Asda Opticians.

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Having worn glasses essentially 'forever', I found myself in need of a 'good' optician. By good fortune, for the first four+ decades I had the very best care. I didn't really realise how good it was until it stopped.

My first eye test, when it became obvious to people that I couldn't see the blackboard, involved the seven-year-old me and a squaddie driving sixty miles in a 4x4 ambulance for me to be tested by the bloke who had the final say on RAF aircrew selection. The ambulance was a K9, for those that care, although there was no Harrier/Kestrel involved in our mission on that day.

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The RAF continued covering me until the time I came to Stafford, when, by pure good fortune, I happened upon the sainted Mr Jackson, who continued in a similar vein until he retired. At that point it finally became very clear to me that not all opticians were created equal. A friend found himself in the same position and we embarked upon a pincer-movement hunt for a 'good one'. He tried Vision Express and I tried Specsavers. Vision Express got a vague 'OK' as a result, but Specsavers left me fairly horrified, especially at the cost.

I was planning to try the Eye Works this time, but the closure came faster than my timetable...

Anyway, whilst receiving my (so far non-fatal) flu jab in Asda, I discovered that my vision was still good enough to spot the sign hanging from the roof that referred to the hidden opticians in the back corner.

I signed up and was tested a few days later - they only do tests on certain days. The two blokes who tested me were clearly intent on getting it right and it all 'felt better' straight away.

New frames were selected* and I was told that they would appear 'usually in around ten days' - I got a call last night to say that they should be here today, and they were, a mere seven days later.

My normal practice is to start wearing the new ones from the first morning, but I've had these on all afternoon and evening with no real issue. It does usually take a bit of time for 'accommodation' to occur, but these feel like that time will be shorter than usual

All all, a good result, and I feel that my quest is over.

Cost? I hear you say...
Well, based on what happened at Specsavers last time, the cost has been well under half of what I would be paying there. My prescription is fairly extreme and the additions that Specsavers 'needed to add' ended up with a higher price than the 'posh' opticians that I used to go to. I looked into getting glasses online, but none of the ones that I looked at would produce my prescription, and, even for lenses that they would make, they were more expensive than Asda have been.


*Finally - Advice, especially for the gents, if Julie helps you select new frames, then just tell her vaguely what you want and take what she first suggests, don't waste ten minutes going through the others to end up taking the first ones, as I did...
 

Wormella

Well-Known Forumite
I went with a neighbour to help her choose frames and I was super impressed with the service she received - and the frames. I do need new glasses at some point and I'm very tempted to switch to Asda - it's good to see another review of their services.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
So, five years on and having only one original nose-pad on the two pairs from Asda, I decided it really was time for a test.

They squeezed me in on a Saturday and, initially, it didn't look as though it would be quite up to the previous standard, but it was. I think it just looked a bit haphazard because it was so busy that day. I was tested quite hard by two people and was there for an hour and a quarter, as there was a ten-minute wait for the dilation drops to function.

The result was that my situation had not changed much and I had the option to just carry on with the current glasses. But, they're getting on a bit now and further structural failures seem possible. So I elected to get two new pairs with the same frames, to give me a better spares back-up. I didn't really have a spare pair for the last few months, as one lens in one of them had a small starred crack in the centre of it - I think as a result of thermal shock, going outside on a frosty night with fine snow in the air - when I came back in, one 'spot' wouldn't clean off and close inspection revealed why. Still 'usable' in desperation, but not ideal.

The new ones arrived ten days later and all seems well with them. I can leave the better functioning pair of the old glasses in the car, as a 'get you home' emergency pair.

Cost? Initially, it was £160 for two new frames and thin varifocal lenses. This seemed reasonable, and actually a touch cheaper than five years ago. Much less than I paid elsewhere many years back.

However, for reasons that I don't really understand, somebody spotted that I should have a rebate of £38.15, Thus the price is actually £121.85.

Not bad for two new frames and varifocals, in my book.
 
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