Wildwood Eyecare

I am not a person who gives a negative review easily. But I am going back to Pearle Vision. No matter how much I lower my expectations, they will exceed my experience here.
Having experienced only the Pearle Vision/​WalMart level of optometry for my adult life, I was happy to have saved enough cash to afford a «boutique» visit.
I have nothing but good things to say about the quality of my eyeglass technician. Those are the two stars. And yes, the lady who sold me the most expensive non-​car item I’d purchased in a long while was right on point. I am happy with the product and I would go there again for that alone.
I asked for my contact lens prescription, only to later discover that it was for a special brand of contact that could ONLY be ordered through an optometrist. I must point out that my vision with this brand is no better and perhaps not even as good as the myriad of brands I had worn in the past. So I did get a prescription, but one knowingly useless outside the office. A fact no one told me before or after. Of course, had I known that this brand wasn’t available elsewhere, I would have insisted on a more popular one.
I have a very difficult time not seeing this as a cash grab. Especially since, when I asked for my prescription, the BRAND NAME of the lens was prominently featured. There ARE no spaces in the prescription for a brand name. Only diameter and strength. The brand name made it useless, and the proprietary brand costs nearly twice as much as other brands, in addition to demanding a visit to the office.
I was billed not twice, not three times, but four times.
My insurance is Medicare, and I am quite aware that they will cover a single eye exam a year and nothing more. I told the people at Wildwood that; let them know I wasn’t swimming in cash but needed to have one good eye exam since I was turning fifty AND was needing to take care of my elderly mom.
The second bill, after I had paid for the glasses and obviously non-​covered «boutique» services (nice, new technology that WalMart doesn’t and likely won’t have) was for the difference after Medicare. I paid that.
About a month later, as I was in the immensely difficult process of moving my mom into a Memory Care Unit here in Georgia, I received a bill for six dollars. Tried to pay online, even though it seemed an odd (and oddly small) sum to pay. I called, in a hurry, and was told they accept payments over the phone. I wish I had had the foresight to dispute that odd charge, since two months later that had risen to 56 dollars. Yes, I waited that long, after spending almost two thousand dollars, to pay a six dollar invoice that arrived without explanation.
Finally, after getting Mom settled (and nearly hospitalizing myself in the process) I called to pay the bill. I was irritated, but just wanted to be rid of these people before they started pinging my credit score. I called, paid, and spoke to the office manager. I praised the work of those who had done a good job, but complained about the proprietary and useless prescription as well as the excessive billing. I still don’t know what the six dollars, or the 56 dollars were for. Itemization ended at bill #2.
I gave her every opportunity to explain this situation, but her replies made it clear that she couldn’t even be bothered to pull up my chart, and that Private Practice is indeed a code for «you won’t miss the inconvenience of being forced to come here for overpriced contact lenses, nor should you complain about paltry charges, no matter how many). And that it wouldn’t matter less if I never showed up again.
And of course I won’t. But I promised myself I would NEVER bad-​talk a business without talking directly to a person who could explain and rectify the situation. So here I am.

I had an appointment at this doctor’s office in September, and I have to say — it was by far the worst experience I have ever had at an eye doctor. I have probably been to 20 different eye doctors in my life because I go every year and move frequently, so I think I am a good judge of a good/​bad practice. Unfortunately, this place is the pits. I think a lot of the positive reviews on here are older or for Dr. Sass. Please note: as of August 31, 2015, HE IS NOT ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS. If you are a new patient, you can only see Dr. Nicole Mardak, who graduated in 2013. She is definitely a young and ambitious eye doctor, which I understand and admire… but she has a lot to learn, mainly… listening to patients.
I very rarely give a 1 star review, but I have to in this case because I have never felt so nickel and dimed at an office ever. I paid $ 125 for a routine eye exam, and then an additional $ 110 for a contact fitting? I have never heard of that in my life! Previously, the most expensive eye doctor I’ve ever been to was $ 110 for an eye exam, and that included a contact fitting/​eye glasses prescription… so I don’t understand AT ALL why they charge such a ridiculous additional fee for a contact fitting. Apparently, the «contact fitting» also includes your first pair of contacts, but Dr. Mardak only gave me a 2 day supply of daily disposables… So that hardly constitutes as a «pair» worth $ 110… so lame. The lenses didn’t even feel comfortable so when I mentioned I didn’t like them, the friendly tech gave me an additional pair to try. I can’t get my prescription until I choose a contact, but I’m sure they will want to charge me an additional fee to «check» the new lenses.
I’m irritated with Dr. Nicole Mardak because I told her directly that in the past, daily lenses didn’t work for me and I also can’t afford them. I said specifically that my previous Dailies cost about $ 400 for a year supply and that I wanted to spend about $ 200 for a year supply of contacts. I told her that I have never experienced any of the benefits of a daily, and then she only gave me a daily lens to try? A daily lens that costs $ 700 for a year supply? BYE, FELICIA.
THEN, I went to choose some new frames. You can’t walk around and try frames, you have an associate walk around and choose them for you… which is fun in theory, but the cheapest frame option I was offered was $ 408 — for just a frame. With lenses, it was $ 880… WHAT??? I thought this was a family practice, not some wannabe uptown boutique eye center. These prices are not competitive and they have very few affordable lens options. I have EyeMed insurance, and they are a preferred provider, yet they do not offer the services and products EyeMed covers. So even with comprehensive vision insurance, I have spent way more than I have at other (better) eye care centers. Without insurance, I have always been able to get great contacts for about $ 200 a year and an awesome pair of glasses for $ 200– $ 300 WITHOUT INSURANCE. I was so excited to finally have insurance! But at this practice, it costs more for an exam when you have insurance– because you pay for 2 ridiculously overpriced exams instead of 1 reasonably priced exam that includes everything ²⁰⁄₂₁ other eye doctors include?
This place is also straight up dreary. It is dark and the blinds are pulled on all of the windows. It is definitely a dated building, so I really thought it would be an affordable and quality family practice option. WRONG. Even cute and gorgeous designer boutique eye centers with good lighting and windows are a more affordable option than Wildwood Eyesore. (note: autocorrect changed Eyecare to Eyesore! How did they know? LOL)
THIS PLACE IS THE WORST. I will never come back here and if you are looking for a new eye doctor in the area, you are much better off going elsewhere.

Still by far my favorite eye doctor! I will be back soon to visit this office for my new specks can’t wait !

I was nervous about getting my eyes checked, I knew that I was going to need glasses. The doctor was great, the woman Pat that helped me pick out the glasses was extremely helpful.
It was a very good experience.

When I moved to Marietta in the late ’80’s, I asked for a referral from other eye care doctors and they all recommneded Dr. Sass. Having been a patient here for over 25 years and now 240 miles away I still travel to him. Dr. Sass stays current on all new technology and treatments and that is what I like. At my annual I quiz him on the newest things I have read about in the past year and he has a great deal of knowledge about them. I have been grateful he has steered me away from a couple of new procedures. My friends were not so lucky. I now have my entire family seeing him. Very timely examinations. I feel it is helpful to pick one doctor and stick with them so they know your history. Eyewear here and everywhere can be expensive, but I wear contacts most all the time. The contact lense brand he prescribes me is the best (35 years of wearing lenses) in that don’t seem to rip apart but last the entire month (or longer). Unfortunately he is an Ohio State Buckeye football fan in SEC/​ACC country (I think one daughter went to UGA though). War Eagle! and Go Tech!

I’ve been going to Wildwood Eyecare for a few years now and strongly recommend them to you. The doctors really get it right and the staff is detailed with a friendly smile. They have little turn over in the office and I can see the teamwork happening.

Service is good, doctors are friendly and take their time with you. They work well with insurance companies and we haven’t had any issues with the practice.

Reception was extremely nice. Dr. Sass was an excellent doctor. He took the time to get to know me before he started with the eye stuff (and he is an Apple fanatic!). The lady helping me get eyeglasses was extremely nice and helpful. They knew my insurance inside and out. I highly recommend this eye doctor.