Eyemart Express — Local services in Marion

A word of caution to those of you who wear eyeglasses….avoid the Eyemart Express store in Marion, IL.! I went in for an eye exam on 03/27/25 for the purpose of upgrading my eyeglasses as allowed by my EYEMED insurance. Eye exams normally take 30-45 minutes. My appointment time was 12 noon…..I finally left Eyemart Express at around 5 pm! Unbeknownst to me, they no longer have an Optometrist on site….they do the meeting with the optometrist via a FaceTime type call. The three clerks (wearing scrubs) I dealt with in person were responsible for operating the equipment used to gather info sent to the Optometrist in a remote location (probably at home in her pajamas and wearing a lab coat to look official). (Apparently there is a sign in the store advising that the exam is now done remotely, but I did not see it and the clerk I talked to when I made the appointment did not tell me that it was done in this manner. Wonder if they explain that when you call in for an appointment?). Needless to say, it was a 3 ring circus with no ringleader, only 3 clowns pretending to know what they were doing. I heard them tell several people that were waiting and had appointments after me to reschedule, including a young girl who said she was there from Nashville (IL? TN?) The woman whom was ahead of me and who I could see from my position in an exam room to her position in an exam room and I could hear talking to the Optometrist during her FaceTime call, mouthed the words “I’m sorry” as she exited the exam room and walked past me. To avoid making this a longer read….the clerks responsible for gathering the info were not proficient in using the equipment and at one point had to call the company of one of the machines and have their tech support help them reset the program for the machine (yes, all while I sat there and listened and watched). While I am not sure if this is the way all EyeMart Expresses are conducting business, I can tell you that unless you just have a lot of time to kill, you are better off getting your eye exam at a location that has the optometrist on site. This was a first for me, and I have had several eye exams over the years (including past exams at EyeMart express). I gave 1 star because that is the only way I could leave a review and because negative star ratings...

I have been in the Marion Eyemart Express office on at least 5 occasions to get 2 pair of glasses. I will start by saying I was not told when scheduling by phone that there was no eye Doctor in the office, that this would be a virtual exam! Then after my arrival I waited 45 minutes for my scheduled eye exam. I do not remember the technicians name but she was very curt due to stress at being the only one there. The optician, Kara, was very helpful and knowledgeable, although she too was alone for the first hour I was there. The entire experience was approximately 2 1/2 hours. To make a long story shorter.... One pair of the glasses just did not work for me. Trey, William Culver, who works in the back putting glasses together for customers, and Kara, the optician, have worked with me on at least 3 occasions now to make them right. These two have excellent customer service skills!! On one visit I dealt with the manager, Julie, I believe that is her name, and she was so rude, and made me so angry, I had to walk out before I said something inappropriate. This woman's customer service skills are seriously lacking! For example, she checked my prescription and said it was correct, even though I could not see with those glasses. She told me she could not adjust the trifocal height, and then asked me if I just wanted a new pair! No, I want to see with the ones I already orderef! When I returned on a later date after getting so angry, Trey said the axis was off in the left lens...imagine that! I called her out on her rudeness and she acted shocked then told me her neck hurt and she was working all alone!?!? The one star review is due to this manager!! Like I said before, Kara and Trey were great! If it were only them on the review it would be a 4 star for sure...and that's just due to the long wait time and incorrect...

I have had the worst time here trying to be able to order contacts. I have been wearing contacts for 20+yrs. I was excited at 1st because they were able to get me in for an exam quickly. Had my exam and was given a pair to try out and was told I had to.come back for a follow up and then I'd be able to order. Life got in the way and a couple months had past, when I called to set up my follow up I was told they had a new doctor and I had to pay for a SECOND exam. OK, that sucks but fine. I went for my 2nd exam. They did not have my script in shock so they gave me a set that was not my correct script to tied me over until they got the correct ones in. Yay, great, no problem. I never heard from them. When I called to ask if my correct script of trial contacts came in they INSISTED that I was wrong and that I had to come in for a follow-up....OK sure maybe I was wrong. I came in for my "follow-up " and they lady said "oh no you don't need a follow-up, I'll got ahead and get the right trials ordered". Annoying! I had to leave work to come.to that appointment and those should've been ordered WEEKS ago. OK fine. They eventually called and said they got my correct script in, great. I got them, wore them for awhile and then called to schedule my follow-up so I can order contacts....now I've been sitting in the waiting room 20 minutes while the front desk people are looking confused saying they are trying to find my contacts!? In my opinion they are VERY DISORGANIZED and fail to keep the patients informed as to...