because
their "progressive" nature causes a feeling of vertigo or
discombobulation as your eyes scan through the "no-man's land" between
the two focal zones.
> While I'm price sensitive I'm willing to pay for quality work as long as it
> is
> quality work and It's doesn't cross over into becoming a sucker.
Stick with the smaller opticians that have an optometrist working for
them (at least, that's been my experience). Check out their showroom,
ask questions and make sure they actually care about nailing your
prescription first and foremost. I regret having to leave my Edmonton
optician behind when I moved to Calgary (300km or 180 miles south) four
years ago. Amongst other things, you pay for the big chains' "30-day
money-back guarantee" -- they pad their prices somewhat to compensate
for the expected number of returns from customers.
Good luck!
Garth
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