Sterling Optical

Pick a different place to go. Trust me. Go to Vision Works right down the street. This place isn’t interested in customer service. They want you in and out and do it with a fake smile. Screwed up my lenses and told me they would be expedited. Yeah, right. Took 3 weeks. Forget them, I would never go back.

My experience at Sterling Optical didn’t go how I expected. Perhaps I am spoiled by the other eyeglass stores I’ve entered throughout my life, but something about the customer service tells me I’m not and that this place would benefit if they took the helping approach. In the market for new eyeglasses, I contacted my insurance company who proceeded to send me a list of stores in my area that accepted my insurance. Sterling Optical was one listed so I headed there around 5:30 on a Tuesday night. Upon entering a woman behind the counter asked me what she could do for me and I told her I was looking for a new pair of eyeglasses to which she immediately asked me if I had insurance and asked to see my card. After I told her that this place was covered by my insurance she said she’ll have to do some research on her own to make sure it was valid. I immediately got the sense that I wasn’t welcome in this store. Her tone was condescending and when she asked me if I had ever been to a Sterling Optical before I told her yes but not this particular location. She stared to ramble off other locations in the vicinity and I told her that I had been to one on Long Island. «Long Island???» She said. Then uttered, «Well we aren’t affiliated with Long Island.» Rude. There are numerous Sterling Opticals on Long Island, they aren’t only in Western, New York and she made me feel stupid. Now, in my past, each and every time I am looking for eyeglasses, I am assisted by someone who works in the store who looks at my face shape, asks me what style I like and then gathers up 15 – 20 pairs throughout the store to have me try on. This was not the case here. I was completely on my own and nobody wasn’t giving me any feedback or recommendations at all. This was horrible customer service. There were hundreds and hundreds of glasses. Once the woman came back and confirmed what I had already known, that my insurance was accepted here, I handed her my current glasses to show her what I liked and still she stood there like a statue not willing to assist me in finding a pair I might like. This was incredibly frustrating. Needless to say, I didn’t find a pair I liked, however I am sure there were countless suitable pairs. I am not a glasses expert, I am usually handed a pair recommended by someone who works at the store and I always end up loving them. The eyewear here is EXPENSIVE. They have designer frames that you find everywhere but the price seemed 25−50% inflated based on other designer pairs I’ve found at other stores. With a little bit of decent customer service, however, they would have sold me a pair as I am in pretty desperate need. Looks like my business will go elsewhere and they didn’t seem to be phased when I walked out the door.

The appointment took over two hours to complete. Would have been nice if they called to say they were backed up and offered to switch our appointment time or suggest we come in later. Had to rearrange the entire evening for an appointment that should have taken well less than an hour from start to finish. Service was friendly and apologized for the wait, no issues with service but felt it could have been a much more efficiently planned experience.