LensCrafters/ Luxottica Retail LensCrafters Lack of Customer Service Mason Ohio

I am writing to complain about my recent experience at the LensCrafters store at the Hawthorne Shopping Center in Vernon Hills, Illinois. I am extremely dissatisfied, and will no longer be going to LensCrafters for my eye care needs. My husband, three children, and many other family members and friends will no longer go to LensCrafters either, since hearing of my experience.
I originally went to the store for my eye appointment on Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 5:40PM. My husband was already in his appointment, and because my car broke down on my way to my appointment, I was running late. Once I got there, I headed straight to the front desk to give them my name and state that I was here for my appointment. I had already called previously, and stated that I would be arriving late, and I was assured that I would be able to go straight into my appointment. I waited at the desk for someone to approach me, and it was a very long while before anyone came to over to me. They then assigned a young man to "help" me. This young man was extremely rude and unhelpful. Now, I have worked in Customer Service MANY years before I became a Stay At Home Mom, and I would assume that society hasn't changed that drastically in the last three years that rudeness to the customer has become a standard. He led me to the back room and started to examine my eyes. He never smiled, never offered information that was helpful as to why he was doing these procedures and when we had to move to another room he simply stated, "We have to go in here now. Sit wherever." Now the Optometrist that I saw was very helpful and kind. He assisted me in selecting some contacts, and afterwards promptly led me back to the waiting room so I could pick out glasses as well. I strolled around looking for a new pair of glasses. Now, during this time I had no one come up to me and offer me assistance on choosing glasses. I was overwhelmed with the selection, and when the young man that had previously "helped" me came by, said, "Are you ready now?" I hastily grabbed a pair of glasses that I thought looked alright, and said, "What do you think of these?" He shrugged. I turned and asked my husband, and he said they looked great, so I went with them, even though I felt extremely rushed, and didn't feel confident in my choice, especially without employee assistance. The young man took the glasses over to a station and started filling out my information. In the middle of filling out the information on the lenses, he just got up and walked away. Approximately 7-10 minutes later he came back and told me that these glasses needed particular lenses the FeatherWate lenses. I didn't see a problem with that, and although I felt like I had been waiting a long time, I was relieved he came back, so we could finish. He then told me that I wouldn't be getting these frames at $99, because I had insurance. Now, because I wasn't helped properly in the first place, if I had known that, I certainly would have made a different selection. I shook my head, and said that was alright, and he told me to come back in an hour. I came back an hour later and picked up my glasses

Now, the following couple of weeks I was having trouble with this particular pair of glasses. I have three young children, and I am constantly playing with them. In the course of the two weeks that I had that pair of glasses, they broke approximately 6 times or more. Suffice it to say, they were poorly constructed, and couldn't stand up to my active lifestyle. If I was the Manager of this particular store, I would have made sure that my employees were able to ask simple questions, such as, "Do you have an active lifestyle? If so, those glasses will not stand up to the rigors of that lifestyle." I would have then, again, decided to go with a different pair of glasses.

My husband, children and I trekked back the same LensCrafters store that is approximately a half hour away from our home on Saturday, February 2nd, 2008 sometime in the late morning. When I went into the store, I walked up to the desk I was asked what I needed, and I stated that I needed to exchange my glasses, that I was still within my 30 day window, and they wrote down my name, and said for me to look around. I honestly looked around the store for longer than a half hour without any additional help. Several other people had employees walking around with them, trying on glasses, and getting complete care from them. I waited a little bit longer, and the Manager of the store came up to me to see if I had chosen any glasses. I stated that I was still trying to decide, and she said to find her when I found a pair I liked. There was another woman in the store who asked the person who was helping her why they only had square framed glasses. I turned around and promptly said, "Yes, I am having a LOT of trouble finding frames that fit my face." The employee simply stated, "Well that's the style now." I said, "Well some people don't like that style, what am I supposed to do then?" She said, "Well, keep looking. You'll find something." Which, after about an hour without any help, I did. I looked around, and found the manager, and said that I was ready. She said she couldn't help me, and to sit and wait for her. As I stated before, I have three young children, and my poor husband was waiting with them the entire time. If I had been helped, I would have been done with the process much faster and would have been able to leave much more quickly. Approximately 15-20 minutes later the Manager came back up to me and took me over to one of the stations to fill out my information. I told her that I didn't need the FeatherWate lenses, since I had chosen a pair of glasses that were sturdy and had thick plastic frames. She stated to me that it didn't matter, that they only provided FeatherWate lenses, and that the cost would be $120 regardless. I was a little surprised at this, since it seemed that I had an option last time I went, and if I had chosen a different pair of frames, that I would have had an option on lenses. I was very confused at this point in time, and said, alright, since I didn't have a choice, I needed the lenses with the frames! She finished up the information, and said, "Alright, your glasses will be ready in two weeks." I said, "What?! My glasses were ready in an hour last time. Why will it take two weeks?" She stated that they had a machine broken, and she had no idea when it would be fixed. She gave me back the pair of glasses that were broken and told me that I had to hold onto them until I picked up my new glasses. I said that I would be unable to pick them up in two weeks, but she stated that she couldn't help me any further and would have someone call me when they were ready. I asked if it was possible that the machine would be fixed that day, and she said it was possible, and wrote down my number. I once again left the store, came back an hour later, inquiring about my glasses, and was asked why I came back when I was told they would be ready in two weeks. I said, "Alright, I will have my husband return in two weeks to pick up my glasses, since I have three children, and it is difficult for me to go a half our out of my way to try and pick up these glasses." Now, I had been gone for an hour, and also had a question about my bill. I had chosen a pair of glasses that were approximately $30 cheaper than the ones I had previously. I asked the woman at the front desk why I hadn't been refunded the $30. She stated that the $30 was included in the money that the insurance pays out, and that I was not due any money back. I stated that it didn't seem like that was correct, and she stated, "Oh, that's correct." And stated she would see me in two weeks time. I still feel that if I was not due the $30, I sincerely hope that my insurance was refunded that money. No where on the documentation did it state that the $30 would be refunded, so I'm not sure who pocketed that money, but I feel as though I have a right to know.

My husband picked up my new pair of glasses on Wednesday February 14th, 2008 in the evening, on his way home from work. He brought home my glasses, which I was anxious to try on, and when I put them on my face, they promptly fell off. They were over an inch and a half bigger than my head. EVERY single other time I have gotten glasses, I have never had that problem. They have always fit perfectly on my head from the time I tried them on, to the time I got them back from getting the lenses fit. For some reason, the glasses were stretched out an inch and a half larger from when I originally tried them on. I was upset at this point in time, because I would AGAIN have to put my whole family in the car and travel out of my way to get my glasses fixed AGAIN. Unfortunately the earliest time I could go was Saturday February 23rd, 2008 in the late morning. I again went to the front desk, and stated that my husband had picked up my glasses, and they did not fit me properly. The Manager, who was at the front desk, said to me, "Well, then you should have come in and picked them up instead, should"t you have?" I couldn't believe how incredibly RUDE the Manager of the store was to me. It was uncalled for. I said to her, "I couldn't have picked them up, we don't live very close, and I have three young children." She pointedly said that I should have come in anyway, and to take a seat. I was fuming by this point in time. The young woman who came over to me took me to her station and asked me what the problem was. I told her that the glasses had been stretched an inch and a half since I had originally tried them on, and she looked at them, said, "Oh, hold on." Got up and left. About 10 minutes later she came back, and gave me back the glasses. I tried them on, and other than being slightly lopsided (which she fixed in less than two minutes) fit my head perfectly. She asked if she could do anything else, and I said, "No." and promptly left. I was disgusted with my experience.

I am writing this today because I am extremely dissatisfied with my experience at LensCrafters and feel that everyone should know. I am in fact tempted to contact Patty Cook of Luxottica Retail and tell her about my experience. I will tell everyone I know about what a bad experience I had at LensCrafters. My family and friends will not be associating themselves with LensCrafters, and will find alternative avenues for our eye care needs. I think that the Manager needs to be seriously looked at. Her skills as a Manager are very poor and it translates over to her employees. This was a very unhappy experience, and I will be spreading this message loud and clear. I hope that this will open your eyes to the lack of Customer Service standards at LensCrafters.

Shara
Round Lake Beach, Illinois
U.S.A.

Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on LensCrafters