Metropolitan Optical

I am not happy with this eye doctor — and unfortunately that’s even an understatement. The prescription she gave me was completely off. I could see extremely sharply in one eye, and only blurrily in the other eye. It gave me headaches to wear the glasses. I went back to complain and she became all defensive, basically telling me that she had been correct but would «do me a favor» by adjusting the prescription. The staff in the optical store push very hard on their woefully overpriced frames and lenses. I got the same lenses for one quarter of the price at BJ’s. Then they tried to blame BJ’s for the prescription that wasn’t working. Seriously? Needless to say, I went to a different eye doctor, got a fitting prescription and now I can see very well.

I’ve recently started going here because they both take my insurance and are open outside of business hours. I’ve had a really positive experience — very nice and helpful staff, a decent selection of frames, and completely competent. I’d definitely recommend them.

This optical office is excellent. They are prompt for your appointment, and efficient in the use of your time. I recommend for people with a tight schedule and value professional and promptness,
Cheers, Nicole

Simply put, I have found in Dr. Ayalew someone whom I completely trust 100% with my eyes in both examination and prescription of corrective lenses.

If you have eyes, you need to go to Metropolitan Optical.
In most cases, a statement like this should be taken with a grain of salt. But if you’ll humor me, I promise to convince you that your search for eye care should indeed be over.
Two weeks ago, I lost a custom-​made hard contact that allowed me to see after a devastating childhood eye injury nearly blinded me. It was a Saturday morning, very few eye doctors were open, and I was feeling desperate. As fate would have it, I was able to get a last minute appointment with Dr. Ayalew, even though I was not sure she’d be able to help me due to the severity of my injury.
From the second Eunice answered my first desperate phone call, my experience at Metropolitan Optical was better than I could have hoped for. In fact, not only did they accommodate me on the same day I called, Eunice actually found a slot for me even earlier in the morning than she originally thought possible.
Once there, Eunice and Rodney went out of their way to work with me and talk through potential options, including some temporary frames until I could get a new contact. If you’re not sure what kind of frames will look good on you, talk to Rodney. Dude has style.
After a short wait, Dr. Ayalew was able to see me. She listened intently to my story and asked plenty of questions to ensure she knew exactly what she was dealing with. I’m sure cases like this don’t come across her desk often, but Dr. Ayalew was up for the challenge.
She came up with a creative temporary fix involving multiple soft contacts, promised me we’d get a new hard contact as soon as possible, and helped me understand exactly the process of getting back to 100%.
After my consultation, Julia patiently taught me how to put in and take out soft contacts — a totally different experience than with an RGP lens. Eunice and Rodney took down all my info, checked, double checked, and triple checked to make sure I had everything I needed before sending me on my way.
I’m happy to say that I now have a new contact and am seeing better than ever.
From start to finish, every single member of the Metropolitan Optical staff went above and beyond to be helpful and courteous, making this the best customer service experience I’ve ever had. I really can’t put into words how much it meant for their entire team to be there for me when I was in a tight spot and feeling a little hopeless.
I’ll say it again: if you have eyes, you need to go to Metropolitan Optical. Do you believe me now?

I have been going to Metropolitan Optical for over 20 years, It used to be very easy because I was near their office on a regular basis.
I like Metropolitan Optical so much that I go far out of my way to have my eyes examined and buy new glasses.
I would not go anywhere else
Everyone is great and there is no waiting. The entire staff is wonderful

I came here based upon the excellent Unilocal reviews & their participation with my vision insurer (VSP). I brought an eyeglass prescription from the wonderful opthalmologist I’ve seen for years — looking for a simple pair of progressive (no-​line) bifocal glasses. Their frame selection, though limited, was attractive, and I was happy with the ones I selected. Less happy when I learned the price. Though VSP provides the lenses to Metropolitan, they still charged nearly $ 1000 for the glasses (you read that right) — charging roughly $ 600 to the insurance company & $ 380 to me. Yikes!
For that price, I’d hoped for glasses through which I could actually see but, alas, that was not to be. I’ll spare you the tedious details — suffice it to say that I made multiple visits over the period of nearly a year — eating up my lunch hour each time — but they could not provide usable reading glasses. (Though my $ 15 Target OTC readers work just fine, thankyouverymuch.) Dr. Ayelew (who is lovely) performed another exam, slightly changing my prescription, and new lenses were ordered with the new presciption. Same result. Multiple lenses later, I still could not read with these glasses. Each time I got a patronizing explanation but no resolution.
In exasperation, I asked them to go back to the original lenses, which I could at least use for driving. When I went to pick them up an hour later, Rodney advised me that they «no longer had» my glasses. Absolutely no explanation for how they could have disappeared in the intervening hour. All he offered by way of apology was a refund of my co-​pay. (I wonder if they refunded my insurer the nearly $ 600 they paid Metropolitan?) OK, so I’m not out of pocket, but I’m still out of glasses — and my insurer only pays for new glasses every 2 years. So I’m out of luck for another year.

I saw Dr. Ayalew this week for my eye appt. This was my first time seeing an eye dr. in DC so I was a bit worried and relied on Unilocal reviews to pick my provider. The office is only 2 blocks from my office, and I was in and out in less than an hour, so it’s quite easy to use your lunch break. Dr. Ayalew was very friendly and easy to talk to, and was great at explaining my vision needs.
I haven’t had a chance to go back yet to look at new glasses, but they did give me my prescription without me even asking. It’s nice to have the option to look around if I wanted to. Even though eye drs. are required by law to give you a prescription afterwards, a lot of places will hold on to it in an effort to make you buy through them.
Choose Dr. Ayalew and Metropolitan optical!

I was in town for a conference where I was supposed to do a presentation before 2PM today. I asked if they’d be able to fit me in before then and they got me in at 1PM. I was in and out with a new pair of contacts and my updated prescription! Love the staff and Dr. Ayalew! They went above and beyond. So great. Wish they were located in my hometown of Seattle :(

The staff is friendly, but I get a sense that Dr. Ayalew tries to upsell things. She keeps pushing more expensive contacts, even though I’m happy with my current brand and have no vision problems with them. She also seemed a bit disappointed that my prescription (and therefore lenses) remained the same, meaning I didn’t have to pay for another fitting. Her words were «well, I guess that’s good for you.» Sorry I’m not giving you any more of my money!
Despite that, I do trust that I’m getting good vision care. Just make sure you are comfortable saying no to salespeople!

Must go. Forget My Eye Dr and any other place. Super friendly staff, super convenient office hours, great location (ridiculously close to Metro). Definitely blows any other place right out of the water. Did I mention MUST GO?

I will start out by admitting I am new to wearing glasses and they were my first. About 2 years ago I went in for an eye exam and had some money to spend. I wound up getting 2 pairs that cost around $ 1400. They were very nice in getting me started. Then a couple of months ago I went in to get another exam and a new prescription and had to sign a waiver to install the new lenses in the frame that I had purchased there so that if they broke the frame, they would not be responsible… Hmm, sounds ticky tacky but then on my 3^rd trip today to replace a lost pair, after selecting the new frame and paying for replacement frames and lenses, they did not check for VSP insurance. After I asked them if they did, they said no and had to void my sale and do it all over again this time saving another $ 100. I don’t have anything else to compare this to but I didn’t leave Metropolitan Optical with a warm and fuzzy.
To add to this, just received a call and they said they ordered the wrong lenses and would have to wait another day and that he could give me temporary lenses to which might create a prism affect and bother my eyes
Called the next day which is today and asked if they were ready, took my name and said and put me on hold for exactly 5.20 minutes when another person picks up and asks how may I help you. I gave my name again and they said, oh the correct lenses are here and they will be ready in an hour 30… We shall see
They werent ready when they said and had to make yet another trip. I am now pissed and he tried to do some additional extra selling at the end. A very crappy customer experience!
Most likely because of Unilocal
I am raising my experience because I received a nice call from Rodney who is the store manager and he was very polite and nice. He must have read my post and was very apologetic and I really liked his demeanor on the phone and I wish I had dealt with him all along…
Scratched my glasses on my headsets at work and needed my lense replaced. Went back to ask for some assistance. Rodney was very helpful as well as another tech and my new lenses were replaced in a day.

Phenomenal experience here! Came here for an eye exam and new glasses.
Dr. Ayalew is phenomenal. Super-​smart and thorough. She really cares about your visual health. She also spent quite a bit of time making sure she got my difficult prescription just right.
The optician picked out a great set of frames I would have never chosen for myself, but they look great on me and I LOVE them! My glasses are extremely well-​made, stylish, and were ready in a week.
Just incredible customer service from start to finish. The staff is incredibly friendly, thorough, and they know their stuff. I’m extremely pleased and will no longer go anywhere else!

Scheduled 3 appointments for a follow up contact exam and she was 45 minutes late for the 1^st, 30 minutes late for the 2^nd, and 30 minutes late for the 3^rd. Did not seem concerned or apologetic that she had clients waiting. Tried many times to give her the benefit of the doubt; but when she can’t even apologize or acknowledge the inconveniences she has caused, I refuse to come back.
On the other hand, the front desk staff are very helpful and considerate. They always were concerned and understanding, but at the end of the day there was not much they could do about her tardiness.
If you are going to come make sure you don’t have any pressing plans or appointments afterwards… You will have to cancel them or be late as I had to.

Went for my annual eye exam and contact fitting. Dr. Ayalew took the time to ask about my vision history and very carefully took me through my vision exam.
I received excellent service and a trial pair of contacts. Dr. Ayalew gave me several options and took my personal preferences and needs into account. FYI, there is a separate fee for a ‘contact lens fitting’ and the vision exam.

Since I work nearby, I actually only came here on a lunch break to see if they would be able to help me fix my Warby Parker glasses that had just arrived (yeah, I’m one of those hipsters…) Amazingly enough, the whole staff was kind enough to take a look at my glasses, answer my questions, and even spend time adjusting the stems and making sure they fit my head perfectly. And they did it for free! Big thank you to the staff — will definitely be coming back if I need anything in the future.

Dr Aylew and her staff are the best, im recommending them to all my family and friends.
Best optical Care

What a great optical office. Go for the exam but definitely stay for the glasses.
Dr, Ayalew is wonderful – she takes her time, explains everything clearly and gives you options for your care. Then definitely take a look at their glasses – they have the best selection of high end, cool, beautiful glass frames that I’ve ever seen. Plus the staff is really knowledgeable about the frames they have. Love, love, love this office!

boo. after raving about metropolitan optical and recommending them to my friends, i did have a sketchy occurrence:
i had gotten an eye exam in april and wanted to order contacts with the prescription on file. the receptionist tried to tack on a $ 90 «contact lens fitting» to my refill even though i have NEVER received a fitting/​tried on any contacts with dr. ayalew (i was refilling with an old brand i used to use and was familiar with). it took some arguing for them to finally take the $ 90 fitting fee off, but the experience left a bad taste in my mouth.

On this return visit, I found everything to be as spectacular as during my last visit. This time, however, I was unable to resist, and ended up choosing new frames.
I still carry around a photo of me in cool frames that I tried on during my appointment there a year ago.
Dr. Ayalew is an adept medical professional that instills trust and confidence beyond expectation. She is thorough and patient in her explanation of a course to take for best optical care.
All good!