Pros: I have been a patient of Dr. Garrett since I was sixteen, back when the practice operated as Hercules Optometry, and I have always appreciated this location. Dr. Garrett remains exceptional, and his wife is equally impressive -- warm, knowledgeable, and consistently gracious. Their professionalism has been a longstanding reason my family continues to return. Cons: The administrative process during my recent visit, however, was perplexing. Upon arrival, we asked if our copays could be billed later, as we did not have them readily available. We were told this could not be determined until the diagnosis codes were entered for all three appointments -- something I found unusual, given my prior experience working at UC Berkeley School of Optometry, where this is not standard protocol. Still, I assumed their system functioned differently. What followed was even more confusing. I was the only one who had been seen when it was three of us total, yet she approached me with an immediate copay quote despite previously stating that diagnosis codes needed to be placed first after OUR appointments. I was then informed that my copay was not the usual $10, but $49 due to the retinal imaging machine, a fee that had not been disclosed beforehand. She proceeded to say, "I can have your daughter do the exam and waive the retina for her and it will be $10, OR we can pull her out of her appointment and just charge for two of you at $49." My daughter had already begun her exam, so the suggestion to remove her mid‑appointment felt inappropriate and unnecessarily disruptive. This is precisely why we asked about billing, had we known we could not be billed, we would have rescheduled for two weeks later. Ultimately, we were able to pay, but the lack of transparency made the experience feel unnecessarily convoluted. Rather than indirectly discouraging billing or withholding information until after the exam to access payment, clear communication upfront would have prevented the situation entirely. No one is opposed to paying for services, we simply expect honesty and straightforwardness before the exam begins. Also was told the “printer didn’t work” and that our receipts would be emailed to me, it’s 9:12pm and I have not received proof we paid for our exams! I also requested a copy of my prescription so I can go somewhere else. After coming here since I was 16 years old now 35 I will not be coming back, it’s sad because these are great doctors but as long as the front desk staff is here not taking care of patients I’m never coming back here. This experience also illuminated what may be contributing to the notably high turnover within the front‑office staff.
