I wanted to share an anecdote from my practice. I recently assisted a walk-in patient.

This patient has a fairly high near-sighted correction. Of course he’s worn glasses since childhood so has some decent expectations on how his lenses should look. He was shocked at the thickness and “fish bowl” experience he had with these new glasses.

I wanted to avoid disparaging the competition but I immediately had some suspicions on the problem. A quick inspection validated my concern. He was told they could not be made any thinner. They were made in polycarbonate. As you may recall from my earlier post on lens materials this is the thickest of the thin solutions, and not well suited to prescriptions that are too high.

The negative experience was therefore driven by an outright false claim that the lenses couldn’t be thinner, as well as the fact that the lens material they used was inferior for the wearing experience of his correction.

After a relatively brief discussion about his prescription and insurance I was able to present a solution where he could get two pairs for the same price he’s been used to paying on one, but done thinner and in more advanced optical designs then he’s ever had a chance to do before.

If you have an incredibly simple–and mild–prescription going to a discount eyeglass company might work out ok for you. But if you’re prescription is even moderately challenging I would strongly warn against risking your time and money trying to save a buck. It will easily lead to refunds, redos, and maybe even finding a new shop.

I’m not going to detail the competing brand…let’s just say I think my story disproves their name. 😉