Boots Opticians Chesterfield - Low Pavement (in Boots)

Appalled at the disrespect for customer & lack of care for their eyesight. £700, 2 months, several return visits & lense changes later & I still don’t have a pair of glasses I can see through correctly. Too much hard sell, i drive etc & anti reflective coatings etc added to bill without discussion or knowledge. A major problem is that if you have thin & light they use polycarbonate lenses, you’re not told of this & many people have difficulty with peripheral vision as polycarbonate is not as clear as other plastic lenses, upon research elsewhere I discovered polycarbonate is used mainly for safety eyewear, hazardous occupations, or if specifically requested. I’m annoyed that I wasn’t aware polycarbonate was used for my lenses & no matter how many lense changes I was not able to see correctly with polycarbonate, I asked if I could have standard plastic lenses in thin & light & was told they didn’t do them. A company as big as Boots Opticians & they don’t do standard plastic lenses in thin & light, have I heard right or is this a ploy to get you to book a hearing test? I was told there was nothing more they could do for me, it’s shocking to learn that Boots OPTICIANS in actual fact can’t provide me with lenses I can see through, so I asked well where do I go if an opticians cant help with eyesight!!! In all my years of wearing glasses I have never experienced problems & hassle like this & never had to return back to an opticians, this was the first time I used Boots Opticians & I wouldn’t use them again or recommend them, I would advise to avoid them. Next step full refund & a proper opticians.

Was told the appointment will take 25 minutes. In total the entire process took around 1.5 hours. I booked an eye test - making sure i didnt "tick" anything about contact lenses - The optician wastes 30+ minutes of my time trying to hard sell contact lenses. After this he starts to ask about driving, trying to hard sell coatings/tints, I tell him 3+ times i dont drive so he calls an assistant to help me choose frames - i'm left in the shop looking for frames while she sits in front of the computer for 20 minutes and when i finally ask her to help she ask's if the nose pinches on a couple of pairs. I'm blind as a bat, i cant see myself or the glasses in the mirror and i need to know if they suit me - the lady hands two pairs to me and says "just choose one of these two!". All in all i get home having been charged £400 for a pair of single vision glasses - £115 for frames, the rest for dispensing services - including Drivesafe, UVProtect and Duravision, none of which were discussed with me and were added to my bill (remember i told them 3 times i DONT drive) In summary - Hard selling & a lack of professional standards and ethics.

First time I’ve used Boots opticians. Eyestest easy to book. Ignored & left waiting even after alerting them that I had turned up for my appointments on both occasions, some of the staff are friendly & some have no customer relation skills whatsoever. Eye test itself I felt was rushed, flicking lenses (is it better with? or without?) too quick to even have time to notice, I also felt miscommunication with optometrist as to how she understood whether I said which lense was the better, which left me worried as to how my glasses would turn out! (I did complain about this, but was told to wait for glasses first) Optometrist prescribed varifocals but said not for sunglasses, this confuses me as my eyes have the same vision faults with or without sunglasses. I was given the hard sell to purchase Boots i drive varifocals, as they apparently reduce glare especially at night, I don’t drive much anymore & never at night, which I told the staff member, but was she listening, no! Eventually got a different staff member who went through all the available varifocals lens options for my prescription, & because I had done a lot of research prior to my visit on varifocals, I was better equipped to make my own decision. Then a Prevencia coating was added to my bill without my knowledge, overcharged on eyestest & didn’t add boots points or money off vouchers, this all resulted in a complaint that staff hadn’t the authority to handle & had to be referred to management. Two pairs of glasses were ordered varifocals & readers, upon collection couldn’t see with readers (never had a problem in all my years of wearing readers before) I said straight away I couldn’t see with them & was told to go away & get used to them, I returned two weeks later having done as I was told & sure enough saw optometrist & the lenses had to be changed, three different staff members had three different readings for my eye measurements, so again I’m concerned how these glasses will be when I pick them up! the frame was also faulty. Varifocals I’m new to & although I’m on trial & struggling a bit with them I do understand these do have to be given time to get used to, i haven’t given up on them yet. My eyes are important to me & I spent over £700 & as yet haven’t got a pair of glasses that I can see properly with. Staff should realise this fact (that eyes are important) & customers, who provide them with business & their wages, when they say they can’t see through their new glasses aren’t being awkward, why would they be, all they want is to be able to see properly, staff should have paramount importance placed on customers eyesight & I felt this wasn’t the case.

My wife is a Palliative Care HCA working tonight (Boxing Day) and the nose pad came off her glasses. We came into Chesterfield and to the ONLY optician open in the town. Melanie gave us exemplary service even though she had lost her voice and was feeling under the weather herself. She is an asset to the team and we came away with two new nose pads and a great feeling about Boots.

Mel served me and her care and attention was outstanding. I trusted her completely whilst she helped me to choose new frames. She was very knowledgeable about the lens types most suitable for my prescription and explained the terms of the insurance cover in detail. This was a very positive experience.

Once I had been acknowledged the process was speedy and the optometrist and assistant I dealt with were friendly and helpful. However, I almost left after standing at the desk at the opticians section for a long time, with numerous members of staff walking past, sometimes stopping at the desk to do something else or talking to each other nearby. I wouldn't have minded if I'd been told they were all busy and someone would be with me soon, but I felt almost invisible to the point of going elsewhere and paying more for a better service.

The initial eye examinations and the eye test itself were fine . However things went rapidly downhill when i went to order my new glasses. The sales assistant apparently did not know which product codes to enter on the computer. She sought the help of a colleague who did not know either. They both blamed the computer system - it was totally unprofessional and pathetic customer service. This took about an hour!! The total time spent at Boots that day was almost 3 hours!!! A week later I took my new glasses back for adjustment as they were so tight that they were hurting the sides of my head and behind my ears. The Boots assistant took my glasses from me and disappeared for no more than 15 seconds and reappeared with my glasses. I tried them but they were still too tight. To my utter amazement and annoyance, the Boots assistant took my glasses and bent the frame manually to try and make them fit. I mumbled something to the effect that they were now ok because if I had stayed there for a second longer in would have blown a fuse, Now my glasses fall to the end of my nose. The assistant didn't seem to know how to heat the plastic end of the frames arms to make adjustments. I had paid Boots £200+ for my new glasses, only to have one of their incompetent staff bend the frame. Boots must offer very little training to their assistants in the Optical department. A complete and utter joke!! NEVER, EVER again will i go to Boots Opticians>

I was extremely impressed with the service throughout. Appointment arranged within 24 hours and due to a problem was referred to hospital for further investigation with a hospital appointment arranged in less than 7 days. From the initial contact through to seeing the optometrist everyone was helpful polite and caring. I was most grateful for the advice and could not suggest any area for improvement. The staff are a credit to Boots.

On arrival I was politely greeted by staff and soon cared for by a lovely lady called Melanie. Every step of the preliminary tests were thoroughly explained by Melanie, and all equipment was cleaned prior to use. The optician took great care over my actual eye test and was very keen to explain how and why my prescription had changed. I was given help in choosing two new pairs of glasses, which were very reasonable in price to say I had one pair of varifocals. I will definitely visit Boots opticians again!

I was first seen by Alice, the Optometrist is February 2017 who after consultation with a colleague referred me to the eye clinic at Calow for cataract removal. During 2017 I have had both eyes treated for cataract removal following Alice's recommendations. I found Alice to be a superb optician with an excellent approach and pleasant personality. This young lady is highly recommended.