“It seems Specsavers Audiologists make up charges whenever you mention needing the results in either digital or paper copy format. Specsavers Ashington's audiologists states that they charge £20 for results; while the Newcastle store audiologist charges £59 to provide results to a free hearing test. The fact that this is even allowed to be charged for is absolutely ridiculous; especially considering that the charge for an optometrist to fill a form in for the Army costs £10.
If this is how Specsavers intends to carry out their business, then I seriously question why the NHS recommends them in the slightest; nor is there any way to contact 'head office' to complain about the inconsistent charging.”
“Appalling service for the disabled.
I have bought 5 pairs of glasses from Lilydale specsavers over a ten year period. The last pair I went three times to have them fitted correctly. They didnt. They did not seem to be aware that the arm of the glasses should rest level on my ear. I only found out how badly fitted they were when I went to another optometrist in desperation. I am disabled. It's difficult for me to get to shops such as specsavers. They said i took too long to return to have them fixed the fourth time I sought an adjustment. Spec Savers? Dont do it to yourself. The are cheap for a reason. Cheap lazy service. prescription spectacles are more of a commodity these days. Fitting and service is essential if they're going to be of use. Specsavers do not offer quality fitting and service.”
“In a nutshell they just want your money.
High pressure sales staff show you the most expensive designer glasses. Unless youve been before you would not know they have cheaper ones.
Once purchased they dont want to know you.
100 day return advert says we want you to be happy and will exchange or refund if youre not , is a load of rubbish. You can only exchange ONCE then either pay or go elsewhere and pay again.
They cant even get your prescription right first time so you end up going back several times.
You pay extra for coating on the glasses for a clearer view - surely this should be included in the price. What use are they without ? !
I will not be returning”
“Very disappointed with the manager ‘Keith’ at the Clevedon store.
He was very dismissive when I went in to return my glasses for a refund,of which I was entitled to. Keith was called to make the refund, he didn’t speak to me at all apart from to,ask my name. He was also intimidating towards the younger members of staff. A very bad experience . I would have purchased another pair but was treated very badly by Keith. I won’t be returning if this is how customers are treated by the manager.”
“I received a letter to tell me my hearing test hadn't been carried out properly, on wanting to know why, I was given different excuses the last one being it was compliant but 1 frequency was missed !!!!!! It wasn't done properly then !!!!
I have no faith in Specsavers now, I am very reluctant to go back and have another hearing test, how will I know if this test is done properly. I paid £ 1,995 money from my savings, I want a refund. You let me down I'm disgusted”
“Everything. I visited for an eye test. They invited me. Before my visit I explained that my 3 x frames were only a year old and would it be possible to change them. I was told that this would be no problem. When I arrived I was told I had to sign a disclaimer In case the frames broke. Also if my frames were lost I would be liable as I had signed. I disagreed with this as it was not explained to me on the phone. The staff member abruptly got up and was replaced by another member of staff who pressurised me. She then got up and another member of staff sat down was aggressive and threw me out whilst shouting have a nice day sir. I was not rude or threatening in any way. All because I would not sign a piece of paper. I asked for alternatives but was given none. What a dispicable way to treat a customer.”
“This is how Specsavers are treating customers
I purchased hearing aids from you in 2021 - below is the disgraceful experience I have had:
1. First of all in 2021 the audiologist didn’t set them up correctly on the first day. and I had to return to your Bolton town centre store to get them programmed.
2. From my first visit I was given a pack of wax guards that had no replacement guards on the end.
3. The staff failed to tell me that the wax guards should be changed and it took me almost 2 years to find this out and to get the guards supplied resulting in impaired hearing.
4. The store didn’t have the correct domes on 2 occasions resulting in smaller ones being fitted - why was I not given a supply of these when I first got them
5. They are guaranteed for 4 years yet the clear plastic tab that you use to remove them came off resulting in me not having them for 2 weeks as they had to be returned to the manufacturer.
6. The same left hearing aid stopped working again on another occasion resulting in a further 2 weeks without them
7. When I went back to collect them, I was given the aid back and the audiologist told me to put it in my ear, later that day I had severe pain in my left ear. I discovered that the click dome was missing from the aid when I removed them. How could the audiologist not have seen this?
8. I had to travel back yet again to the store to have the click dome fitted. After having a new click dome fitted, I noticed over the next few days quite severe pain in my ear and neck I put this down to the hearing aid having damaged my eardrum. Why did the audiologist not check inside my ear?
9. During the next two weeks the pain got much worse resulting in me making a GP appointment - at this appointment the doctor said she could see something deep inside my ear but it was too risky for her to remove it and I would need to go to ENT casualty for an emergency appointment.
10. I got an appointment and the Consultant removed the original click dome that had obviously not been fitted properly and had become dislodged, the audiologist hadn’t even bothered to look inside my ear and had simply fitted another dome so that when I put my aid In my ear it pushed the original one inside the ear canal resulting in a painful ear infection.
11. You would think that Specsavers would be horrified when I told them this but nothing of the sort. They admitted that the audiologist was being disciplined and could be dismissed but all they offered me was to either replace the hearing aids or refund my money this is after being told that this is not the service you should receive from Specsavers and we will sort this amicably. They didn’t offer me anything for the injuries the audiologist inflicted on me and simply told me that "if I wasn’t happy I should take legal advice as they had done Internally" A very strange and aggressive response from the person in charge of hearing for this particular franchise.
12. In summary I feel thoroughly let down by Specsavers and the whole thing has left a very sour taste I expected better from a major high street brand - all I ever wanted was reliable hearing aids and to receive professional caring treatment which sadly they failed to provide. This should serve as a warning to anyone considering using them, when things go wrong you find out how good a business is and Specsavers failed miserably.
Sent from my iPhone”
“I have been a customer of Specsavers for the best part of 40 years and until today I had always thought their customer services to be good. However today my wife and I attended our local branch on High Street Gateshead as my wife’s glasses which she had bought only 3 month previously had a leg coming loose. The girl who served us was from the start abrupt and rude, she snatched the glasses from my wife, looked at them briefly and said there was nothing at all wrong with them. My wife showed her that there was a considerable difference in movement between the two legs. The girl, tutted and said ok I will tighten it. She came back 5 minutes later and said she had fixed it, she had not, there was still one leg loose. The girl in a very surly manner then said, well what do you want me to do, at this point I interjected and said, fix them! Again she took them away, but this time came back and said that she couldn’t do anything as the screw was stuck. I pointed out that the glasses must still be under guarantee. The girl then replied that the guarantee did not cover misuse, I asked her to explain, she then asked my wife to demonstrate how she took off her glasses, my wife did so, The girl then said well clearly you do not take them off this way all the time, you must usually take them off one handed. My wife replied that she always used two hands, the girl then replied in a condescending tone, that in her 9 years of experience she knew that these glasses had been misused. However by this time our discussions were attracting attention of other customers, so noticing this she said as a gesture of goodwill they would provide a new frame. I replied thankyou and in the future we will now go elsewhere, to which the girl replied, you can and I hope you will.
On the way out of the shop, in a private conversation with my wife, I said I think we should report that mardy young lady to head office for her 1 star customer service. As we exited onto the footpath, a lady who I believe to be the manageress followed us out of the store and started shouting at us, she said don’t you call my staff a cheeky b, I replied that I hadn't, but having said that, she is! a few minutes later my wife received a call from the manageress to say that I was banned from all Specsavers stores.”
“Hull town specsavers what have you done service was 5* now 0*
Waiting room seating so close together considering covid on the rise disgusting 12+ people waiting both upstairs and down can tell its been taken over by new person all about money”
“Asked for my prescription so I could purchase glasses online. This was after Specsavers had been paid by my PRSI for an eye test and 2 pairs of glasses.
Specifically told the optician I did not want bifocals for health and safety reasons.
Was given a prescription for bifocals.”
“I went to Specsavers a long time ago I had to have a fields test for Glaucoma this was done in the waiting area where people were sat or passing by have to concentrate never had to do that at any other opticians then taken in a room with a not so pleasant young man who just put drops in my eyes without even telling me he was going to do it. My friend was with me and said it wasn't right to have a test in the public waiting room I have never gone back there . The staff just looked bored and uninterested.The opticians I went to was in Louth Lincolnshire.”
“Where do I start?! Came in with an eye condition and needed this eye looking into as I was extremely worried. I couldn’t hardly open this eye as it was so painful! I filled in the online questionnaire and I had an appointment the next day. When I approached the store it was really busy, queued at the front of the store. I eventually got served and was told sit down there on the left, quite difficult to see where I was going so a helping hand would of been nice! When I eventually got to see my first health care lady she said I need to ask you some questions about your details bringing up old addresses, phone numbers and etc, I explained I filled in the online questionnaire, her reply we don’t get that information on her screen?! Why bother then?! Then I saw Alistair the optician he said what brought you in today I said my eye, it’s so sore I have blurry vision and his reply was, well it would be with a eye condition like that! Just no empathy or anything from the rude staff! I had the eye health check on what they could do but had to rebook because they couldn’t do a full test because my eye needed to improve to full health. I was told you need to pay for today and rebook back in. No one was available to rebook me back in so again I waited, eventually after staff chatted I was seen again and the lady who I saw on that Friday said we have a appointment on the following Monday?! I said my eye isn’t going to improve in 3 days! They just have no common sense in this place! Fast forward I filled in a customer survey after my visit and the store manager called and said she would reimburse my eye test! Well this is false promises! Nicole the store manager was due to phone me back twice then the store colleagues have told me she isn’t in then I email the store to say I am working so please call me between 2-4pm as I have no signal at work so she calls at 5:15pm and I missed her call and she missed me leaving another voicemail not reading my email! You phone back, my work phone is withheld number and it rings, and rings and rings and eventually cuts off and says we have your number and will call you back! How my number is withheld?! Whole practice, staff and management is a shambles!”
“Barnsley specsavers is appalling! I an so shocked at the level of chaos and disorganisation ...the manager needs to be fired...! The whole place is abysmally.. so many customers were waiting hours! So many were angry! We were there 2.t hours!!!”
“Chingford Mount Specsavers-Customers be aware!! It is really a shame to be deliberatelly missinformed in order to take advantage for glasses for a child covered by NHS. Initially, we were told by Taj that a child is entitled to get glasses with new prescription and the new frame for up to £89 for free. My daughter decided to use her old frame due to its pattern which she liked, and I have paid extra for glazing, but no one told us that she will not recieve the new frame as entitled. A week after, when coming to the shop to take her glasses (old frame+new lenses + glazing)and when we asked Taj that we would like to take the new frame she is entitled to and to pay for an extra pair of lenses, we had been told that we need to pay full price for the frame whilst getting 50% reduction on the extra pair of lenses as Taj already used the NHS voucher, the week before for lenses only!! Taj didn’t inform us nor had explained to us our options clearly and so misleading us to in total pay more then we should had to. The biggest shame is that he was supported by his manager Joanna, clearly indicating the shop’s culture of misleading customers and taking advantage of customers and NHS. A real shame which requires proper investigation as it includes playing with and possibly abusing NHS funds. We will never ever return to Specsavers Chingford Mount and are really disappointed with the poor service which we recieved.”
“Rubbish.
All going ok, recommended reactive lenses due to early cataracts.
Advertised free varifocals if paying over 69 pnds so thought I'd try them as usually need 2 different pairs.
When it came to paying I was shocked at cost of 387 pnds for 2 pairs. Attitude changed when I said oh no , only 1 pair then as that's too much (pensioner)
Wasn't explained that there were several priced options for varifocals..so she had decided to sell me the 159 tailor-made option, standard are 39. Big difference. Felt taken advantage of and definitely ill informed. Bad service.
Left having paid 273 for 1 pair varifocals with reactive lenses (89 pnd frames) none too happy.
Went to collect. Couldn't see distance or read any print. Totally useless and not fit for driving or reading .
Woman serving seemed confused she suggested I raise the glasses up to see. I pointed out that's not how it should be and that I couldn't keep doing that.She then said it's just because you need to get used to them. I said no they're faulty.
Said she could fix it by "raising the frames" ?
and took them away. Now I was worried she'd manipulate and weaken the plastic frames.
Still couldn't see anything.
So now no option other than to check measurements. Told previous saleslady had mismeasured at 24, should have been 27 so that's why I couldn't use them.
Agreed to have them re done.
Once home I wasn't happy and worried about the frames so I rang ,cancelled them and asked for a refund.
I'm told will be in my account in 3/5 days.
I will be checking. I also note from reviews I'm not the only one with this problem of blurred unusable lenses so I'm glad that I cancelled.
Sadly a really bad customer service experience. I will not be recommending or returning.”
“I recently purchased some hearing aids from specsavers in Barnsley costing £3997. Unfortunately I lost one. I went to re order another. Appointment was 20 mins late. There wasn’t a charger I hadn’t been told to bring mine. Re ordered went to appointment and it was the wrong colour it was £1497 for this one. I was really disappointed and upset. Audiologist was way behind not ready for me no charger. I was given appoint to swap the wrong colour one for the right one. A special trip for me when I got there audiologist told me it hadn’t arrived. I still don’t know why I wasn’t rang to say it wasn’t there. Very poor service specsavers so I was given another appointment. I finally got it sorted. I must have had at least 6 appointments very very poor service. I won’t be using them again . So much time and money wasted. Lack of communication very very disappointed”
“Ihave my glasses for 11 months. Both pairs have developed a chip in the same place on both pairs, where the lens joins the screwed frame. I am told I have to pay for both. Yet, it has happened in the same place on both, doesn't see right to me.It strikes me there is an issue with them both”
“After my eye test. The 1st thing the lady said was 'the options has recommended lenses that cost £129. WHAT!! She needs to come with a softer approach. That got my back up. Money grabbing specsavers that's all i heard. I left with my blind self.”
“Absolute rubbish! Phoned stores 8 times today and after an average 20 minute wait each time no pick up. I have asked if the store has closed down! Absolutely appalling service at the Ilford, Essex store where you cannot speak to anyone and Head Office are just as bad. Have made my way down to another opticians today.”
“I’m still waiting for dad’s glasses, it’s going to be 5 weeks and paid in full. If you read there web page says 21 days so how come it’s not true and keep getting the run around. Phoned 4 times and no call backs as promised. Think this is an absolute waste of peoples time and money. Would not recommend them. As for dad well can’t read his papers and watch tv and at 89 that’s all he has really. Poor service.”
