Pocono Eye Associates, Inc. — Local services in Smithfield Township

I see all these high ratings for Pocono Eye Associates, and am really feeling surprised - maybe I just had uniquely terrible experience there?

At a recent visit, I walked in at the time of my appt, was signed in 3 minutes later after waiting on line, and then sat for 45 minutes waiting to be called. I was then taken to the room where the technician did the preliminary assessment. As the technician working with me was asking me about my medical history, another technician opened the door without knocking and took equipment from the room. A short while later, while still stuck in preliminary assessment, my technician needed to leave the room to track down the equipment that the other technician took, further extending my time at this appointment.

I went to PEA to get an updated prescription so that I can buy glasses online. I've worn glasses since childhood, and PEA is the first place that I've gone to get an updated prescription that puts artificial barriers up for people who want to buy their glasses elsewhere. In 2022, the doctor I met with at PEA informed me that he couldn't give me my pupillary distance, and that I had to go to the staff at the store within this office to get that measurement. When I followed these instructions, I was told that the store staff can't provide a pupillary distance unless I'm buying glasses from them. I find this absolutely bananas, in terms of PEA establishing itself as a place where I can get medical care, but, yeah, totally makes sense as a money-making practice by PEA. For this appointment, I noticed that a pupillary distance reading noted in the data sheet from the preliminary assessment with the technician. When I asked the doctor to confirm that this was my pupillary distance (since it's annotated as reference data), she told me the same thing that I was told in 2022, that I had to go to the staff at the store to get it measured. When I told her about my experience in 2022, and that I'd like her to tell me my medical information, she told me to try the staff at the store, since it's the PEA policy to direct people there, and then, if the staff wouldn't measure it, I should tell them she said to send me back to her to help figure things out. I was already 15 minutes late to picking up my child from childcare at that point, having already been at PEA for an hour and a half, so I just checked out and left.

There are many signs on the walls in PEA making it clear that verbal abuse against the staff wouldn't be tolerated, which makes me think that others have frustrating experiences at PEA and then take it out on the staff. I absolutely believe in respectful treatment of service providers. The folks in the administrative space, my doctor, and the technician I was working with were all lovely people who were doing their best. All of my issues & poor experiences at PEA are likely due to bad policy & process, likely designed to squeeze the system for all they can get. But hey, that's their prerogative.

I should've taken my experience in 2022 as a lesson and not gone back, but I was hoping for a different experience this time. Well, fool me twice. We live in an area with a number of eye doctors, and I'll never go back...

They are the absolute worst. I went in for an appointment for contacts and was told by the woman checking me out that there was no charge from my insurance. I asked 5 times for her to make sure because every single year there is always a co-pay and my plan should've have changed. She "promised" there would be no co-pay. I stop in for my follow up appointment to try the contacts on and I'm told that there was a balance because there was in face a charge from my insurance company. I used to work for an eye doctors office, I know the plan information and co-pays are ran and printed before the customer walks in the door or at least before their appointment begins. I was frustrated because I did not plan for this expense, but people make mistakes so I paid it and continued my appointment. A day or so later I get a call saying I still owe a balance because whoever put through my payment canceled it. I was extremely upset but was told I could pay it when I came in to pick up my contacts. My contacts finally come in but could not afford to pay the remainder of the bill until the end of the week. My vision has been suffering and I decided to call to try and see if I could provide them a check and pick up the contacts which are already paid for. After spending an entire day of calling and getting sent directly to voice-mail, getting passed around by person to person and STILL end up getting sent to voice-mail, or just flat out getting hung up om I finally got through to someone who said they were unwilling to work with me. I understand we are all human and make mistakes but this was just ridiculous. Last year I had different issues with them as well but no where near like this. Canceled my order and will be taking my business elsewhere. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. If I could give zero stars, I would. Despite their terrible service, I will say the doctor was great. He was very polite and thorough and listened to all of my concerns. Too bad he works there and not somewhere with...

If I could give zero stars for the doctor, I would. That isn't an option so the one star is for the nurses or assistant that we saw during our visit. The doctor that we saw my 5 year old daughter was referred to back in December when she went to the E.R. due to the cat scratching her eye. So we went to this doctor, the old man don't know his name, and he seemed kind of mean or not great with kids. No big deal. So he checks her eyes and she has a stimatism in both eyes and will be needing glasses. So he tells me to have her practice her lefts and rights (she is behind). So we practice left and right with an arrow and she does great. We'll we get up today and go to her appointment first thing in the morning and she did great with the nurse and the pictures of random objects and they print out the prescription she needs. Then we go in to see the doctor and he pulls up a letter e and tries to have her say which way it was pointing and she wasn't grasping it at all. So instead of doing the pictures like the nurse did he completely dismissed us. Asked me if I even practiced with her then tells me he is gonna send her to Bethlehem pediatric eye doctor. So we completely wasted out time all...