Sol Optometry

I wish to Jebus that I had Unilocaled this place before I went. I got what I came for (lenses to have popped in to my existing frames… which they were none too happy to be told). But I felt like my soul had been bound and tortured throughout the entire two-​visit process.
I have never — nor should anyone ever — be grasping the sides of an optometrist’s chair, aching to leave, and finally breathing again when they’re gone, dreading having to return to pick up their order.
I made an appointment at the end of their hours, which was confirmed day-​of. When I arrived, both doors were locked, and the intercom rang as busy. I was about to leave, but thought I’d knock on one door. It was swiftly opened, and I was «greeted», if one could call it that.
Upon identifying myself, I was given an «oh…» reception, passed off to another attendant, who did not greet me, told to come into another room (which was a very cold and unwelcoming waiting room), given a clipboard of paperwork, and left to my lonesome.
I barely had one line filled out when the optometrist came out. She was obviously in a hurry to get me in the chair and out the door. She was antsy as I kept filling out things, then she said, «You still filling it out? Lemme see.» And grabbed the clipboard.
Forget listing medical histories and such. She just said (quite perkily), «Oh! You have a VSP! GREAT! We never have problems with claims through them. Forget the paperwork. Come on back!»
I wanted to leave on the spot, and probably should have done so.
It was the most lack luster exam I have ever had… and seemed much shorter than I am used to… which I assume is from the fact that I told them I was given the wrong prescription by my last optometrist… and wanted to know if my current script was fine. They also continually asked me about having my eyes dilated… though I told them I had just had that done a month ago and been given a clean bill of eye health. They seemed quite disappointed that this service couldn’t be added to the claim.
ps — The exam room is literally a closet. Dark from the minute you walk in (opposed to lights being dimmed for the exam, and then brought back up), with half-​drunk water and juice bottles laying around.
She perked up again when it was time to sell me on my lenses. I’ve worn glasses since I was 10. I know what I want/​need. She continually tried to up-​sell me, and just added on a $ 12 treatment without giving me an option. I didn’t feel like fighting. So I took the loss. At least the treatment seems to be doing what she said it would.
$ 180 bucks later, my order was filled. I asked for an itemized receipt, as I paid half up front and would pay the remainder on pick up (no WAY I was paying full with these sales folk, who don’t seem to care a drop about medicine/​eye health). She simply wrote in individual numbers for all of my treatments at the bottom of a medical sheet, with no care giving to matching them to the exact services ordered, and handed it to me.
When I returned to pick up my glasses, though I had an appointment to do so, they weren’t ready for me, and had to route around for my glasses. AGAIN WITH THE DILATION CONVO!!! And, when I asked for an itemized receipt to be emailed to me, the assistant pretty much refused, handing me, instead, a business card so I could email her if the claim was denied.
Uhm…no. NEVER again! Stay away!!! These are folks with no business in the optometry industry. Salesman for eyewear? Meh. But do not trust your eye health to them.

Terrible service.
I called in to make an appointment and took the only available slot they had: 8am the next day — an inconvenient time for me, but the location is close to where I live. I had trouble finding the office the next morning (it’s just a tiny office in the basement of a big building) so I called to get directions. Found the location just before my scheduled appointment and the office was CLOSED!
I called the receptionist number again, asked about my 8am appointment at the W 13^th location, and was informed that my appointment had been cancelled. I did NOT cancel my appointment. I asked if this office was supposed to be closed today and the receptionist said she was not sure.
If Sol Optometry wants to work at their own convenience, they should at least call me to let me know that they cancelled my appointment. I am totally dissatisfied and annoyed. This office does not respect its patients, much less treat them well.
DO NOT GO HERE.

I decided to try a VSP doctor, after going out of network for years, because I had finally found a contact lens I liked and didn’t think it would matter who prescribed them since I knew what I wanted. I found Sol Optometry through the VSP website, and chose them because they were close to where I life.
Sol optometry is one optometrist who has two locations. The other is at 128 west 13^th street between 6^th and 7^th avenues. The location I went to is a little sketchy — two tiny rooms in a large building, and she had a very small selection of frames.
I liked the doctor well enough, and she provided my the prescription for glasses and contacts without giving me a hard time about ordering from her. She was a little aggressive about having me try on the glasses, but let me walk out without ordering them. The appointment cost me $ 100.
About two weeks later, I got an email saying my glasses were ready. I replied back and said that there must have been a mistake, because I never ordered any glasses. I never heard back.
Several months later, I purchased some contacts online, and went online to VSP to process my claim. But, VSP said that I couldn’t get new glasses or contacts until Oct 2011. When I called VSP, they said that the eye doctor had submitted a claim to the insurance company for eye glasses. VSP called the doctor and after a few days of back and forth the doctor did tell them that I did not get the glasses, so VSP re-​instated my coverage.
The only thing left that bugs me is that the appointment cost me $ 100. VSP’s website says that the cost of the eye exam plus glasses for a VSP provider is $ 10. It also states that I should get 15% off the contact lens fitting, which is an additional charge. This means she charged me 10 $ for the eye exam, but did not provide the glasses, and $ 90 for the contact lens fitting ($ 105 pre-​discount). This is actually more expensive than the out of network doctor I was using before.