University City Center For Eye Care

Eye care services were fine. What was unacceptable is the staff wrongfully and maliciously submitting my name to debt collectors because they thought that I did not pay my bill (which I did) and that Aetna did not approve the insurance claim (which they did). The check from Aetna was even cashed by Univ City Center for Eye Care staff before they claimed my bill was unpaid. When I spoke to them about this obvious misunderstanding, they were rude and told me that it was my problem and I had to deal with Aetna myself. In the end they shamelessly and unwillingly admitted their error and «fixed» the problem. Thankfully I switched to a better group of eye care providers.

I had heard good things about this office, but I have had a consistently terrible experience dealing with it. I came in simply for a prescription for contact lenses, but it took Dr. Zeitlin almost two months of trial and error to get it: I would come in, tell him that I still don’t see anything, and he would order yet another trial pair and I would come in again to do the same thing when they arrived. He seemed to have no respect for my time, asking sometimes that I come in twice a day. Sometimes, I would come in, and they would be closed 45 minutes before their stated time. They took half an hour after opening to start answering the phone.
The office is relatively respectful of students like me, fortunately, as they understand that I have to run to classes, but the wait here is ridiculously long: I have often waited an hour to be seen for 5 minutes. Many reviewers say that this is because the doctor gives personalized attention, but I disagree, as Dr. Zeitlin seems to loiter around the office even when there are patients waiting.
Reception makes my experience two stars instead of one as they are very sweet and accommodating, but there is one receptionist in particular who always mixed up my orders and prescriptions and never apologized and would even become passive aggressive if I asked when I would be seen after an hour of waiting because I had class in 10 minutes. Unfortunately, she handled most of my transactions, and she never made me feel welcome. When I finally had the correct prescription, I asked if I could have it, and she told me that she was not permitted to hand it to me in the office (I later found out that was not true) and that she would mail it to me. It never came. I called her later to confirm the address, and she insisted it was correct. I got a hold of another receptionist who said that the address was actually not correct, which is why it never came, and she said that she would send it to me or that I could come pick it up whenever I’d like.
Overall, this office is very disorganized and I am disappointed with my experience here. I continued coming out of convenience because I live in the area, but now that I’m still experiencing problems with verifying my prescription through the office when I buy contacts, I’m determined to go somewhere else even if it’s a trip.
UPDATE 8÷10÷15: Brought from two stars to one star. Still having contact lens prescription troubles and tried to call twice during normal office hours — once in the morning, once in the afternoon — to ask for a refund on my lenses, but they did not pick up and did not call me back even after I left a message with my phone number.

I had a wonderful experience there. I made an appointment about 2 weeks in advance. The ladies who work here are very nice and kind. Doctor Pritchard was wonderful and knows what he’s doing. He is very attentive and careful. There is a fairly large selection of frames to choose from; the glasses consultant is also helpful without being too pushy.
The place is a bit outdated, but the machines are fine.
With my insurance plan, I didn’t need to pay any copay! Just an additional $ 115 for high index lens and anti glare (but that’s because I’m practically blind: P)

I had a great experience here. I went in for a. Eye exam to update my prescription and brought three sets of frames to put new lenses in. I have a strong prescription but the price was reasonable and my glasses were ready within a week. Staff were friendly and helpful.

Let me just say, the service and enthusiasm is impeccable. However, there is much to be said about their scheduling and time management. I’ve gone to plenty of eye doctors before, and it’s never taken more than half an hour, or an hour with eye dilation, for the exam. I spent a solid two hours at this office mostly waiting around for my turn to have 5 minutes of the doctor’s attention (I needed a few 5 minutes intervals).
Which is not to say the 5 minutes weren’t great time. Dr. Zeitlin is funny, friendly, and caring. He walked me through the process of fitting contacts, laid out prices and plans for me. He double checked on any complaints I had about my sight. I was very comfortable and happy with the service.
Just wish it was such a time sucker to go here. I guess I’ll have to find somewhere else. I had hoped it was just my unlucky day, but from other reviews this sounds like business as usual. I’ll update this review in my 2-​week contact check.

The University City Center for Eye Care has fantastic optometrists. HOWEVER, one’s experience there can be a hit or miss. The center serves a very diverse clientele. Time spent in the waiting room can be ridiculously long (and that’s with an appointment). I’ve witnessed some clients complain in unreasonable ways about the service and wait time, but the receptionists seem to handle the complaints with patience. Not to say that the center is not to blame for the wait, but I do feel that it is handled well. If you’re going to make an appointment here, make sure you leave yourself plenty of buffer time and make sure you arrive early. After you finally make it out of the waiting room and in the examination room, however, the experience is very pleasant and everyone is professional and friendly!

Hadn’t had an eye exam in years (decades) but reading has been gradually going downhill so I figured it was time to move beyond drug store reading glasses. The location is convenient and they take my insurance, so I made an online appointment.
I filled out some paperwork when I got there and then waited about 10 minutes to be called back – not bad at all. Only short waits throughout the entire process – exam, dilation, glasses selection. Dr. Pritchard was friendly and efficient.
The waiting area was a little small and utilitarian but the rest of the facility was clean, bright and modern. I definitely recommend this optometry practice.

Having been to dozens of optometrists in numerous cities over the years, I have to say that University City Center for Eye Care is the absolute worst I’ve been to. I try to stay local and not use the chain stores like LensCrafters, but in this instance I would have been better off going to somewhere as unspecialized as WalMart.
After getting a full exam and new prescription for glasses and contacts, I ordered a new pair of glasses from Univ. City Center for Eye Care. After 2 separate visits back to discuss my unhappiness with the prescription on the glasses, the doctor finally explained that the glasses were made to correct an astigmatism while the contacts he prescribed did not correct for the astigmatism, hence my eyes were constantly «confused» when switching between glasses and contacts. Why he wrote 2 very different prescriptions he didn’t say. He was nice enough to offer to order a trial pair of contacts that would account for the astigmatism to see if that corrected the issue of the glasses feeling incorrect.
Unfortunately, 3 weeks and 5 phone calls to his office later, I still have not received any kind of update. The receptionists do not convey messages and do not handle calls well. The other staff doctor finally took my call today and insinuated it was my fault that my messages were not getting through, and offered no apology for the centers poor professionalism.
I really can’t say enough about how poorly this facility is run and the utter lack of customer service the staff offers. Best to take your hard earned dollars or your annual insurance allotment elsewhere!

I have been going to University City Center for Eye Care for almost 20 years now. They know my family and myself and I always appreciate them asking about my family when I stop in for my visit every 2 years. Dr. Zeitlin and Pritchard are always friendly and professional and know their stuff. The staff are generally welcoming and helpful. I LOVED the glasses I picked out this round, though they cost a hefty amount even w/​insurance. But sometimes you have to pay for beauty right? The only issue I really have with UCCEC is how long it takes to be seen. I don’t know if they overbook or what, but it takes way too much time to be called back and the wait time after having the eye exam and having the eyes dilated and everything in between can be tiring. Other than that, I’m glad they’re still around.

My experience with University City Center for Eye Care was really great! I didn’t have a long wait but it was my first time here so I had to fill up some paper work. After about 10 min, an optometrist asked me routine questions and performed some preliminary eye test on me. Then I waited for about 5 mins before Dr. Ira Zeitlin saw me. The test was standard and I had to mainly wait because my eyes were being dilated. Dr. Zeitlin was very helpful and clearly explained the cost involved (for my contacts) and insurance coverage based on my plan. I didn’t have to interact much with the staff but they seemed nice. My only minor complaint is that when I first called to set up an appointment, one of the staff members gave me a slot, which never existed. So I showed up there but the place was closed. It must have been some sort of oversight on their part although no one really acknowledged it. So I booked another appointment for a later date (annoying but not terrible!!)
So overall I am satisfied with my exam at University City Center.

Dr. Zeitlin is so helpful! I was in a rush to make an eye appointment before my insurance benefits ran out and I was able to schedule last minute at this office. I didn’t know what to expect because they have a very dated exterior with dark windows and a buzzer to enter the building… but the doctor was super competent and gave me really great advice.
I’ve always had problems with dry eyes and other doctors have diagnosed it as allergies… but I don’t have seasonal allergies! But here the doctor told me that he’s found that 90% of people with dry eye problems can fix all of their problems simply by taking flax oil supplements. He told me to start taking them, which I did, and had me come back a month later so he could check that my eyes were improving. They felt somewhat improved, and he agreed that they were less dry but not completely fixed, so he upped my ‘dose’ of flax and scheduled me to come back another month later. At this point my eyes were feeling so much better and I wasn’t having problems looking at the computer screen all day… and best of all, it didn’t require any prescription medication or surgical interventions.
I thought it was really amazing of him to devote three sessions to helping me fix my dry eye problem and I really appreciated the effort he put into my care. Yes, you have to wait a while in the waiting room before they see you, and it seems unbearably slow for the number of patients that come through, but the quality of care makes up for it. I didn’t love the selection of glasses and ended up purchasing them elsewhere but they do have the Davis frames and a pretty solid variety of other frames for you to try.

I like this place a lot! It’s close to my work and I heard it’s a good price. I need glasses and don’t care about designer brands so it sounded good to me. I’ve been a patient for two years now.
So the waiting area is gross and dirty and could definitely be updated but the examination rooms are clean. They might be a bit slow but there speed and efficiency is SO much better than other eye doctors I’ve been to. I am always able to find cute glasses that are covered entirely by my insurance so my entire visit is free. I’ve seen both doctors and I feel that they are knowledgable.

They don’t respect your time at all. It took me more than 50 mins after appointment time before one doctor came to see me. I have no problem with the doctor and staffs are friendly too, they should have managed their time reasonable, unless you have tons of time otherwise it is really waste of time. I totally agree with another reviewer about their time management.

University City for Eye Care provides thorough eye exams and is very good at working with my (admittedly complicated) vision insurance. They make sure I get the best deal on the best products, and are willing to follow through on providing good service on any repairs I need to my glasses.
The only reason that I don’t give it five stars is that the wait is, indeed, long. I bring a book, or some work I have to get done, and I don’t mind the time to myself.

It pains me to say this since this practice has the potential to be great but… it’s just busy/​a little unorganized and out-​dated.
And it’s not the doctor’s fault. He’s really awesome and funny. When I was done reading the Snellen chart/​eye chart he asked me, «Do you drive?» and I said: Sure, sometimes. Then he said, «What is your address because I would like to avoid that area. Yikes! You need new contacts bad!» Love it.
And then he asked me if I had a boyfriend. I said: Yup, I am dating somebody. He then told me that I should NOT marry anybody until we get my eyes fixed. He was like «I just wanna make sure you get the most accurate picture possible of this guy. You may be in trouble.» Hilarious. Love him. Lastly, I loved when I got my new contacts. It went like this: Me (reading the Snellen Chart): «Z… A… B… D?» Doctor then cheering: «You go, girl!» I sincerely appreciate his enthusiasm.
But like a lot of docs, they need a business-​savvy partner to be the glue that keeps the practice together: making sure it runs smoothly. In general, I had to wait a long time to be seen even if it was just for contact re-​check (I left after waiting for 45 minutes one time). They also carry pretty outdated eyeglasses which I feel like they should change because they could possibly get more business from the surrounding University City kids. It also took my new contacts almost a month to get in which sucked so bad. Not their fault, but what annoyed me was that they kept giving me the wrong information about when they would be in– promising dates that were untrue. It wasn’t till 3 weeks later one of the front desk women finally decided to stop frontin’ and call the company making my lenses to get a REAL date.
I was there (waiting forever) when they gave out the wrong contacts to the wrong customers and they were frantically calling the customers trying to straighten everything out. Just kind of reflects what’s going on there… ya know?
And, it would be really beneficial if they made a website for the business. It’s 2013. I’m always suspicious when places don’t have websites– even though I know doctor’s offices are like really lagging in this area. I guess coming from seeing Penn doctors with extensive websites it’s a little surprising to me.
So over all… Eh. I wish I could keep coming here because I like funny peeps but the way the practice runs… Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Not really in a whole paragraph mood today, but I wanted to get this out of the way… I found Dr. Pritchard to be condescending. I felt very rushed during my exam. The front of the house staff were pretty unorganized. I signed in and 25 minutes later was still waiting to be seen. When I approached the desk to let them know that I was still waiting, I was told that they thought I had already been seen. Meanwhile 3 people who had come after me had already been seen. I didn’t feel welcome, so I won’t be returning.

I continue to go to this eye care facility — though now inconvenient — because I have great confidence in Dr. Zeitlan’s level of expertise and willingness to investigate the problems I have developed from 20 years of bad lens-​wearing behavior.
Nonetheless, be warned that the customer service is not great. Some of the folks at the desk are friendly, some are not. An appointment time represents the time 40 minutes from which you will be seen. Daytime service seems a bit more efficient than late afternoon or evening, but still not zippy.
Decide what matters to you — plenty of lens places in the mall. If you want a quality doctor, though, Dr. Zeitlin is it.

So this is my first experience of U City Center for Eye Care, and unless the service improves I certainly will NOT be going back.
I was kept waiting 40 minutes in the waiting room for my appointment. Despite the fact that they deal frequently with my insurance company they took forever to validate my number.
I was shown only a half-​dozen fairly unflattering frames because they were what my insurance covered. But nothing had a price, or even a price-​range on it. Nor was I allowed to browse the selection myself.
Worst of all, Dr. Pritchard did not inform me that he was going to dilate my pupils until he’d already put the drops in, so I got to experience the joys of attending a friend’s wedding with blurry vision!
Ah then the joys of waiting. They never called me about my contacts. When asked about it, they insisted that they HAD called me and left a message and implied that I was the one lying.
And, it’s been three weeks and still no glasses. When I called last week, the receptionist told me it took up to 3 weeks. When I called today, I was told «3 business weeks».

I’m only giving this place 3 stars because I have to wait SO LONG in the waiting room before they see me. I waited 45 min so far. and they still haven’t seen me. Also, it took me 3 tries (put on hold for 15min each time) to get ahold of the doctor on the phone. I’m not usually impatient, but this is really a waste of time…
I have to say, the doctor did a FANTASTIC job with my eye diagnosis. My contacts and glasses are perfect! I just wish they were friendlier and didn’t waste my time… i

I am still giving University City Center for Eye Care 5 stars. I have been their client for over a year. My glasses were ‘compromised’ last sat night after returning home from the theatre. The bow was very loose and needed to be tightened and/​fixed and frames adjusted. So, i called on wed and asked if i needed an appointment. «No, just bring them in and we’ll have our optician look at them». So, they have evening hours on tues-​thurs, but, I went on my lunch since i was going to the theatre again on thurs evening. Dr Zeitlin was around too and said the frames couldn’t be fixed but my frames DiCaprio were still under warranty for another year! Warranty? I didn’t know glasses were under warranty. They had the fram in stock and he fitted my lenses in the new frames. No cost to me. it was fairly quick despite being busy at lunch time. They are nice at this office, give thorough exams and are customer focused.