Dempster Eye Center

After my review, Maria from Dempster Eye Center reached out to me. She was so thoughtful and apologized for the new staff and the treatment I received from them. She was also really helpful and called to find out the real price of the sunglasses that I wanted. She ordered them and had them for me within a week. She called me multiple times to follow up with me during each step of the process. I would suggest only working with her because the other members of the staff are not very friendly and don’t seem to be organized at all which I had to unfortunately see again when I went to pick up my sunglasses. Other than that, I’m very happy with Maria and my new pair of sunglasses!

Ever since I had lasik, I haven’t needed to go to an eye doctor very often but I do go every year just to see if my eyes are still healthy. I always rely on Dr. Ma’s professional opinion and trust that she gives me a thorough exam. She is on time, efficient with her patient, friendly and knowledgeable.
I also took my 70 year old mother there because she had some concerns about her eyes and Dr. Ma extended the same friendly service to my mother.
We now have a reliable and great doctor for us to visit when it comes to our eyes.

I am lucky found this place. Needed new glasses with my existing prescription plus replacement of lenses in a very old pair of glasses. Staff was extremely helpful and experienced. I bought a new pair of glasses and had lenses from my old prescription put in the new glasses and also in my old glasses. Dr Ma was very friendly and explains everything enough. Recommend this eye care center.

I saw Dr. Ma twice and both times I was not happy with her services. The first time I went in for my exam, I waited 20 minutes even though I had an appointment. During my exam, she panicked and said I have glaucoma. I mean how can she diagnose me right away and she was not professional. She kept saying, how is it possible, you are young? It just didn’t make sense. She performed all sorts of exams at her clinic. I was not happy, anyway, I bought expensive glasses as she does have a good collection and went away. I was now worried and thinking I may have glaucoma. I went to a specialist at NW hospital and the doctor said Dr. Ma was just out of her mind and she cannot just diagnose me for glaucoma at her clinic. My test results at NW were clearer and they knew what they were talking about. Oh and let me say that Dr. Ma is not nice and her staff is the same.
So b/​c I liked her frame collection, I went back to see Dr. Ma few years later and guess what??? Same service, I had to wait a long time. I asked her staff that I wanted to see their premium collection of glasses like Chanel, etc. Her staff made a face and wasn’t helpful. Later she says, you have to wait for Dr. Ma to try on glasses. Really? I have to wait even though I made an appointment and now I cannot try on frames while I wait? I was upset. I want to note that the first time I went, I spent close to $ 500 for my frame so it’s not like I couldn’t afford Chanel.
Anyway, I go to take my exam and Dr. Ma, again starts to panic and I just lost it. I told her, please don’t say I have glaucoma b/​c I don’t. She dilates my eyes without even asking me. I was so mad. Anyway, after the exam, I left the store and never went back.
I am writing this review few years later, but I had to write this. I was not happy with Dr. Ma or her staff.

So I got my exam done to get a pair of glasses and went back after two weeks. Right away I knew the prescription was way off. Just from my past history they should have known that something was off but they made me come back after two weeks saying it’ll get better. I went back after two weeks and got another exam and yes, the previous exam was way off. So I wait another two weeks for the lenses to arrive, and make an appointment to get the lenses changed on the glasses. Even though I made an appointment, I waited hour and 15 minutes for my glasses to be fitted. And guess what? The prescription was STILL off. This went on for MONTHS. Later, they charged me for a glaucoma exam without even telling me that it will cost extra. At this point I gave up and went to a different office where they had no problem with giving me glasses with correct prescriptions. In short, just terrible experience with incompetent Doctor and even worse staff.

On my last visit Frankie helped me pick the right frame. She went above and beyond to make sure my experience was pleasant.

As a fellow Unilocaler, I naturally found Dempster Eye Center on Unilocal and decided to give it a try. I was tired of the typical Lenscrafters and wanted to find a good optometrist. It has been about 4 years since my last eye exam, so I finally wanted to take advantage of my vision insurance.
There was a little bit of a wait, but Dr. Ma is super friendly and easy going. They had frames that I liked but wanted in a different color. So they were able to order it for me before I made my decision. It came in the following week and the lenses were put in the same day! Talk about quick service. Would highly recommend.

They are experts in this field.
So I got a perfect contact lenses for me.

I am very pleased with the thoroughness and professionalism of Dr. Ma. The practice offers a very wide selection of frames for every price point. The staff is courteous, however they seem to stumble on general tasks such as finding files and answering simple questions. I see this as a great training opportunity for the staff in order for the business to grow.
Bottom Line: Worth a visit if you live near Morton Grove and looking for more (higher-​end) eyewear choices.

I’m a huge fan of Dr. Christine Ma; she’s been my optometrist for the past 2 years and no complaints from me. I’ve had her do my initial eye exam, she did it just fine.
Furthermore, some optometrists hassle you when you ask them for your own prescription (so you can order your own glasses/​contacts), which is NOT a problem here. They faxed it over fairly fast, when I needed to get a new pair of glasses from a Chicago optometrist, Superior Eye Care. This was a HUGE plus for me since I was in an emergency and needed a new pair of glasses asap. As for the staff, I call them about once a month to order a new box of contacts, never had a problem, and they always called me back to let me know my contacts came in. They seemed to be polite and courteous during my office visits too.
Overall, I don’t know what the other negative reviews are about, but considering the age of the reviews, I feel that her staff and the office in general, have gotten accustomed to the daily routine.

I thought I was the only one with this opinion, but I guess not! This place gave me nothing but headaches by getting my perscription wrong to the horrible attitude of the people in there, to a not very thorough/​rushed exam. I tried several times to go back (because it is so close to home) but each time, I had the same experience. I am NOT going back, and I suggest you save yourself the trouble and not go either.

I have only been going to this place for about 2 years, and have yet to have a good experience, so I am not going back. The staff is completely incompetent. I had to go to the office FOUR times before they ordered my contacts correctly (right brand and right prescription), and even after the 4^th time, they STILL didn’t order the correct number of boxes. Recently, I went in for a check-​up because I thought there was something wrong with the contacts I was using. The person helping me asked me if I was sure I couldn’t see… YES, I WAS SURE I COULDN’T SEE! They are never helpful when I go in there, and I have no confidence in the care I am receiving. Dr. Ma herself was very nice and seemed knowledgeable, but aside from getting an eye exam, you could never speak with her. Instead you always had to go through her incompetent staff. Also, everytime I call there or go in, they tell me they can’t find my file and ask me if I am sure I have been seen in the office before… again, YES, I AM SURE! This place is absolutely awful, and I would never recommend them to anyone!

Dr. Ma herself was pretty good… however, I completely agree with some of the other reviewers on the rude and arrogant staff! I went in to have my eye exam and get my contacts. No problem there. When I came back later to get an exam done for my glasses, I was told… after 45 minutes… they lost my file. The staff had no idea when or how they were going to find it and then never called me to explain or give me an update on where my file was. Luckily, I didn’t wait around for them to get their act together… I went to For Eyes just down the road on Dempster and got everything taken care of-​who by the way are very friendly and professional!
So, now a year later, I’m trying to get my contact prescription because I need more contacts. I thought I would call Dr. Ma’s office to see if they have been able to find my «lost file» and of course… no one seems to kno what’s going on and the staff, as usual is rude and condescending. I’m going back to For Eyes for a contact lense exam and fitting-​no need to waste my time, yet again! Word of advise to
…get new staff, pronto!
Shipra

This Dr. Ma lack people skills. Very rude! Her staff is’nt any better.

Dear Dempster Eye Center,
I was in despriate need of new glasses and came by your store for questions regarding. I was informed by your staff there was no record of me as a previous customer (which I am!). After I recomended to your sales member to take my information, I then assigned the small task of researching my file and following up with a phone call to schedule an exam (file or not). Remember, I need glasses asap. It is disapointing to say there was never a follow-​up call to schedule. Unfortunately I had to take my eyes elsewhere.

I’ve hopped around from eye doctor to eye doctor, I’m glad I can finally find one that I really like. I came in to see Dr. Tyler and he really took the time to listen to my needs. He was very friendly and thorough.
The rest of the staff is very friendly and the selection of frames is great! They have designer frames from D&G to Oakley, and from J. Lo to Prada. You can bet that they have the latest styles. When choosing my glasses, I came across the style of frame I wanted, but I wasn’t thrilled about the color. They showed me the designer’s catalog and the other color options that were available with the frames and I decided on tortoiseshell. To make sure that I really liked the frames, they ordered them for me first to see if I actually liked them before filing the prescription.
My appointment was on a Wednesday, the frames arrived on a Friday. But I didn’t come in until the next day to give my OK. By the following Wednesday, I walked out with my new specs. Talk about FAST!

Dr. Christine Ma has been my optometrist for 10+ years now (I can’t believe I’ve been wearing glasses for THAT long!) From the first time I went in, she and her staff have been courteous, friendly and always on time! My eyes have gotten worse over the years, and Dr. Ma has been great about making sure I’m in for my annual review and advising me on waiting for lasik surgery. I’ve referred my entire family to her as well as friends.
I LOVE her selection of frames and sunglasses — from Ray Ban, Giorgio Armani, YSL, Prada, Chanel, Gucci, etc… she has a very large selection of glasses in many styles — from trendy to classic.
She’s a bit out of the city, but if there are any northside Unilocalers reading, I highly recommend Dr. Ma as your optometrist. English and Korean friendly.

One of my favorite optometrists, she respects her patients, gives everyone good advice on what to wear/​use, and she has discounts on all services she provides. Unlike Pearle or any of the big chains nearby, you get individualized care here and you can come back to her if you have any problem or concerns. Highly recommended!