Visionworks Doctors of Optometry — Attraction in Lexington

It had been a long time since my last eye exam and I was needing one. As soon as I got there I the first thing I see is a doctor walking in looking very confused found out that he was not the usual doctor there and was the first time he was there. The girls that worked the pre testing area were great no complaints with them. I got called back and had the fore mentioned doctor. He was pleasant but several things made me skeptical of him. First he reviewed my eye scan and told me oh you have something on your scan I don't think it's anything other than a freckle. I know people who have freckles but when I asked questions he acted flustered. Then he began the exam, first he was confused as to how to work the equipment which I thought well that is comforting, then he was like I want you to read the fourth line and I said you mean the third line because there isn't a fourth line he goes so you are correct. I asked just how many year experience do you have and he very bluntly said why would you feel better if I said something like 20 years , it's 3 years by the way but I did graduate from of the highest rated schools of optometry. Now I am a nurse with almost 18 years of experience so I get it but there are more professional ways to answer and conduct yourself. At the end I asked again about the scan and he said I already told you it was nothing but I don't guess you are going to believe me. I asked can you exam my eyes with the slit light for extra assurance he did but the entire time he was condensending saying things like yep yep like I have been telling you you're normal. He did do another scan and looked at it again and said I don't know why it's nothing. I said would it be possible to have a referral to a specialist for a second opinion as it is my right as a patient. He proceeded to say I have told you numerous times there is nothing I even trained at a prestigious college. I said and that is fine but as a patient I am entitled to a second opinion. He then walked me out of the exam room and asked the girl at the desk will you get her a referral to retinal specialist even though I have told her it is all good. He then asked me before walking off will this be enough for you me doing this I understand his frustration but like I said I have worked in the health care field for many many years so I know how you talk to and treat patients. Never have I been treated and belittled by a medical professional. I did get into a specialist that day and I have nothing but great things to say about them. I will not recommend vision works again especially if this doctor is...

First of all, I just want to note that I only went here because Visionworks has some sort agreement with my insurance provider promising all sorts of benefits, but the reality is, I spent exactly, if not slightly more than I would have elsewhere. So, if you have VSP, just keep it moving.

My dislikes for this place are simple. Vision is essential. Eye care is healthcare, yet here it’s treated unabashedly like a for profit enterprise to an extent that’s just kind of annoying and offensive, essentially.

During the prescreening, they take photos of the inside of your eye regardless, but if you don’t want to pay them $25 or whatever, you get your eyes dilated and get to sit around for an additional 30 minutes as a poor tax. Obviously myself and undoubtedly hundreds of other people a week just elect to pay it because not only do you have to waste more time but then you get to face the wrath of the sun upon exit. All that says to me is that if you don’t want to pay them for a screening they take by default, they’re just going to inconvenience you.

Then when it comes time to order your glasses they put on the ol’ meaningless jargon cap to sling whatever cutting edge technology they have at the time. There’s a lot of quantifying without qualifying. “This coating is 10x harder than the silver weenie hut jr. tier lenses” ok, well what does that even mean. Even if I grant you that this statement is absolutely true, does that just mean the lower tier coating is going to erode over time or is the “I guess you could buy this lens if your sight isn’t a priority” tier, completely sufficient in most cases and the top tier is completely unnecessary and provide no tangible benefit? Who knows. I guess we’ll just prey on my uncertainty.

And finally there’s the fact that my glasses were supposed to be ready in two weeks and as of today we’re at like 25 days without so much as an update. I ordered prescription sunglasses and safety glasses two weeks after my order with this company and they were already manufactured, delivered, and have been worn multiple days before they even delivered one pair to me. And for $100 less than they charged for just the lenses.

Bottom tier, inexcusable, and just plain not good on multiple levels. Except the optometrist, Matt Franklin. He was...

Terrible. Terrible. Terrible. I drove from Berea, KY to to get both mine and my daughter's eye exam. As soon as we walked in we met the very frazzled and disgruntled front desk lady, Tammi. We go back for our pre-exam and 1/2 way through, Tammi comes to tell us that our insurance won't kick in til the next day for my daughter because it hadn't been a year (one more day) since her last exam. I asked if I could just pay for the visit out of pocket since we were already there and that way we could just leave with our glasses and not have to drive back from Berea. One lady said yes and asked me to go tell the front staff. I did. The man up front said absolutely. He even joked that I would still save on gas even with paying the $60 visit out of pocket getting it done all today, get our glasses today and not have to come back. Finished the exams and we pick out our frames and sat down to order and pay for them. We were told they wouldn't be ready for at least 3 days. I asked if it was the frames or our prescription that needed to be ordered and she said no, just that the lab was backed up. I tried explaining several times that if the lab was backed up why did 2 different people let me pay out of pocket for an exam if we were going to have to come back anyway to pick up our glasses. She just shrugged and said, "Sorry." After about 30 mins of back and forth we were finally able to discount my daughter's exam and I drove to the VisionWorks in Richmond for the glasses. That location was amazing by the way. I will NEVER EVER EVER EVER go to the Richmond Road location again. I will say, there is a lady that works there named Kim and she handled herself very professionally and is the one that at least worked out a discount for the exam after being there from 11am until 1:30pm and leaving frustrated with no glasses. This is the most unorganized business that I have ever seen. There are so many employees, but no one seems to know...