“First let me say that the employees are really nice and very helpful.
Then let me say that the spectacles are terrible. I just spent over £200 on glasses that make my eyesight extremely worse. The prescription is for varifocal for work use so they have two areas of vision, for reading and for computer use. When I put them on the computer screen immediately becomes an out of focus pyramid that leans towards me at the top. At a distance of 12" reading material is in focus through the bottom of the lenses and also through the top of the lenses!!! (figure that one out). I called the shop and the assistant said "Dont worry, we'll order the correct lenses and call you when they're ready"
If that's the case why didn't they fit the correct lenses in the first place.
I've now waited 10 days and it's going to be another 10 at least. I'm wearing an excellent pair from Boots at a cost of £2 and they far exceed anything I've seen from Spec ??? savers.”
“I lost my reading glasses and spoke on the phone with the Winchester Branch about possibly replacing one pair for about £74 as I was due a two year appointment the next year. I went in the next day and mentioned the £74 offer but was then assured repeatedly by a male assistant that I could have two pairs for £89 if I chose £69 frames. Several frames proved not be be available for my lenses but we finally settled on one that was supposedly 'discontinued' and so I agreed and paid for two pairs at £89, the assistant being keen to show me he was giving me a £45 discount on the receipt. This was, in fact, merely the discount for ordering only one pair, I just found out this afternoon. I was asked to return in a week, which I did, this morning. The female assistant offered only one pair and when I insisted that it should be two pairs, she called over the male assistant who I dealt with to ask if he remembered me but made sure to show him the receipt as quickly as possible to coach him in his response before he replied. Having been primed, he just repeated that what was on the receipt was what I had ordered. This was a clear misrepresentation of the purchase. I insisted that the franchise owner honour the terms of the purchase but he insisted that the receipt was clearly only for one pair and that 'he could not afford' to give me a 'free' pair. I told him that it was clear that, in fact, he WOULD not do so not that he COULD not do so. I obtained a refund and left the shop deeply unhappy that they were determined to try to make it seem to everyone else in the shop that I was some old codger who had misunderstood when I was actually misled as I always actually buy glasses in sets of two, which they confirmed from their own records. I was deliberately misled by the male assistant and both the female assistant and the franchise owner were intent on helping him instead of being concerned to retain a good customer.”
“I went to Manchester Fort for my eye test. The optician suggested an upgrade of my reading glasses. This is where the disappointment came. I've been offered a 2 for 1 frame at £89.00. After calculation etc the total amount to pay jumped to £318 ! I then decided to go for one frame. The member of staff gave me a discount of £49.00 and the final value came to £229.00. In short, this was a misleading customer experience.”
“I went to the Honiton store for my eye test for my DVLA medical, but unfortunately the optician filled my form incorrectly! This caused me to loose my HGV entitlement. (They basically told DVLA I was blind as a bat.) When in fact my corrective vision is only +1.75 NOT over +8.!!!!
I went back to get a letter from them to basically say they had filled it in wrong. It had to amended 3 times as they kept spelling my name wrong if not my first name but my surname as well.
They have cost me a weeks wages an awful lot of jumping through hoops just because they can’t fill in a basic form that I’m not allowed to fill in myself.
I paid for a professional service and ended up with it costing me a lot of money ( at least £600) never again will I use this company and I recommend no one else does, if they can make a mistake on a basic form god knows what they would do with your prescription glasses.”
“I have been a customer of this store in the past and have spent a not insignificant amount of money with them. Everyone reading this should think carefully before they make the mistake of doing so.
I went to this store on this occasion for two reasons. Firstly to book an eye test, as I was overdue an appointment and my doctors had asked me to get one. This wasn't possible to do on the day, because there was a two week waiting list. I told the member of staff, who was called Sharon, that there was no rush because my eyes seemed fine and I wouldn't be buying new lenses unless things had changed significantly. She reacted to this with incredulity, by loudly saying, "What? You're not going to get new lenses if your prescription has changed?" I said , yes and that this was purely down to the cost of them on the previous occasion (as I have reactolite and varifocal lenses).
I then went on to my second problem, which was that one of the nose pads on the pair that I was wearing had broken off and was hurting my nose and I also told her that I had another pair at home that were completely broken and I'd like to buy 2 replacement frames.
Without even examining my glasses, she seemed to go into a well rehearsed sentence, saying, 'Sorry, but we don't do those frames anymore, which means you'll have to buy new lenses'.
I said to her, 'Please, don't tell me that these frames are no longer available, I only got them a couple of years ago'.
Sharon took immediate offence at this and ordered me not to speak to her like that, in a raised voice.
To make it clear, I started my sentence with please, I didn't raise my voice and I was polite.
I argued briefly with her, but felt it was pointless and said I'd take my business elsewhere and walked out.
After walking a few metres, I decided that I wasn't going to just let this shocking behaviour go and returned to the store to get her name. On entering the store, she immediately started raising her voice again, clearly trying to defend her previous behaviour, by accusing me of raising my voice to her. One of her colleagues came across and I was able to clearly point out, that there was only one voice that could be heard across the store and that was hers. I was speaking calmly throughout.
I informed them that I would be taking the matter up with Specsavers and left.
On my return home, I filled out a form on the Specsavers website, laying out my complaints. I was concerned that the form asked for the store name and felt that it was likely that the complaint would just go to the store, or be deleted by a member of staff there, so I phoned Specsavers main office and was told that the email would definitely be seen by the store owner. So I submitted the complaint and received an automated reply that I would receive a response within 48 hours.
I didn't get that response, so wrote a second time saying that it appeared that my concerns were well grounded. On this occasion I got a response from the store owner saying that she hadn't received my initial complaint and asked me what happened. I replied and since then have had no response, so I can only assume that she considers the matter closed.
In the meantime, I went to a different Specsavers store in Wells. The difference in customer service could not have been more different. The two members of staff on duty, could not have been more helpful. They immediately said that they could fix the broken nose pad and did this on the spot, free of charge. They also tightened up my arms, which were loose. I then asked the same question about replacing the frames as I had asked the Trowbridge store and was told that shouldn't be a problem. She said they didn't have any in store, but checked the serial number and found that they were still available and ordered me some in.
So, lets be clear. The Trowbridge store lied to me, without even checking my glasses, simply to try and get a few hundred pounds out of me for new lenses and frames. I can only assume that staff are on some kind of commission for the lenses and frames that they sell, otherwise, why else would she try to deceive me?
To then to falsely accuse ME of speaking to her in an inappropriate way and raising her voice at me, so that everyone n store could hear, is outrageous.
I gave the store ample time to respond to my complaint in an appropriate way, but this has not been forthcoming.
My conclusion? Not all Specsavers are the same and I would strongly advise against using this particular store. There are plenty of other options in Trowbridge, including Tesco's, who have always been most helpful.”
“Unfortunately we have consistently used specsavers over the years, and although the staff have been very nice, the quality of product is shocking.
EVERY pair of glasses bought for both our children have had to go back numerous times, as they usually fall apart within days of receiving.
If parts are lost they DEMAND that the full frame is purchased again regardless of the original cost, truly arrogant and appalling customer service.
My wife made the mistake of going in alone, and got the hard sell (they should probably sell double glazing too), which is the norm with adults. She came out with bi-focals that were unnecessary, exceeding expensive, and so unusable £270 went straight into the bin and a new pair of normal reading glasses had to be purchased!
We will be looking elsewhere, since after years of custom we have finally grown sick of the rip off quality and shocking poor overall service offered.”
“I have had my eyes tested at Specsavers for a number of years. I have congenital cataracts which they have noted but nevertheless have been prescribed varifocals. These have not improved my distant vision but I thought that this was my fault for not accurately addressing the eye tests. Today an independent optician advised me that my cataracts mean that varifocals are contraindicated. My distant vision has never been improved by my varifocals, quite the reverse, What a waste of money”
“Well what a sad experience we’ve had with spec savers audio centre. We needed a replacement hearing aid for our elderly mother who is 92 years old and needed a home visit and were referred to spec savers in Farnham. We understood a home visit would be chargeable and this was £95 upfront however the bad news was we had to wait four weeks for a home visit appointment. The home visit materialised ok and she was visited by two audiologists from Farnham who came with only two hearing aids as samples. We selected a suitable hearing aid and she paid just short of £1500 for the pair. We thought this was the only choice she had available, however it later transpired that they were Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and iPhone compatible, all of which was not necessary for an old lady, but this was not made clear by the audiologists who visiting her so we feel somewhat cheated into making a more expensive purchase then perhaps was necessary for her needs. After making full payment she was promised delivery and fitting within two weeks. Spec savers then failed to achieve this and despite a chasing phone call from us they were still late and they didn’t materialise until three weeks later.
After a very brief visit from the audiologists to fit the hearing aids there was limited explanation as to how they were to be used , their functioning and charging capability, and our elderly mother had areas where she didn’t understand what to do so we contacted the manager Jess who was quite indignant when we asked for another visit to further explain the hearing aids and insisted we had to pay another £25 just for them to visit to explain what they should’ve explained on the previous visits. It seems to me the manager needs some training in customer relations and needs to understand the importance of customer satisfaction particularly over an expensive purchase such as this one. Sadly I cannot recommend spec savers audiology home visits and I would suggest you look elsewhere if you need an elderly person needing hearing aids fitted at home.”
“Unable to have my contact lenses until
Updated eye test .why didn’t you tell me this was due as you normally do ? Can’t book eye test until next week.
As I work full time this is spectacularly unhelpful ! Thankfully it was the push I needed to go elsewhere and receive more helpful service”
“Just got here, referred by my doctor for an hearing test which I am informed will take approximately one hour. Took a bit of finding due to poor signposting. Thought I would nip to the toilet before I went in, informed that they did not have one, but I was informed that I could go round the block (In the rain). Hanging on with fingers crossed. What is to become of the NHS!”
“whangerai and got threats lady there have lied i lost my winz money due to them threats are upsetting i was accused with out my chance to give my side my glases i have warrenty no longer will be due to manger as i cant take them in so not nice 3 pairs i got to now be told im a nasty person i had wittnes but they off traveling now i been graded to a abuser im not im in tears i gave my card a week befor my eye test failed to entre it due to this they used false imfo to get away with there abuse there failing to keep app date now i have no were to get glasses winz only deal with u my glasses i have are bad not good quliaty cant go try sort those so now ur failing to keep to warrenty sad i truly thought u guys were good i even posted how good u were when getting my glasses i have i got no rights manger he tresspass me that extream i been a custmore there i had 3 pairs of glasses to have this”
“This is a review about audiology. I was unable to pick up wax protetcers
from the Swansea store because they do not stop them. I was promised they would be in the post 3 times and then when they were not told to phone Cardiff where I was told the request would be attended to. It was not. A phone call to HQ promised attention which was a delivery from Cardiff, a call from a "Graham" promising the same (it wasn't) and a message from Swansea saying call for an appointment. What an absolute mess these people are. I paid £1450 for
my aids including service which does not exist. I have recently had surgery and do not have the energy to waste on you. The audiologist at Swansea needs a good shake. I shall cut my losses and now go to a different audiologist. NB No follow up from HQ so they are just as bad.”
“The service is absolutely 100% total rubbish,its starts off before you part with your cash like a professional operation,and then goes south from then on,my sorry tale is has follows,I went to have my eyes tested has I was invited to do from them via a letter,I suffer from migraines and headaches following a full stroke which I had previously had,I had a test and was told that the glasses I had were to strong prescription so new lenses were required the lenses are bifocals,I also had sun glasses made.I collected the glasses and noticed I was having problems the reading part of the lens were such that I had to hold my phone,reading material in the precise distance to be able to read or see correctly this was very uncomfortable the same with the sunglasses which also the wrong tint,I went back to specsavers in Merchant street Bristol.where I was told to take a seat in the shop not in the test room,a very broken pair of test frames were balanced on my face and after dropping one
different lens and a lot of trial and fumbling around was put in the test glasses I was asked if this was better it was but is one lens a proper test ,however it’s gets worse I was told I had to leave the glasses for two weeks leaving me with out my spectacles. I can’t use my phone,read etc .after this they will sort the sun glasses out and another two weeks.I want my glasses sorted out including my sun glasses ASAP .if not I want my money back and will take my business to a professional options.unfortanly it’s not the service it used to be. I have contacted the complaint department and I still await the phone call.my advice is avoid ,avoid, avoid”
“Upstairs at Specsavers in Bolton town centre has the worst customer service personnel. Those downstairs are fine, especially Mohammed.
Two ladies pride themselves in being aggressive towards customers as well as shouting at them. Sadly,
they do not like it when you ask to speak to a Manager to complain about their appalling behaviour.
One of them is supposed to have worked there for thirteen years yet, is happy to put down the phone on a customer that has just spent £200 in the store after shouting at the one for merely asking to speak to a manager to complain about the one's dis-satisfaction regarding a product.
What a disgrace - an absolute disgrace!! Such staff MUST be sent on customer service training because they don't seem to know that it is the customer that pays their wages.”
“Absolutely hopeless got to wait ages even for a reply from their head office. Should be reported to trading standards for insufficient information and I'm bring kind! Got much better service at boots and everything was explained in detail hard sell at soecsavers they should look through their own blinkered glasses!”
“Where do I start? Absolute rubbish throughout. My eye test was so rushed I was never asked to confirm that I was comfortable with the final prescription the optician chose for me, and now I’m afraid to buy new glasses. Don’t know what I’m going to get. The optician seemed desperate to scare the life out of me listing anything on earth that was wrong with my eyes, and then sold me some useless products. During contact lenses test I told the optician I had blurred vision, he didn’t care, still sent me home with the test lenses, which are different specs from what I had been using successfully for 10 years, so the test lenses of course turned out to be completely unsuitable for me. What a waste of my time! Everything at Specsavers seems to be aimed at quantity and sales, not quality. Next time I'm going to a proper doctor. I’ll pay more, but will get reliable and trustworthy results.”
“Visited Specsavers in Bexhill-on-Sea for an appointment with Optician at 11:30. By 12:15 still hadn't seen the Optician despite other customers who had just walked in being seen. Walked out after complaining to manager who seemed bewildered that I found this unacceptable.”
“They took extra £65 to make ultra thin lenses for my child glasses. but it same as normel glass and very thick ? they are the doggy plese do not use this company had very bad experiance many times unhelpfull stafff.”
“I have been with Specsavers for quite a few years and pay a monthly DD for contact lenses. Because of problems with my eyes I can only wear them for 5 days and not 7 days. They send out 12 weeks lenses every 3 calendar months. After doing calculations I am short of 21 days (3 weeks) of lenses per year. Asked the question and was told I can purchase extra lenses for an extra amount of £ per month so I then have a stock, surely they should be able to send out every 12 weeks and then I wouldn't run out.”
