V N V Optical International

Dr. Vu was great and the office staff was very nice.

My insurance switched fairly recently and the eye doctor I normally go to wasn’t covered anymore, so I found Dr Vu, about 6 blocks away. Great experience, prompt, kind and efficient doctor. Best part was, the entire visit and new contact lenses were 100% covered, so I didn’t pay a penny.
The woman at the front desk was exceptionally nice too.

Staff was very friendly and helpful

I scheduled my appointment online through Zoc Doc. Super easy.
The first thing they asked was whether I had Davis Optical insurance (which I do). I got there about 25 minutes before my appointment as a first time patient, but only had to fill in minor paperwork; I’m not sure whether they took my Zoc Doc forms, but it appears they did. My doctor, a young man whose name I don’t remember, saw me well before my scheduled appointment. He was kind, effective, and professional. I wish they were a little more up front about the costs of my visit. (I wasn’t aware of the contact-​fitting charge.)
Their selection of frames is decent. Plenty of predator glasses for those of you who seek such things. The woman behind the counter (Maribel, maybe?) was really sweet and kind.

I had a decent experience at this place. It’s a no-​frills sort of a place which I like. All the workers seemed nice. My appointment with the optometrist started on time. My time with her was no more than 10 minutes. It seemed a bit more rushed (or no-​nonsense) than other eye exams I’ve had in the past. She had a cordial bedside manner and was very friendly.
My only gripe is the paperwork/​follow-​up/​customer service piece. At other optical shops, they followed up with me over the phone to see how I liked my new contact lenses (if it’s a trial so different than before, etc) so they could go ahead and order accordingly. There were no follow-​up calls. So I called them to have them put in the order but then they asked me to come in to pay. It might’ve been more efficient for them to hold my credit card info. I ended up going to the shop 3x — for the eye exam, to pay, and to pick up. I also noticed that they didn’t give me my prescription. They also gave me the rebate form to fill out but didn’t give me all the necessary pieces (I.e. eye exam invoiced receipt, doctor’s name/​info, etc). I’m going to have to call them again for all this info. It would be great if they could get the customer service portion more organized and efficient!

+1 star for being in the neighborhood, taking both medicare and my insurance, and easy to get an appointment with.
+2^nd star for employing kind friendly staff and running a clean, welcoming space.
+3^rd star for being up to date with what is at least darn close to the latest in diagnostic technology (a member of the family was an optometrist until recently, so I have ~some~ perspective.)
+4^th star for being a smart, easy-​to-​talk-​with doctor who seems to actually like her work.
+5^th star for fitting me with contacts, having my prescription in stock, and patiently helping me get the putting-​in/​taking-​out part right.
The fifth star is huge for me, less for many of you, maybe. If I were planning to buy glasses there, I would have given four stars. They have a few new Ray Bans styles that are kinda neat, but otherwise it’s a pretty ordinary collection, which again may still be five stars for lots of people, but maybe not the Unilocal demographic.
I highly recommend Dr. Vivian Vu for your Harlem optometrist. Very professional. A jewel.