Pearle Vision

Really Deceptive Advertising.

I drove 30 minutes to go here because I had seen their commercial online for "Buy One Get One Free." Up to this point I had been impressed with them, because they said they'd be able to order a pair of RayBans for me that they didn't stock, but that I'd seen at a different glasses store.

Well, their two-for-one deal certainly isn't. My two glasses priced out around $700! I said - "uh, the second pair is supposed to be free," and they said "yes, you get $200 towards a second pair". Well, that isn't two for one. That is buy one, get $200 towards a second pair. Call it what it is.

You can't buy a complete pair of glasses there for $200.

Seeing that this offer was a joke, I walked out of there. I found another store that that could get me the exact two frames I wanted for under $400, and that's without a purported BOGO deal.

Their selection isn't great here to begin with, but their deceptive advertising is the kicker in why you should avoid this place.

CONSUMER BEWARE.

Today I just happened to be walking past this Pearle Vision on my way home from the pharmacy. I have an exam tomorrow, and maybe I wasn't thinking clearly because of stress, but I thought it would be a good idea to get my glasses frame tightened so my glasses would stop falling off my face.

My glasses were loose. Besides that, there were a few scratches and the frame was a little less shiny than when I first bought it. But the glasses still served their purpose: namely, I could see out of them.

A few minutes after handing the technician my glasses for tightening, he handed them back to me and they no longer served their purpose. I could not see out of the left lens anymore. Now, there is a great big area of fine crackle patina on the left lens, bigger than a nickle in radius, creating a great big blur in my vision. As it happens, the blur is exactly at that spot one looks through when looking forward towards a computer screen. In other words, it will be very hard for me to study for (and read) my exam tomorrow.

Not only did the technician refuse to acknowledge the damage, but after some discussion, his best suggestion to me was that I wait till Friday for his boss to call me and possibly offer me new lenses at a yet-to-be-determined discount. So apparently Pearle Vision not only fails to empower their staff with the means to fix vision-impairing accidents as they happen, but the good sense to be honest and apologize for them immediately. And, I should pay them money for that.

You may be reading this and thinking, what kind of idiot walks into a random shop to have their glasses adjusted by some random stranger? Good question. As the technician informed me AFTER I pointed out the fine crackle patina, Pearle Vision would not be liable for any damages incurred in the "repair" of my frame. So in retrospect, I should have known better. It's just that having worked at an optician's shop myself many years ago, I am hard pressed to imagine how such severe heat damage could incur so quickly upon a lens, in such a way that a technician could completely fail to notice what was happening... let alone fail to own up for it afterwards and offer to ethically and reasonably compensate for this. But I am human. I make mistakes.

Yes, walking into this random Pearle Vision shop to get my glasses tightened may have been a foolish thing to do. Lesson learned. However, I suggest that anyone who reads this and thinks this Optician can properly handle more delicate work like making and fitting actual lenses may be equally foolish. I also suggest that anyone imagining this Pearle Vision will be motivated to address errors in their work- errors that some other business might take pride in fixing and perfecting- may need to get more than their eyes checked.

best optometrist and eye glass store I have ever been too! The customer service in both the doctors office and the store was superb!
The doctor was caring, made sure that my prescription fit perfectly. She took the time give helpful advice and asked me if i had any further questions, unlike other doctors in other businesses ( myeyedr). As long as you make an appt for an eye exam, you really dont have to wait more than 10 minutes.
The sales associates working in the store, was helpful but not overbearing. I told him i wasnt looking to buy glasses. even so, he even offered to help me look up the benefits on my insurance card.

Awesome Customer service. Will never go anywhere else. And short wait time on a Saturday.

Went here for an eye appointment and to get new glasses....the doctor was running over 30 minutes late. They kept telling me "another 10 minutes...." Very unprofessional shop and I finally ended up leaving after waiting 30 minutes and being told again....it would be "soon"! Forget 'em!

Run away from this store as quickly as you can. The office manager is completely unprofessional. She gave me misleading information over the phone about the cost of the appointment, lenses and the costs of the frames. I ended up spending about $62 more than expected.

I then found out the Lenscrafters provides the exact service and costs I was expecting at Pearle, so I called to cancel the glasses and I was told there was a 25% cancellation fee. But, I explained, I was misled about the costs and I felt pressured to get the glasses because they are for my daughter who needs to see well in the classroom. I explained also that I didn't feel it was fair, under the circumstances, to charge me any cancellation fee.

The manager completely denied she had anything misleading to say to me. She became very self-defensive and began to speak over me. When I protested that she was interrupting me, she said the conversation was over and hung up. I called back twice to try to talk things over and each time she became very agitated and wouldn't listen to me and just spoke over me, denying she did anything wrong.

She then told me I was not welcomed in the store any more. As if I would ever want to go back! LOL.

WORST PLACE I HAVE EVER BEEN !!!

Pearl Vision at Fairfax center is the WORST pearl vision center I have ever been in the past 25 years. Their exchange policy SUCKS !!! Came to know that this is a franchise and they have their own rules.

If you ever end up buying glasses there, make sure you get the right fit. If you have to do an exchange (I used my insurance), it took me a month with customer service and phone calls, and nothing has ever happened.

In other places, they do the exchange for free (you pay the difference if you choose an expensive frame).

The other eye care centers have a better exchange policy than THIS ONE !!!

The people who work there are not experts. I have been to Lens Crafters and they check everything (size, fit with special equipment) to make sure it looks and fits better.

In Pearl vision nothing of that takes place. I realized later that the size that I took is little big (when I had initially tried the glasses, I did not have the prescription lenses, and therefore I wasn't able to see if it the right size).

I too drove 10 miles to get there. I am not going there ever again.

I will either go to Lens Crafters or the Eye care center on Franklin Farm road. They have better selection, better exchange policy and good people.

When you buy from them, their exchange policy sounds similar to other stores, but the exchange never occurs, as they come up with new rules at the time of exchange.

Hope this review helps someone who wants to buy at Pearl Vision store in Fairfax (a franchise store, with their own excahnge policy, which you will come to know only when you actually want to do an exchange).

WORST PLACE EVER !!!

Second pair for free is a gimmick. There is a discount but at the prices of these glases, not very useful.

Drove 50 minutes multiple times to get three pair of glasses that are barely acceptable.

One pair that would have been completely unsafe to drive with as there was only one spot that was in focus. Replaced with another, sort of acceptable pair.
Another pair was damaged before pick up, they were replaced with another pair.
The third pair are ok but nothing like the ones I had before.

I have used Pearle for 40 years of glasses purchases but this was probably the last time and will try someplace else for the next round.