Newport Vision Center

I recently came here for an eye exam because my contact lens prescription expired. I live and work in Newport and my old eye doctor is on the upper east side, so I decided to come here for convenience.
I went to their website and requested an appt. during the week. They were able to get me in the next Saturday. My boyfriend went with me and they were actually able to get him seen by the eye doctor as well as a walk-​in appt, so that was great.
The waiting, however, was not. I already have a great pair of glasses, so my sole purpose was renewing my contact lens prescription. I went in thinking I’d be out by 2:30. I didn’t even get seen until 2:30. Then, they told me I would have to pay for a contact lens fitting. Which was okay I guess since it was only $ 60. but I wanted and ended up getting a prescription for the same exact contacts I’ve been in the last two years. So I definitely don’t think the «fitting» was worth that.
After an initial test, I had to wait about 15 more minutes to be seen by the doctor. Also annoying. Once I finally got in to see Dr. DeRienzo, everything was great. He was very pleasant and friendly and he saw both my boyfriend and myself one after the other in the same room. He knew his stuff and lucky for him the contacts I’ve been in are the ones with tons of promotional material all over the office, so he didn’t even need to try to push another brand :)
I also find out my insurance would cover $ 150 for contacts from Dr. DeRienzo, so I was happy they were able to check that for me. My insurance switched recently, and I always had to pay the full cost of contacts — $ 93 for a pack of 90! So I was pleasantly surprised and that made me feel better about paying extra for a contact fitting.
A lot of these reviews are talking about how rude the staff is. I’m not sure if they have the same two women working everyday, but the women working on Saturday seemed pretty pleasant in my opinion after striking up conversation. If I didn’t have conversations with them (and by conversations, I don’t mean nagging about when glasses might be ready or why contacts couldn’t be ordered, etc.), I might have got the vibe other people are talking about, but coming from someone with RBFS, all it takes is to engage in conversation and then WOW you realize people are actually people! People are nicer if you’re nice. People are more likely to help you if you’re nice to them first.
I’ll be back again next year for my annual eye exam!

I’ve had only good experiences here. I tried putting on soft contacts for the first time here; Milly has the patience and loveliness of a saint. Not everyone can be a saint, but the other staff are certainly personable and have never been rude or unprofessional as described by the other reviewers. I also bought glasses here; you’ll find the optician has a wealth of knowledge that he is more than happy to share when asked for help. He’s funny, interesting, and definitely informative. And he’ll give you opinions about what frame works best. My experience with the optometrist himself is limited. I was seen by Dr. Meyer. Thorough (as far as I can tell) and professional. There is a vague sense of rush, but, then again, I’ve always been brought back in a timely manner. Also, I’ve only made appointments toward the end of the day.
For both contact lens fitting and for glasses pick-​up, they have followed up with me well.
The place itself is clean, spacious, organized, well-​maintained, and in a pleasant location. If you work in NYC, right close to the PATH and you can grab some groceries on the way home from the local overpriced grocery store Morton Williams!

I have been a patient of Dr Meyers and went to the office to see if i can buy a box of contact lens for my prescription that was just over a year old. I was appalled by the rude and unprofessional behavior of the front desk staff. The front desk tried to quoted me incorrect price for my contact lens supply until i called my insurance to find out why i was paying so much. The insurance company asked me make sure i get the year’s supply for 10 dollars instead of the high price they were quoting. So to sum it up. As others have also pointed out. Front desk staff lacks basic courtesy and manners. Avoid !

Doctor’s are good but the support staff could not be more rude if they tried. They act as if they are doing you a favor by dealing with you. Very short, very curt, very unprofessional and unpleasant. They also asked for my medical insurance because my eye insurance wasn’t enough? Lastly, they will tell you something will be ready on a certain day — and won’t deliver. (Eg, my glasses were supposed to be ready by Thursday and was given attitude on Saturday when asked why they were not ready.) My advice to the staff at Newport Vision Center: Get over yourselves.

I had been coming here for my annual vision exams since 2011 but one bad experience recently changed that. Before I talk about the bad, It’s only fair to talk about the good. My actual experience with the doctor was very good, and the equipment all seems relatively new. However I would always have to wait 15 – 30 mins after my actual appt time before they would call me in. They always seem understaffed/​overbooked? The last time I ordered a pair of glasses there the nose pads would start to irritate my nose after a few hours. Dr Dirienzo tried adjusting them but no luck, then he changed them all together and still same issue. Now I waited several months before going back about this issue. I sent my wife because I work in BK now so didn’t have time to go myself. One of the assistants stated they would see if they have any other nose pads to try. Next time I spoke with her she stated there were no other nose pads and I could come in to have the frames re-​adjusted? The asst seemed oblivious and like she didn’t care at all (Mind you I had frames re-​adjusted after initially getting them several times) I was flabbergasted by this response? So there are no other types of nose pads out there? Only two types? Really? And I have to deal with uncomfortable glasses? That I bought from here and paid almost $ 300 for? What kind of customer service is this? Be careful, if you have any issues resolving it with them will not be easy as they don’t seem to care about everything after the post-​sale… I will take my business elsewhere.

I was very happy with the very thorough eye exam administered by Dr. Meyer. The equipment that this office is very advanced, more so than previous optometrists that I have visited. I would go back for another appointment there.

Last month, I visited Newport Vision for a routine eye exam and new glasses. I made the appointment online, and they called to confirm and figure out insurance details before my visit. It seemed like they overbooked as there was only one doctor available and a lot of patients in the waiting room. I had to wait around 40 minutes. The actual eye exam was fine. I got a little annoyed when the office staff kept hovering as I was browsing glasses. It felt like she was rushing me.
I was told that they would call me in about a week when my glasses were ready. I waited a week and a half before calling. The office staff told me my glasses had just arrived and needed to go through inspection. I waited a few more days before calling again. This time, they told me my glasses had NOT arrived yet and should show up soon. Wait, what? My husband had to stop by for an appointment about a week later, so he picked my glasses up for me then. So, when they say 1 week for glasses… they really mean 3 weeks.
My husband visited several times when he had an abrasion on his cornea. He arrived on time for his appointments, but always had to wait between 30 — 60 minutes before seeing the doctor.
Nowhere near as bad as some of the older reviews below. If you live in Newport, it’s worth giving them a try. It’s nice that they’re open until 8:00pm on some weekdays.

Dr. DiRenzo was very professional and did a good thorough job with the exam and explaining everything. Then everything breaks down. The staff at the front are some of the rudest girls I have met in a sales/​business office that interacts with their customers. They have an attitude as if I was bothering them to pick up my contacts and ask a question. I would not go back here because of them. There are too many other places that would appreciate my business. Why would I pay to be treated like a second class citizen?

Very surprised to see bad reviews of Newport Vision. I had a terrible eye infection a few years ago, Dr. Frank saw me immediately and corrected my issue. I’ve ordered my contacts from them ever since due to the competitive pricing and convenience.
Their office staff has always been extremely friendly (especially Mary) and Dr Frank is very professional and took excellent care of me. Give them a shot!

I went to see Dr DeRienzo for my routine eye exam (i am a diabetic so i go 1 – 2 times a year). I had the makings of a serious issue that was going to need further attention. After doing his exam, he suggested i follow up with a specialist (which i did, and am doing well as a result of the early catch!).
He went over 3 specialists that he knew off (both local and further away if i so desired) and then HE SPENT OVER 30 MINUTES OF HIS TIME JUST TALKING TO ME! I was the last appointment of the day (since i work late) and this was clearly cutting into his personal/​family time, but he stayed until i was done asking questions. we talked about the risks, treatment options that may come up, and also what this implied about my overall health.
All in all, i was very happy with my experience with Newport Vision Center and the doctors there.

Rude staff, rude doctor. Horrible experience. Beware.

Terrible! I spent three hours here – waited 30 minutes for my exam, then had to have him reexamine me, then waited another 45 minutes to get my reading glasses Rx, which I never did get because he was too absent-​minded to write it down & his assistant was too inept to ask him for it. Ended up spending over $ 600 and when I came back to pick up my glasses & contacts, they’d forgotten to order my contacts, he’d forgotten who I was & asked where I got my frames from & was rude and condescending when I asked him to write down my reading glass prescription. Good grief! So much for supporting local small business! Needless to say, I won’t EVER be going back!

I just returned from a visit to the Newport Vision Center and my entire experience from start to finish was first-​class. The entire staff was friendly and helpful from the moment I walked in. More then one person helped me while I was looking at frames and I was kept informed of when I would be seen. My exam was thorough and comfortable. The doctor was extremely patient and helpful and did an absolutely wonderful job.
On top of all this I actually had a boot put on my car because I parked in front of the office and was over the time limit by a few minutes. Note to anyone who comes here (and I highly recommend coming here) park around back in the parking garage because the Newport Vision Center validates your parking for free. Avoid getting a boot and park around back.
I really can’t say enough good things about the Newport Vision Center. Great staff, great atmosphere, great experience. I can’t wait to go back and get my glasses.
Thanks Newport Vision Center!

The doctors are just ok, but the women at the front desk and billing are crooks. They added unauthorized charges to my bill and made me run around to get the prescription. I am reporting them to my Insurance company and the BBB

This optometrist is absolutely awful in every possible way. They charged me for unnecessary services, misordered contacts repeatedly, and refused to accept blame for any of their actions. How hard is it to order the correct brand and number of boxes? How hard is it to say you’re sorry you screwed up and made me come to your office 5 times too many?
I highly recommend avoiding this place like you would avoid someone with pink eye.

Find another place to get your eye exam, glasses and lenses. I understand services cost money and medical and visual services are no exception. When I get a good service, I am happy to pay. When I don’t, I feel cheated and ripped off. The latter is how I felt with this place. From questionable practices like saying «this special procedure costs extra $ 15 per eye, do you agree to do it?» on their paperwork rather than saying «it costs $ 30» (and they even admitted that everyone falls for the $ 15 per eye, seeing the $ 15 number, agrees and then realizes it was $ 30 after the fact when they are charged, because who is going to get one eye checked?) to badmouthing cheaper Chinatown places to get glasses (supposedly their frames break easily — I don’t understand how the same brand and same lenses that are likely assembled by the same few labs in the area could be different). It is not good business practice to call your competition «crap» (exact word the optometrist used), especially after complementing the glasses that I got at this supposedly «crap» place. I paid for my eye exam and fitting the contact lenses — note, it was the same prescription and lenses I have worn for years, but the optometrist refused to write a prescription without the «fitting», i.e. extra charge, all my past optometrists just wrote a prescription since nothing changed since last time and trusted that their colleagues did a good job before them. As standard practice, they gave me a sample pair to try and charged me ahead of time for the 6 months supply (provided if the sample didn’t work, I could come back but since these were the same lenses I have worn for years, we knew I wouldn’t). I was busy for 3 weeks and kept forgetting to call to OK the order. Did they call me to check? Did they follow up to see if everything was OK and whether it was OK to order? No such service.
Bottom line, bad business practices, disrespectful to other colleagues and other optical stores, no follow ups.
Unless you have an insurance plan where pretty much everything is covered and you pay nothing out of pocket so you will not care, do not go there.

I used my optical plan recently and went to Newport Optical. They recently moved from Newport Mall to the waterfront area of Newport. I found the store to be really nice and colorful and they had a good variety of frames and options available within my plan. I didn’t have to pay much out of pocket for the non-​covered options.
My optometrist was Dr. Bruce Meyer. He was thorough and spent quite a bit of time helping me pick out frames that would go with my face.
I was a little dissatisfied with the customer service at the front desk when I first went there. While I was told that I was being helped, the same woman went ahead and started helping someone else. Her co-​worker gave her a long stare from the front desk before she realized her faux pas and she rushed back to help me. The other minor issue was that they need to speak a little more softly there. Not everyone wants to hear about what’s going on with every single customer.
When I picked up my glasses, they were well done and fit well. There was a friendly attendant who made sure that the glasses fit properly.
I think there are a few issues that this place can improve on, but it definitely has a lot of potential and I will definitely be back when that time comes to get another pair of glasses.