Mt. Tam Optometric Center – Dr Lassa Frank OD, Inc

Mt. Tam Optometric Center is a bright light on the otherwise gray landscape of a lot of the medical community. My last Optometrist (and I use that word loosely) and his staff was entirely filled with burned out and irritated staffers who clearly followed the example of their fearless leader when it cake to patient care. They wouldn’t go the extra inch much less and extra mile. I feel I find a lot of this across the medical community these days, so going to the doctor is a necessary evil rather than a place I go to receive care and comfort. Not all mind you, and this has just been my experience.
So when I stumble onto a goldmine line Mt. Tam, I have to let the world know. I was met with genuine smiles. Dr Frank is clear and considerate in his communication and patience as I asked questions and tried to get my contacts just right. A year later when I need new contacts, I am received on the phone by Lauren, and absolute godsend of competence, friendliness, the ability to solve a problem and an actual desire to do so. She listened to my plight of having run out of contacts 2 months before my appointment. Rather than making me order a full 6 months of contacts that could be useless in 2 months, she goes out of her way to make sure I’m am taken care of until my appointment. When they don’t have my trials in stock she orders them immediately for pick up the next day.
It’s a rare find and if you have need glass or contacts, or and optical check up. I would recommend nowhere else and you will not be disappointed. They are the best for a reason, a very simple reason… they care.

I’ve been going to Dr Frank for years for distance glasses as well as for treatment of my dry eye condition. I love that he has the latest eye exam equipment. The Opti-​Map machine can replace the old dilation program for most people and I highly recommend it. There is a small cost but it’s totally worth it not to have to wear sunglasses all day at work like in the old dilated days. Very professional staff and always willing to squeeze me in if necessary. Highly recommend them!

A year ago they sold me a genetic test for macular degeneration. They said it would cost me $ 27. A month later I started getting letters from the insurance company saying they would not pay and that I owed a little more than $ 3K. I called them. They did not pick up and did not return the call. As the months went by I kept getting letters from the ins co and I would call and they would not pick up and would not call back. Finally I went there and confronted them. They said they would take care of it. This happened three times. I finally had to pay twice what they said it would cost and my insurance company paid over $ 1K and still have gotten no results.
Add to that the frames they sold me were not at all suited to my lifestyle — too fragile. The glasses cost $ 600 and when they broke it cost me $ 125 to get them fixed. The second time they broke I took them somewhere else and got them fixed for $ 40 less.
However they have a very elaborate set of machines for testing many aspects of vision, explained the results thoroughly and their prescriptions have been very finely tuned. Points for that.
I’ve just amended my two star review downward. I stopped by again today when I hadn’t heard from them as promised and the receptionist gave an excuse for the lab that had done the tests and offered me their phone number. When I said to her that I thought that that was her job and that she should be calling me, her reply was «I know what my job is! Thank you very much and have a good day.» In other words «Get out of my face.»

Dr Lassa J. Frank OD is very special doctor and human being, and I believe and know in my heart that his goal in medicine is to help you, he is a giver not a taker. He has exceptional skills, expertise, and knowledge in optometry and nutrition, and his facility is state-​of-​the-​art.
Doctor Frank like his staff is professional, courteous, friendly and knowledgeable. Dr. Frank will take the time to listen to you, he is easy to speak to; he is not arrogant and will take the time to explain to you in detail your exact medical situation with options.
Not only will you be able to have your eyes examined, at his facility the best custom-​made eyeglasses are available. I had a exceptionally pleasing experience with Dr. Frank… Although I rarely recommend anyone I can highly recommend Dr. Lassa Frank.
Tiger

I’ve been seeing Dr. Lassa & his team for YEARS. Every now and then my moms insurance would change so I’d see a different dr, but no one compares to Dr. Lassa & his team. He always listens to my moms concerns, and what I do/don’t like, and his people always, always, make sure that I use my insurance in the best way possible to ensure that I don’t end up owing a lot out of pocket, but still get the BEST care possible! I absolutely love them

Great experience. They took time to explain things to me and get the right type of lenses.

Dr Frank works after hours. I got an injury in one of my eyes on a Saturday night. Looked for Emergency Eye Doctors on line and got his number. He called me right back and agreed to see me at his office to see my eye. I wasn’t even his patient. I feel this type of service rarely exists today in Medicine practices. Not only that, he remained available via text message the day after for follow up consultations. I really appreciate what he did for me and would recommend him.

I needed to add that I finally went to a new Optometrist today and not only were the glasses I had gotten from Mt. Tam ill-​fitting and wrong for my face, it turns out the prescription was completely off; hence, whenever I wore them, they made me queasy. New place let me pick out frames for myself as well. I know Mt. Tam has reached out to ‘make this right’ for me, but I don’t think it’s possible at this point.

My wife had come here a while back and had a great experience, but she only needs mild reading glasses, so I was a little unsure with my almost legally blind myopic prescription and not being too happy with my last two pair at other places.
Well I was very pleasantly surprised that all of the staff were fun, professional, and laid back. It almost felt like a spa vibe.
I loved working with Tim, Drs. Frank and Wanon and had a great time with Craig, picking out my new frames.
My glasses aren’t in yet but these sample contacts are awesome!
So great to see again!

No wonder contacts had never worked for me before: Because I hadn’t been to see Dr. Frank! He is so awesome, words cannot even come close to describing. He is a modern doctor, hip, cool, friendly, upbeat. But what’s more, he takes the time with you to create just the perfect fitting. He brings you back as often as you need, until the experience is just right, and before prescribing your final pair of glasses/​contacts. His staff is awesome too– young, friendly, helpful, hip folks. Dr. Frank is one of these high-​energy, high-​functional, fun guys. He keeps late hours on Wednesdays, and works on some Saturdays. I just can’t say enough about him and his team. He’s changed my life and my vision forever!

I would assign zero stars if that were an option. I don’t get all the positive reviews. In my 40+ years of wearing glasses, my experience with this office was by far the worst I’ve ever had. I was prescribed office glasses which were not much different from my current prescription, had expensive progressive sunglasses in a crappy frame that needed replacing after only three months, and driving glasses that took four times to get it pretty ok. My lens scratched and I was essentially blamed although I never had that problem after only a few months. Dr. Frank kept forgetting that he had prescribed office glasses and didn’t hear (or maybe Craig didn’t hear) that I needed driving glasses not another pair of office glasses. Dr. Frank condescendingly had me look through a corrective lens (on three different occasions) for someone with extremely poor vision to demonstrate why my correction was so minor and difficult to get right. In fairness, they did keep redoing my glasses trying to get them right but replaced my sunglasses with the same crappy frame without asking me (as I would have selected a different, upgraded frame). The entire process of working with this office was painful, I have three expensive pairs of glasses, two of which are still not quite right, and I will need to live with them as I can’t afford to buy new glasses at this time — especially now that I am without vision insurance. Never going back!

Dr. Frank is knowledgeable, he uses start of the art technology and he objectively presents alternatives that allow a patient to make an informed choice. When I was reading reviews of optometrists I noted that another reviewer was pleased with Dr. Frank’s prescription of a monovision contact lenses. I have worn monovision lens for several years, however, I was beginning to think monovision was no longer the right solution for me. After a very thorough exam Dr. Frank designed new rigid gas permeable (RGP) monovison lenses. I am very pleased with results.
I am glad I found a new optometrist.

I’ve been a patient of Dr. Lassa Frank for more than 20 years. During that entire time, he and his staff have always proven to be extremely knowledgeable, helpful, friendly and professional. They have gone out of their way to be cost effective, too.
Over the years, I’ve overpaid a bill or two, which they have brought to my attention (as very few businesses do these days)! They have worked well with insurance and always handled any related issues.
I’ve now worn extended wear (e.g. 30 day) lenses, prescribed by Dr. Frank, for more than 10 years with consistently great results. The lenses are incredibly user-​friendly.
Over the years, I’ve had a couple of eye infections (from dust etc.), and Dr. Frank and his staff have always gone out of their way to help me resolve any such issues very promptly and successfully. At times, they have accommodated my sometimes hectic travel schedule and worked me in though their office calendar was full.
Their optometry clinic also has an excellent variety of glasses and staff who are very well trained in fitting, but not the least bit pushy.
In short, Mt. Tam Optometry is a great, well-​run business that has delivered consistently excellent services to me for a very long time!

Every single thing about this place is incredible! The staff are not only incredibly knowledgable but extremely friendly. By far, this was the best experience I have ever had with an optometrist.

Sometimes, you just need folks to care about the service they are providing you. You want it to matter, that you worked hard for the money you are spending. And you want to leave feeling they understand your needs. Indeed, I’m talking about vision care – not too sexy, but very important. I cannot say enough about Mt. Tam Vision Care and Dr. Frank’s hand picked staff!
From the back office where they use state of the art equipment to the front office where Craig artfully manages the selection of frames and provides you information so quickly: this is simply superb customer service. More than that, each step of the way you are guided through a process that is seamless and easy. Preventative eye care is so important at my age. I’m grateful for the information/​education!!!
Did I mention the Latte’s?
Amazing!
(Thank you ALL!!)

Awesome Doc and Staff!
I have made several attempts through the years to wear contact lenses. It wasn’t until Dr. Frank that I had success. He continued to work with me until we got it right. I highly recommend Dr. Frank and his staff… they’re great!

Wow! What a business practice this company has! Maximize revenue is blatantly part of everything they do starting with the optional $ 85 photos (digital) over and above my fully covered insurance exam that were taken without any mention until the bill came to $ 95 instead of the expected $ 10 co-​pay.
Then comes the other side of the business — frames/​lenses. They started with an over $ 800 quote for my first .75 prescription glasses to move up from my «cheaters». This was based on their average frame cost.
Oh, sale priced frames can’t be bought using your insurance because that is considered «double dipping» — huh? If you have insurance you must pay FULL price for on sale frames. What logic is that?
This place is nuts… all about the money. Focus or San Anselmo Optometry are much better options nearby.

I started wearing glasses when I was in the third grade, and I have worn contact lenses most of my life. About two years ago, I started using low powered reading glasses, which I did not need all the time — yet. Not happy about that, but who is? I am very near-​sighted, and things were getting a bit blurry, and I knew that increasing the power in my lenses to be able to see clearly, my reading glasses would become a necessity. Thanks to Dr Frank, I now have mono-​vision lenses — I think that’s what they are called — my left eye is corrected for distance and my right eye is corrected for reading. He told me that some people like it, others don’t, so let’s give it a try. It worked perfectly for me. Now I can see the smallest letters on the reading chart, and the smallest print on prescription bottles!
Ditto on previous comments on the rest of his staff. Very efficient and friendly. Next time, though, I am going to have to get a latte — too bad I didn’t see that review before I went.

I write Unilocal reviews only when I feel compelled to let others know about a business that is truly stellar. Mt Tam Vision Center is one of those rare places.
The office is clean and friendly, easy to find, with nice views outside and less of a «clinical» feeling which can be uncomfortable. The equipment and testing procedures, however, seem very high tech and leading edge.
Calls are returned promptly and you get text reminders of appointments, which is helpful. When you arrive, you are greeted by name when you walk in the door. The staff always asks about my husband when he’s not with me, who is another patient there. They are unfailingly friendly, efficient, and positive.
The technical assistants (don’t know what that is called) are also friendly and knowledgable. There are a lot of tests, but they make the process kind of fun. Last time, I had a test on a new kind of machine that takes the place of the dilation process which is uncomfortable and hinders your vision for several hours. This was great!
Dr. Frank is a caring, smart, extremely knowledgeable doctor without a big ego. He will work with you as a team and listens to you and your questions. He is patient. He also seems to stay current with new technologies in contacts, glasses, and procedures that can help you see better in general or help correct specific vision problems you have. At the same time, he’s sensitive to your budget and gives you the best result he can with what you can afford at that time.
From the front desk staff, to the technical staff, and Dr. Frank himself, my experience has unfailingly been one of top quality. I would highly recommend this office.

This is the best eye care center I’ve ever been with. From the front office help, all through the office to Dr. Lassa Frank and getting my glasses selected and fit, I felt like I was being compassionately cared for. Dr. Frank uses the latest technology and also recommends old-​fashioned remedies when they are indicated.
I recently got sand in my eye at the beach and was unable to flush it out myself. I was about 45 minutes from his office on a Saturday afternoon and he stayed late to wait for me to get the teeny spec out and help me care for it. His staff always knows us by name — and the office is dog-​friendly so we get to bring our pooches. Ozy, Anna, and Craig are professional and personable. The office is beautiful. The doctor is great. What more can anyone want.. .Going there makes me feel like I’ve been to my neighborhood eye doctor with a community feel. We obviously highly recommend Dr. Frank and Mt. Tam Vision.