Upper West Optical [Formerly Pildes Optical] — Local services in New York

This is an update to my glowing review below from a couple of months ago: Jay and his team, once again, went way above and beyond!!

I had a frame (bought on eBay) that was perfect for a video shoot and I needed the lenses popped out to avoid glare from the lights. The top of the frame cracked upon trying to remove the lenses, and I brought them to Jay (one of the owners) to try and fix. Very, very hard, if not impossible, to fix a broken plastic eyeglass frame. He and Tyrell worked a miracle, and you can’t even see where the crack in the frame was! But in addition, Jay would not charge me- and the frames weren’t even from his shop!

How I can continually be impressed by Jay and his team after over 30 years is really saying something. I cannot imagine a better place for all your optical needs than Upper West Optical. Thank you- once again- Jay, and Tyrell, you’re an artist!!

I’ve known Jay, the owner of Upper West Optical, for more than 30 years, and there is no better shop in NYC for eye exams, frames, spot-on accurate eye prescriptions, contact lenses, and advice on all things optical! Year after year, Dr. Hyde (the best optometrist in the universe- truly) improves my vision as my eyes worsen. How is that even possible??! The professionalism, customer service, and all around excellence of the store stands out in a sea of optical chains in our city who boast great “deals” but don’t come close to the superior standards of Upper West Optical. Thank you, Jay, Dr. Hyde, and Gene (for the constant tightening and fixing of my overused glasses :)-...

TL;DR We came back (were there two weeks ago) to order a second pair of glasses for myself and a couple of glasses for my wife. We were less than 10 minutes late, they kept us waiting at the door, let us in, waited till it was 15 minutes late, and told us to leave with a charge for being late. On the Christmas Eve. The best part of our experience was them calling us back (two times 6 and 20 minutes later) asking to come back. We will never come back to this place. I can't see a single reason to be so rude.

We were shocked, never experienced such customer service. Moreover, 2 weeks before (our first visit), we were on time, but they kept us waiting for 15 minutes or more, and we had no issues with that.

This time, we were standing in front of the door, they saw us. My wife told me to ring, but I was not worried at all, just kept waiting. I could not be imaging the clock was ticking.

When they told us to leave, after letting in, I asked if we could wait or reschedule, but they insisted that we should leave with a late fee charge.

Even their policy states that we could ask and be seen "If a patient arrives more than 10 minutes late for their appointment, the patient will be given the option of either being seen that day as a walk-in, if the schedule permits, or rescheduled for a...

Have to give a special shout-out to Pildes Optical for my visit late Friday afternoon, 12/1/23. I got a pair of glasses from there at least 5 years ago when I lived in the neighborhood, but one of the somewhat unique silicone nose pads fell off during one of my trips leaving a fairly uncomfortable pair of glasses. My optical shop in my current Midwestern home city said they could not repair them, but when I walked into Pildes today, the staffer who greeted me said their technician could fix it with no problem. Not only did my glasses get fixed with a complete pair of new silicone nose pads, but Pildes did not charge me! I was more than willing to pay for the repair, but am so grateful for their care of their product so many years after I bought it from them. If I were still living in NYC, this would be my primary optical shop no matter where I lived in Manhattan. Since I’m no longer in the area, I want to encourage as many as possible to check out this place for your next optometrist exam (always liked the doctor on staff there) and/or pair of glasses. THANK...