I hate Lenscrafters!

They will not give me my eyeglass prescription, so I could order new glasses over the internet.\ \ How do I get it from them ? Do I have a right legally?

Yes you do.
Of course you do, you paid for it. Make sure they do all the measurements and put them on the Rx too. I forget what it''s called, but the internet optical company will need to know where your eyes focus to do the lenses correctly.\ \ If they get pissy just ask for the regional manager''s number and keep moving up the ladder.
Damn that Danny Gokey.
Couldn''t you get the prescription from your doctor?\ \ Personally, I always make a copy of the doctor''s prescription before I go to an optical shop. Also, I recall the last time I went to Lens Crafters for glasses, I asked them to give me back a copy of the prescription, and they did.
thanks, but I think I got a "free" eye exam when I bought my glasses from them maybe two years ago. When I was asking for it the other day, bitch salesgirl got very pissy and said "Oh, we don''t give those out"
just go and ask the manager. Don''t tell them it''s for new glasses, just say that your doctor needs it. BTW a two yo prescription is too old. Youneed a new one.
R6 is a smart person. Nobody is going to give a two-year-old prescription back to you.
Bitch, two fucking years ago? That RX won''t do you any good anyway.
They wouldn''t give me new glasses until I had an exam from one of their doctors, although I''d just had an exam six months earlier with my own doctor. All I wanted to do was replace the lenses, but they refused to give me new ones until one of their docs was assured that my prescription hadn''t changed.
Just say you''re in the Army reserve and they want you to get it complete your medical records. Of course, if you''re a guy and have hair like Fabio, that won''t work.
Those mall chains (LensCrafters, Pearle Vision) are the [italic] worst [/italic] place to get your glasses! Your eyes and vision are too important to trust to these charlatans. There are too many ways for them to fuck up your glasses, and they do most of the time. Go to a real optician with your prescription and let them take the week or two to get them right.
If you catch the free eye exam and cheap lenses sale, you can just get a pair of Buddy Holly glasses for $19 and then get the prescription.\ \ Just tell them you''re spending the summer in Europe and want it in case you lose your glasses or something.
I had my eyes examined by them and bought two pairs of glasses from them . They gave me my prescriptions without my even asking. One for multi focal plane, one just reading and the third for computer or mid range .
I believe all glasses have the prescription placed on the inside of one of the side pieces (mine is on the left side of ones I bought at PearleVision). I have no idea what it means but it says "B.B.306 1172" etc.
I think there is a law requiring that you be given the prescription, OP. Maybe depending upon the law of the particular state in which you are in.
If you get the free eyeglass prescription, they will give you a copy for a fee.
.
>>I believe all glasses have the prescription placed on the inside of one of the side pieces (mine is on the left side of ones I bought at PearleVision). I have no idea what it means but it says "B.B.306 1172" etc.>> You're kidding, right? That is the number of the frame size! Or the frame style code. Prescriptions are in diopters, pluses or minuses. Most eyeglass stores today will NOT give you a prescription copy, especially if you've asked them to copy an existing prescription from a pair of old eyeglasses you didn't originally get there. I'm currently wearing an old prescription in new eyeglasses, which I'm very comfortable with. My presbyobia got worse and I can't wear progressive lenses. I went back to an old prescription which is just fine. I simply gave them the old glasses to copy. When I asked the salesgirl at the local shop where I bought the new glasses, for a copy of the old prescription, she said they couldn't because they had worked from my old prescription. Had I been re-examined by their optometrist, there would have been no problem. Even worse, Costco, which has a great rating from Consumer Reports, WILL NOT copy an existing prescription at all. They will only work from your optometrist's RX or they requite you to see their optometrist for a fee of around $50. No wonder their glasses are so cheap!
>>Even worse, Costco, which has a great rating from Consumer Reports, WILL NOT copy an existing prescription at all. They will only work from your optometrist''s RX or they requite you to see their optometrist for a fee of around $50. No wonder their glasses are so cheap!..\ \ I should have said, Costco won''t copy directly from your eyeglasses, they need a optometrists RX. They will not even accept a prescription in your own handwriting, it has to be official.\ \ I think they are covering themselves, because by their technicians copying directly from an existing lens, they might read it incorrectly. Most problems arise with people who are severely nearsighted/farsighted or have bad astigmatism. \ \ Any slight deviation in the prescription can really screw up your eyesight when you have a very high index prescription or bad astigmatism!
None of these places are "covering" themselves. They insist that you get a new exam so that their affiliated eye doctors get as much money as possible. It''s all a big scam. And don''t get me started on contact lens "fitting fee" charges!
>>None of these places are "covering" themselves. They insist that you get a new exam so that their affiliated eye doctors get as much money as possible. It''s all a big scam. And don''t get me started on contact lens "fitting fee" charges!>>\ \ Guess you didn''t read what I wrote, my local eyeglass store, where I never have any problems, simply copied an old prescription I''m comfortable with. They did not force me to see their optometrist. \ \ As for Costco, their policy is to not copy from your eyeglasses. \ \ And yes in some instances they ARE covering themselves, because if the technician making the eyeglasses reads your old lenses wrong, they have to re-cut new lenses. When you''re paying a lot for high index thin lenses, you expect to be able to see out of them! \ \ That''s why so many eyeglass stores insist on an RX from your optometrist or ophthalmologist, rather than have the technician read the lenses.
R18/19
R20 is right. It''s ALL about making as much money as possible.
I agree with R20. A scam in most cases
Iris
I just wanted to say that the best glasses I''ve bought in years...titanium frame even...cost $16 plus $5 shipping and were made by a certain weird mail order firm in China. I don''t think they care if your Rx is 20 years old, either!
A glasses prescription is only good for one year. \ I got my last set of glasses at Lenscrafters and they gave me a copy of the prescription without even asking for it.
That "only one year" thing is crap. Many people, myself included, can go 2-3 years without NEEDING a new prescription. It''s all about the optometrists lobby petitioning for "laws" to force people to have more frequent exams so they CAN MAKE MORE MONEY!
truth
I have a friend and former employee who now works for an eyeglass frame distributor. So, for the last several years I buy all my frames from her at their cost. Those frames at Lenscrafters that they charge you $175.00 or more for actually cost them around $15-20 a pair. I only used Lenscrafters once. I went in, got my exam done and a prescription written. Then I sat down with the optician. When I pulled out my 2 pairs of frames and said "I want my lenses put into these frames", he about shit. He said "oh we can only cut lenses for the frames we sell". I said "that's not true and I have the lens blanks for each pair of frames right here in my pocket if your lens people need them". I pulled out the blanks and he knew he was caught. Then he wanted to know where I got my frames from, and I simply told him the truth and that I knew full well what they paid for their hideously expensive frames. He finally gave up and said "oh well, I guess it's good to know people in the right places". I just said "you got that right". My friend who gets me my frames used to have a connection with a local lens manufacturer and she could get my lenses ground for $10.00 a pop, but they went out of business, so I have to pay the ridiculously inflated prices charged by the opticians. The prescription eyeglass business is one of the most underhanded around.
What are lens blanks?
Corrective lenses prescriptions are good for 2 years and an optician can not fill one older than that. Contact lenses prescriptions are good for one year. Certain eye health problems mean the prescription will expire sooner - that is the law. It has nothing at all to due with revenue generation, but rather evidence that in most cases a persons prescription will change in 2 years, or more importantly most eye diseases will progress beyond a treatment window in that time. Any eye doctor that examines you has to give you a prescription if you pay for their service. That being said I avoid chains anyway. I had a go around with lenscrafters that I thought I was going to have to get a lawyer for - that was after 8 years of being a faithful customer, and I never went back.
Costco is not manned by optometrists. They are merely optical technicians and some probably with just sales background. By law, they cannot dispense eyeglasses without a valid/unexpired prescription. A self-standing optician however, can refill your previous prescription without requiring a new eye exam as long as the previous rx is still valid.
What R8 said. Most placed won''t take a prescription that is over a year old.
It is law because of their lobby! Go to Zenni Optical.
http://www.zennioptical.com/home.php
it''s ALL about $$$$$$$.\ \ If they really were so concerned about eye-health, they could have made the law every 2 years, which is more reasonable.
And their lobby has hacks who go around the internet spreading the talking points on message boards. I''m not usually a conspiracy nut, but Big Eye is infuriatingly sneaky and underhanded!
R20
AND, there seem to be one or two gay eye doctors who are regular posters on DL.
Yes, we did this about 6 months ago.
Lenscrafters did the same thing to me about a prescription for my contact lenses. So I went back and argued with them. They put me in a room and while the guy was talking to the manager I grabbed a stack of blank prescriptions. I filled them out and sent them to one of those mail order places. I was able to get my prescription off the box of my contact lenses Call a mail order place and ask them to call lenscrafters for your prescription. I have a feeling they aren't supposed to make you get a brand new exam every time you go somewhere else and that they can actually transfer a script - just like a pharmacy, only the eye Dr's don't tell people that and that if a mail order place called, they (lenscrafters) would give it to them because they know the mail order place knows the laws And let this be a lesson. Where ever you go and get an exam, tell them up front you will also need a written prescription. If they won't do it, leave. If they say they will do it and then at the end of the exam they won't, don't pay. Tell them to fuck their exam and leave
You might want to call a mail order place and ask them if its against the law what lenscrafters is doing
last poster
Do you have to get special frames that don''t interfere with your tinfoil hat?
Thanks - i think I will just go to an eye doctor and get an exam anyway, and yes, I will be using teh internets to buy new glasses...cheaper and hassle-free.\ \ F U Lenscrafters
OP
Exactly, R32.
R28 the lens blanks are these pieces of thick plastic with all kinds of information written on them on them that are shaped in the exact shape the lens needs to be to fit your glasses. I don''t know exactly how the people who grind your lenses use them but if they didn''t sell you your frames and don''t have the blanks for your frames, they can cut the lenses perfectly if you can provide the blanks.
OP\ \ I am sorry for what you are going through. \ \ Please keep in mind for next time, that you never leave without at least a copy of your eyeglass prescription. \ \ Just never get your eyes examined anywhere without making sure to do that for next time. \ \ I have worn glasses since I was five years old and know this stuff. \ \ You will have to go over the heads of whoever over at the Lenscrafters to get your eyeglass prescription, but it can be done. \ \ It will be alright.
Mr. Magoo
Wow, the layers of evil just never stop with this Luxottica:\ \ \ [quote]As of 2008, Luxottica Retail had 6400 retail outlets in the United States, Canada, China, Australia, New Zealand,South Africa and the United Kingdom. The headquarters of the retail division is in Mason, Ohio. Their retail banners include: Sunglass Hut International, LensCrafters, OPSM, Laubman & Pank, Budget Eyewear, Pearle Opticians, Pearle Vision, Surfeyes, Sears Optical, Target Optical, K-Mart Optical, Cole Vision Care, ICON, and ILORI. They also own EyeMed Vision Care, one of the leading managed vision care organizations in the United States.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica
When you get your Rx back, also ask for your pupil distance measurement. You need it to order glasses online.
Ok, chill out. There are laws which cover all of this. State by state they may vary, but a written prescription is required for most eyeglass transactions. In some states it must be no older than 12 months, others permit 24 months. Some states forbid ''copying'' a prescription from existing lenses. Some businesses simply will not copy due to liability and customer dissatisfaction issues.\ Not everyone is out to cheat, sometimes there are actually reasons people do things.\ If you suspect everyone is cheating, it''s likely because that''s how you conduct your own affairs
OP, if it''s been 2 years since your last exam that''s most likely why they won''t give you the prescription. Most opticians won''t even fill a prescription that old.
[quote]Just say you''re in the Army reserve and they want you to get it complete your medical records. Of course, if you''re a guy and have hair like Fabio, that won''t work.%0D\ %0D\ %0D\ You used what I was going to suggest, though I always said Navy reserve. With Fabio hair, you could say it''s for the Veterans Administration file which indicates you''re no longer serving but under the VA care. If they are still reluctant, you could say your under VA treatment for violent outbursts when things don''t go your way. Accompany that with a wide-eyed wild look.
A similar problem exists in the UK. The guidance: don''t bullshit, simply demand the rights you have in law. If they don''t comply, report them to the relevant regulatory body. \ \ But! Be wary of some tricks. E.g., giving you a handwritten ineligible or incorrect script.\ \ Also ask you optical dispenser if they will price-match. Opticians will defend their prices saying they have overheads etc. but independent opticians will often price-match.
Buy from Canada. They don''t have the ridiculous one year rule. Just give tem your RX and the money and they''ll do it.%0D\ %0D\ It''s not cheap, though.
You do realize you only get two eyes, don''t you? Is that really what you want to be cheap about?%0D\ %0D\ Go to a proper eye doctor and get your eyes checked at the very least every two years. %0D\ %0D\ Lenscrafters? Really? That''s like asking someone who works at McDonald''s to remove your gallbladder.
[quote]When you get your Rx back, also ask for your pupil distance measurement. You need it to order glasses online.\ \ That''s the one thing they REALLY don''t like to write on your prescription, as it allows you to get your glasses made yourself. The regular prescription they hand out is useless without pupillary distance.\ \ It''s just the difference in millimeters between the centers of your pupils. You can have a friend do it easily, or do it yourself in the mirror (not as easy, but not difficult). Look up "measuring pupillary distance" and you''ll find all you need to know.\ \ The optometrists all get the glasses made in Hong Kong anyway - you might as well do it yourself and save 85-90%.
[quote]My friend who gets me my frames used to have a connection with a local lens manufacturer and she could get my lenses ground for $10.00 a pop, but they went out of business,\ \ It''s probably because I''m too sleepy, but this line of reasoning seems a bit strange. We should have more businesses that charge so little they become insolvent? This is better than the crooks that charge enough to keep the doors open?
[quote]Guess you didn''t read what I wrote, my local eyeglass store, where I never have any problems, simply copied an old prescription I''m comfortable with. They did not force me to see their optometrist.%0D\ %0D\ This is illegal, thanks to a huge lobby that got laws passed in every state.%0D\ %0D\ R29 and R46, I have some beautiful bridges to sell you, cheap. How much you gonna give me? Of course it''s all about money. They lobbied Washington and the state legislatures to get the law put in place that prescriptions couldn''t be read off of existing lens. The places can still have the ability to do it, and do do it to check the accuracy of their lenses, but they won''t do it for a customer who wants to get new glasses with the same prescription. %0D\ %0D\ For decades, people would bring their old glasses in, the prescription would be read using the machin they have that easily does that and new glasses would be made. But, hey, the eye doctors don''t get any money in that deal, hence the new law. %0D\ %0D
Copying, which is called duplication of an existing pair of glasses is not illegal. Some states have very loose licensing requirements, Illinois is a great example. In illinois, any optical location may do this simple job. Age of glasses means nothing if the customer is willing to accept them and pay. In stricter states, NY, NJ, FL etc, there are strict state laws on duplicating a customer's glasses. Most often this can only be done in a private Optometrist's office and seldom in store selling eye glasses with opticians in charge. Kind of wierd thinking since licensed opticians usually know more about lenses than Optometrists or Ophthalmologists, but the profession with the most money gets the laws passed that do the most for their profession. The thinking concerning eye exams is, one should see their eye doctor at least once every two years unless they have been advised to be seen more often due to their particular eye condition. Children and young adults fall into this category. Older adults 25 - 35 also should be included in the two year cycle unless advised otherwise. These exams are not really aimed at spectacle prescription changes, the important issue is that no disease goes undetected. Young people have more rapid onset of these problems due to their more active metabolisms. Be aware, the new federal hippa laws clearly state, eye prescriptions are the property of the patient. Who pays for the prescription has no bearing on this fact.
Honestly, was it a "free exam" or did they get the prescription off an existing pair of glasses?
I don''t understand how you can get glasses online. \ \ How do you know they will fit? \ \ How do you know they''ll suit you?
considering today''s sense of style, how far wrong could one go considering the price. A copy of one''s prescription, one''s PD (pupilary distance reading which a measurement from canter pupil to center pupil) and any pair of glasses can be made if there''s a lens diameter large enough. Those of us with strong prescriptions already know the limitation of frame design that accomodate our Rx''s. \ \ Colors are accurately reproduced on the web, so I don''t see all the fuss. Bridge fit may be slightly off, but more than half the time, the wearer is none the wiser wearing single vision of course. Even bifocals are rarely more than 3 to 4 milimeters above or below. Maybe not yeilding the very best in comfort, but not totally unusable.
Have you tried Lensway?
[quote] It''s probably because I''m too sleepy%0D\ %0D\ Or you might be a plain old idiot who has no reading comprehension skills.
I just ran into this...at another store. Your prescription is only valid for a year. You need a new prescription, they are required to give you that. The problem is that you will need a measurement called the PD, Pupilary Distance. The doctor/optommotrist does not usually measure for this. It will be on your order form for your last pair of glasses. If not....you can measure it with a ruler in the mirror. An average didtance is 60mm.
r57, the "Hong Kong glasses" websites have huge selections of frames you can sort by size, color, material, style, etc. You can even upload a face pic of yourself to "try on" a pair that interests you, but it's more important you know which shape flatters your face. If you have a pair of glasses you like, make sure you get a similar shape online. You pick a frame, decide on any add-ons (scratch-resistant, tinting, sunglass clip-ons, whatever) and total it up. Then you order via credit card, just like Amazon. Then - this is the weird part - you just have to wait. There's very little customer interaction other than an initial email confirming the order. It may take 2 to 5 weeks, but eventually you'll get your glasses and a cleaning cloth shipped to you from Hong Kong in a hardshell case. My favorite pair of glasses (I get compliments on them) came from Hong Kong this way. The quality is comparable to the glasses I got from my optometrist - and they should be, as I'm sure he uses a similar service. The difference is I paid $36 for frames, lenses and scratch-resistant coating. At the doctor's office it would have been more than $300.
Obviously, places like Lenscrafter make money primarily by selling eye-glasses. If you get your exam at Lenscrafters, always ask for a copy of the prescription at the time of the exam. I usually tell them that I''ll be out of the country for an extended period of time and that I would like to have a copy for my records. We can debate rights and all of that, but I have never gotten any pushback when I have made a request for the reason that I provided above. If you outright tell them that you''re looking to go elsewhere to fill the prescription or come back after the exam at some later point in time, you might experience the resistance that you described. It''s just easier to think ahead and not deal with the headache.%0D\ %0D\ %0D
I need new glasses. I have bad eyesight. Where is the cheapest place for frames and lenses? Costco?
I can get mine free through the Veteran''s Administration but the place they have their contract with is 60 miles away. A 120 mile round-trip isn''t too bad for free glasses, but they passed a new law that they can''t be sent in the mail. You have to pick them up. %0D\ %0D\ I did that once. You walk in to pick them up, they put them on your face and say, "How''s that?" %0D\ %0D\ A hundred and twenty miles for nothing!!! At the price of gas, it''s cheaper to bring the V.A. eyeglass prescription to some local place when they''re having a sale.
I am an optician, it is required by law to give a copy of the prescription, however if the rx is more than two yeares old it is supposed to be stamped expired. if the optical shop gets caught using an rx off from an old pair of glasses they are subject to fines and loss of license to operate, so the gentleman that had an old rx made from old glasses got lucky
annonomous
Interesting that no one from R46 on noticed that someone bumped this thread a YEAR after it had died out, and then R66 somehow found and bumped it as well. (Did you find us through Google, hon?) Btw I am surprised that no one on this thread, including the optician at R66, ever mentioned the fact that optometrists/opticians are regulated by state-level laws, which can vary considerably, although R54 is correct that the lobbyists in most states have successfully gotten lawmakers to require that you get an eyeglass prescription every two years and a contact lens prescription annually. In my state, even 1-800-CONTACTS won''t ship to you direct if your lens prescription on file is more than a year old. I threw in the towel a while ago and just started getting annual optometrist checkups.
For contacts: Your box of contact lenses should have the Rx of each eye on the container the contact comes in. Go online to globallens, a Canadian firm, and give them your Rx. You can buy lenses without a new script. They are a bit more expensive than they''d be in the US, but you save on optometry fees and convenience.
Re: Getting a copy of your RX when you have an eye exam. If they refuse, get your congressman''s phone number, call and ask what the law is in your state. If the law is that they are required to give you a copy, tell them congressman''s office "Lenscrafters refused to give it to me. I am going there now to tell them your office said they need to give it to me"%0D\ %0D\ Then go to Lenscrafters, tell them "I called Congressman X''s office and they informed me that you are required to give me my Rx. If you do not, I am calling Congressman X''s office right now and you can talk to them and explain yourself."%0D\ %0D\ You''ll get your Rx.%0D
Buy online.
In my area the doctor is independent of the lenscrafters, they have a symbiotic relationship. Lensecrafters is not legally oigated to give %C3%9Dou the script but your doctor is.
In UK I get my eye test done on the NHS so it costs me about %C2%A320 which is around $30 - not a massive money spinner. They advise a test every two years as not only do they check your prescription but general eye health too especially if there is a family history of something like glaucoma. Eye tests can also pick up other illnesses not directly associated with the eye such as diabetes which can cause small clots in the back of the eye. I would say it would be unethical for an optician to give out a prescription of more than two years as changes can and do occur over that time. We are automatically given our prescriptions at the end of the test and it is up to us if we choose to get glasses if we need them there or elsewhere.
If your doctor balks at giving you your lens prescription, first remind him of the law; The Federal Trade Commission is the U.S. government's consumer protection agency, and in 1980 the FTC's Prescription Release Rule became law. The rule requires eye doctors (both optometrists and ophthalmologists) to give patients a copy of their eyeglass prescription at the end of an eye exam. If you still meet with resistance, you can file a complaint at www.ftc.gov. The rule is intended to protect the "portability" of your eyeglass prescription, allowing you to use it to buy glasses from the vendor of your choice. Your eye doctor must give you a copy of the prescription whether or not you ask for it. Eye doctors may not condition the release of your prescription on your agreement to purchase eyeglasses from them, nor may they charge you an extra fee to release your prescription. They also may not disclaim liability for the accuracy of the prescription if you purchase eyeglasses elsewhere. The FTC enforces the Prescription Release Rule, and eye doctors who violate the rule are subject to a civil penalty of $10,000. If you feel your eye doctor has violated the rule or you want free information on other consumer issues, you can contact the FTC at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).