The Vision Center

I've heard some ups and downs about The Vision Center, but I had a fantastic experience there yesterday. I was only there to pick out some glasses, and the people at the front desk were just lovely, happy, and helpful. It's been a rough week and I forgot my prescription, but they helped me get it all squared away before sending me back to look at glasses. The person who helped me find glasses was *SO kind* and patient, and really explained things well so that I could pick out the right pair. I did not meet the optometrist yesterday, but I hope to get in as a patient and will update my review when I meet him. I did notice that he has a lot of colorful concert and band posters up on the walls, which the person in back said were from his personal collection. They had some great music playing in the waiting room and it felt very relaxed; the building is dated, but so is nearly every other place in HumCo. Despite this, they've done a nice job with the inside and it's very comfortable and I love the mid-century modern furnishings they have around. I was also surprised to find out that they are the only local provider who serves individuals with Medi-Cal... and that takes a lot of compassion and also a hit to their profits, as Medi-Cal simply doesn't reimburse them as much as other insurance providers do. I feel that this indicates the compassionate nature of the doctor and the people working there. They have a huge range of glasses, from inexpensive to very fancy; they seem to cater to a variety of styles and individuals. No one should assume anything about The Vision Center being a place only lower-income people go to; they just have enough of a moral compass to include everyone, not just those who can afford a $900 pair of glasses. I'm really pleased with my experience there!

Came to get my updated prescription, gentleman who took the test on my guys was nice & helpful up untill a "let's do a last check on your eyes just look straight into this for me" turned into a flashlight almost burning my redna. Literally can still see the image of light along with a pain in my eye for 10 minutes. On to get my glasses, on first putting them on is like trying to look thrue goggles full of water. It was horrible. They said "oh just try to get used to them. Your prescription is 5 years old. Why can I see thrue my prescription 5 years ago better than the ones now? What the hell is wrong with you people? I have to go back today & drop them back off! After living in cresent city +40$ in gas forget it.

Very professional and helpful. Takes time to get in when you're on partnership, but once you get in, as a patient, they get you in quickly when you have emergencies.

The doctor is very knowledgeable and willing to explain the tradeoffs in different approaches. Not corporate at all; other ratings have attacked them for that, but I appreciate it. If you can slow down and connect with the folks there as humans, they'll take care of you. Happy to support local/small businesses that know their stuff, even their systems aren't as slick (or extractive) as the Costco rent-a-doc setup. FWIW, my partner went with Costco and had some customer service challenges over there. I will note that the doctoring and the glasses ordering seem to be different sides of the house, and I only used the glasses side to get the proper measurement for frames (hard to beat costco/online for the price on glasses/contacts).

Possibly one of the worst places to have an appointment. My appointment was at 2, when I arrived they had already switched it to 4 without any call in advance. Not only that I was rescheduled in dec, didn’t get an actual appointment until march.