Franklin Family Eyecare

Franklin Family Eye Care was one of the most blatantly unprofessional, cash-grabby medical experiences I’ve had in a long time. I went in for a real eye issue — actual medical care — not a glasses appointment, not a quick “routine exam.” And from the very beginning, their communication around billing was shady and careless. They **never clearly explained** what would cost extra, what insurance would cover, or what I’d be responsible for. Everything was vague… until it was time to pay. Here’s the part that really says it all: **I was specifically told I would NOT be charged for the follow-up.** I show up for that follow-up appointment, and with **zero warning** they suddenly want me to “cough up” **$120 on the spot**. No heads-up when scheduling. No message beforehand. No “just so you know.” Nothing. Just surprise billing at check-in like that’s normal and acceptable. That’s not “miscommunication” — that’s a complete lack of integrity and respect for patients. And then they had the nerve to turn around and tell me I **absolutely needed another follow-up** — again without giving a clear cost, again without confirming insurance, again without being transparent about whether I’d be charged yet another time. I literally had to **call them myself** to get a straight answer about whether they were going to charge me again. Think about how backwards that is: I’m the patient, and I’m doing the staff’s job for them because they can’t (or won’t) be upfront about money. On top of all that, the time management is a joke. I was made to wait **over 45 minutes** for something that takes **15 minutes max**. If you’re going to waste my time, at least have the decency to be organized and honest. Instead it was delays, poor communication, and then surprise charges. The worst part? When I complained — calmly and directly — they didn’t apologize once. Not one “I’m sorry for the confusion,” not one attempt to make it right, not even basic professionalism. They were cold, dismissive, and seemed eager to cancel the appointment and move on rather than take accountability. That tells you exactly what kind of place this is: they’ll take your money, waste your time, and then act inconvenienced when you expect basic fairness and transparency.

The staff was generally nice, but not particularly friendly. It felt as though they were simply waiting for the day to be over, which often reflects more on management than on individual employees. The receptionist was helpful and handled my exam well; however, she spoke very quickly and sounded as though she was reading from a script rather than communicating to be clearly understood. I was caught off guard when the doctor did not greet me in the waiting area and instead called my name from a chair in the exam room. She had me read the letters, which I did correctly, and then immediately recommended glasses. My eye exam results were not explained until I specifically asked, and I’m unsure if that is standard protocol. Coming from a sales background, I believe the experience begins the moment a customer walks through the door. Unfortunately, the interaction felt more like a sales push than genuine care. When I feel pressured to buy, I’m less inclined to do so. Overall, the office’s approach and workflow could benefit from adjustment. Only one receptionist stood to greet me; the rest did not engage. The atmosphere suggested low morale, and it seemed that employees were not happy at this location. A realignment and greater appreciation for staff could significantly improve the experience and allow that positivity to extend to patients.

Horrible experience! Extremely unprofessional and dishonest behavior. We had a poor first impression a few years ago when we first saw Dr. Ngong-Tawe who, after seeing the college sweatshirt my daughter was wearing, spent most of our 1st appointment chatting about colleges instead of her eyes. We love that their office is close to home, so I gave them another chance and came with my other daughter. Again, Dr. N’s conversation mostly focused on colleges and other topics outside of eye care. After that, and for the next few years, I switched my kids to a new optometrist in the same practice, Dr. Canuto. She was competent and professional. Sadly, she left the practice last year and my daughter made an appointment with Dr. Ngong-T again this year. She noticed that some employees in the reception area were not as welcoming and happy as the ones before. During the pre-exam, after having my daughter remove her contact lenses, an assistant actually decided it was fine to give her the retinal imaging exam form to read and sign! She was told that the exam was not optional when in fact IT IS, and had to sign without being able to read very clearly without her contact lenses. Dr. N didn’t even bother greeting my daughter in the waiting area, she just called her name from her exam room, something even a 19 year old thought was odd and rude. We liked the Christian music that used to be played in the reception area. There was none now. Instead, the music was played in Dr. N’s own exam room - music with lyrics - which made the appointment extremely distracting. This time, Dr. N did not chit chat much. In fact, she didn’t spend more than a minute talking to my daughter during or after the eye exam before she proceeded to prescribe daily contact lenses without any discussions with my daughter first. Dr. N also seemed frustrated with some computer issues, spiraled into a worse attitude and eventually stopped communicating altogether. My daughter tried the daily lenses 2 years ago under Dr. N’s pushy recommendation. We tried it because of a one time coupon. Due to how expensive they were, my daughter switched back to biweekly ones last year. This time, Dr. N did not even bother notifying her before deciding she could just unilaterally switch my daughter back to daily lenses!! My daughter had no idea she did that when she proceeded to pay at the reception area. When the receptionist told her the amount she owed, my daughter thought it sounded much more than last year’s but wasn’t 100% sure. She paid but called me on her way out to make sure. She’s 19 and it’s her first time going there on her own. I told her the price does not sound right for biweekly lenses unless they have doubled in price now. She went back into the office where the receptionist said Dr. N had prescribed daily lenses for her. My daughter explained that she had switched back to biweekly lenses last year and asked why Dr. N prescribed daily lenses without ever discussing with her. The receptionist went to talk with Dr. N. Dr. N then proceeded to question my daughter’s choice of biweekly lenses. My daughter said it’s her personal choice to pick the lenses that work best for her and that a doctor shouldn’t be automatically prescribing different lenses without first consulting with a patient. Dr. N became irritated. Not only was there not a word of apology, she even had the audacity to tell my daughter that she “didn’t need to be so fussy” about this! Dr. N talked to the receptionist, my daughter was refunded $281 and her order was switched back to biweekly lenses. Not a single word of apology from anyone. But thank goodness we caught the problem in time! It’s horrifying to experience such a degree of dishonesty, non transparency, and unprofessionalism. It’s not hard finding better optometrists out there. We now see a competent, caring and honest optometrist who shows real concern for patients, loves her job and is not focused on scamming patients’ money.

Amazing and friendly staff and doctors are very good specially dr amna she examined with full details and explain every thing highly recommended

Wonderful eye doctor. She is extremely thorough, making sure she checks everything. Then sitting down with us to explain everything with the imaging they do. Very concerned about her patients and their eye wellness