Unfortunately, we had a very poor experience at the Clay location, despite having had a great experience with Visionworks in Cicero previously. The doctor was somewhat hurried and dismissive, although the eye exam itself was fine. The bigger issue was our experience choosing and later picking up glasses. I was there with my 11- and 17-year-old sons. My 11-year-old is at an awkward size for frames, many children's frames are too small, while men's frames are often too large. After trying several pairs, I wondered aloud whether there might be women's frames that fit him better. A salesman overheard me and said, "I don't know what is with you women this week, you're like the fourth mother to suggest that. He can't get women's frames." Word for word, with emphasis on women. I told him I didn't care which section a pair of plastic frames came from if they fit my child and he liked them. His demeanor toward us noticeably changed after that exchange. The comment was unnecessary, sexist, and particularly strange considering we were simply trying to find glasses that fit an 11-year-old. We also felt repeatedly pressured toward more expensive options. He began showing us frames costing roughly twice what our insurance covered and told me I could simply pay the difference. Of course I could, but my son has a very mild prescription and this is his first pair. I wanted to see whether he would consistently wear and care for glasses before spending substantially more when insurance-covered options were available. The lens discussion was even more uncomfortable. When blue-light filtering was offered, I asked how much it would cost. Instead of answering my question, the salesman began explaining the feature. I told him I understood what it was and again asked for the additional cost. Rather than answering me, he turned to my 17-year-old and began explaining to him why he needed it. My son was not purchasing the glasses; I was. I finally had to explicitly say that I was the person paying and needed to know the price. That interaction bothered me beyond my own experience. I work with families who have limited financial resources, many of whom use Visionworks. A parent should be able to ask what an optional upgrade costs and make that decision without an employee pitching directly to their child in a way that could make the parent feel guilty for declining it. Whether someone can afford an upgrade is irrelevant, they are entitled to know the price before deciding whether they want it. Following this, looks were exchanged and noticed between he and the desk staff. Unfortunately, pickup wasn't better. The same employee clearly remembered us and was unfriendly from the beginning. After adjusting my son's glasses, the temples no longer fit properly inside the provided case without pressure being placed on the frames. When I asked about another case, I was simply told there weren't any others and that it didn't matter. I told my son I would find a case at home that for as it was clear this guy didn't care for any amount of customer service. Neither interaction needed to be contentious. We were polite customers trying to get two children glasses, and the store was nowhere near closing despite the rushed atmosphere, we actually checked because we wondered whether we had accidentally arrived close to closing time. We will not return to the Clay location. We've had a very good experience at the Cicero Visionworks, so this isn't a criticism of the company as a whole. It was this particular employee's comments, sales tactics, and consistently unpleasant demeanor across two separate visits that made the experience so negative. He is not representing this location well.
