Optical Express

Everything was perfectly cleared to me on the consultation day and everything went perfect. Just cant thank anymore to Optical Express. Very knowledgable staff and professional team.

This summer I had LASIK surgery at the Optical Express on Renfield Street, Glasgow. From the initial consultation through to the surgery itself I found all the staff to be very helpful. The surgeon, Dr Mantry, explained the procedure in great detail and totally put me at ease. The procedure was completely painless and I was out of the store in under an hour. I can now see perfectly without my glasses and wouldn't hesitate to recommend the procedure to anyone.

The results of my surgery have been incredible! On the day of the surgery I was initially a little nervous but as soon as I met with my surgeon, he and the nurses put me totally at ease. The procedure itself was not at all painful and it was over so quickly, I could see straight away - it was amazing! My first post op appointment the following day confirmed I already had better than 20/20 vision and I've not experienced any pain or discomfort. Everything looks so much brighter and clearer - I've not stopped smiling! This is the best thing I have ever done and I've not stopped talking about it! A huge thank you to all the staff at Optical Express for my new eyes!

This is a long winded account of my experience but if you are considering having treatment I think you need all the info you can get before you even start considering going for treatment. Having been thinking of surgery for years I have recently been to a number of consultations, the first and worst was at Optical Express in Birmingham. Upon arrival I was greeted by the manager who told me he would be seeing me later once I had booked in. I got to reception, where the receptionists friend was seated in the clients chair chatting to her;they continued until completing their conversation (not exactIy giving the right first impression) and I was then asked for my health form & 'told' rather than asked to take a seat & wait. 10 minutes after my appointment time no one came and explained what the hold up was but there was alot of prancing around done by staff having personal conversations and not really doing anything constructive. I was then told the manager was in a meeting and I would be seen by someone else first & then the manager, again unprofessional I thought as I had had the appointment booked for 3 weeks & I had just seen him. The girl I saw was pleasant enough, but I felt quoting from a script, especially the bit when she said 'no-one esle can match their treatments no matter what I am told at other clinics', I have to say I found this a little condescending as I have done enough investigating of my own to discover what treatments were unqiue. I was then returned to reception, where I was again expecting to see the manger; no, this time it was the optomatrist, who again was very pleasant and could answer most of my questions satisfactorily. She quoted me a price of £1495 per eye(for their best treatment) She then told me I would having one more test done and to wait in reception. The manager finally appeared, who then proceeded to tell me he would not shake my hand as he had been clearing out cupboards all afternoon!! - I was appalled at his sheer lack of professionalism telling me this and the fact that clearing out cupboards was important than seeing potential clients.( I never did have any other tests) At this point I just lost interest and half listened to his sales patter. I then said that I was interested in what finance deal they could do for me & could they match one of their competitors with their finance deal. I was told that they only did 10 months credit at some ludicrous rate. When I told him that the competitor did a year of not paying he then told me their interest rates would be higher, I hardly think 0% for 2 years is more expensive than their 10 month rate at some 14%+!!! Once again a clear lack of professionilism no knowing what his competitors were offering. I left the clinic pretty quickly after that vowing never to return. I would also like to add that following my consultation and having the drops that dilate your puplis put in my eyes I had a severe headache for the whole evening after the appointment; my vision was imparied for at least 20 hours, and I felt unwell most of the following day. I have had 2 other consultations at other clinics since this one and have had no problems having the drops, and my sight was back to normal within 2-3 hours. The only difference with all 3 consultations was that at Optical Express I was asked to keep staring into a light while the drops took affect, which I feel may have made the experience a lot more unpleasant than it needed to be. The one positive about going to the Birmingham branch of Optical Express was that they gave me a card directing to this web site, where I have found Accuvision, who I have my treatment booked with in a week - what a world of difference with them; not only in terms of the way they treat potiential clients but also their charges, which were less that £2000 for the same sort of treatment!! (the feedback on this site for the clinic is all excellent with most rated at 5) Following my experience at Optical Express I emailed their Customer Services with the details of my experience. I have had an excellent response to the feedback from the Regional Director of the Birmingham store who was appalled at the level of service I recieved there. She went to great lengths to explain the experience I should have had and has assured me that as a result of my feedback there will be a follow up with the staff at the branch, who had not used the correct procedure for my consultation. I have to say that my impression of this member of Optical Express staff was tthat she was extremely professional, very customer focused and she has assured me that no other potential client will have an experience like mine. I just hope that this is the case and that the staff are closely monitored. I feel sure having spoken to her that the Birmingham Branch are not a typical example of the company when it comes to levels of customer service, as the company actually pride themselves on this, but I do think that following the feedback I gave things will be changing at that branch in the very near future. Please go to Optical Express in Birmingham to see if their service levels have improved,I will be re-visiting this site to look for some positive feedback about them, and would be interested to see if my feedback has been taken on board, and after all its only an hour of your time for the consultation. Please note that the reason the customer service rating is at 4 is mainly due to the excellent way in which my feedback was handled by the Regional Manager. If all the staff at the Birmingham branch were only half as good as she was it would have been an easy 5/5!!

After thinking about this for a year I cannot believe how easy it was when I eventually went into Opticall Express in East Kilbride who arranged treatment at Renfield Street in Glasgow. The staff were all helpful and friendly and put you at your ease at all times. Am really enjoying being able to see normally again and after one month have better than 20/20 vision. Would recommend this to all.

3 months on and all is still brilliant! I had my left eye done in Milton Keynes (Rodney Blumenfeld) on 6 June 08. My right eye was done on 25th July 08 in Newbridge, Ireland (Nafa Bader). Rodney would not risk doing both eyes at the same time, and he was right due to my massive prescription: Left eye was +4.2, -4.5 astigmatism, lazy eye and a squint! Right eye was -2.0, -0.8 astigmatism Basically one very far sighted, one short sighted! The difference was absolutely amazing, I could see distance without glasses for the first time in my life >40 years!! Now both have been done for 3 months. I still can't believe it. My eyesight is actually better than before the op. If they can sort me out, they can sort ANYONE!

I had my treatment carried out by Lorrimer Esselaar at Optical Express in Newcastle on 4th October 2008. My prescription was (R) -1.75 with an astigmatism of -0.75 and (L) -2.25. The procedure was very quick and pain free. I was told I may have grittiness after the anaesthetic wore off but all I suffered was a sensation similar to peeling very strong onions for about an hour. Next morning I could see as clear as anything and haven't suffered from any pain or irritation at all. When I went for my check up the following day I was told I had better than 20/20 vision. I highly recommend Optical Express. I went to Optimax first but didn't care for their customer service. They didn't explain things and the surgeon I saw was rather off-hand. Everyone at OE was friendly and couldn't do enough for you. I paid less than half what I had been quoted at Optimax. OE did not pressurise you and they said I only needed basic lasik at a cost of £395/eye but I decided to have intralase aswell. Optimax quoted me £695/eye for basik lasik and an extra £800/eye for intralase. I treat myself for my 50th birthday and all I can say is it is the best birthday present I have ever had!

Surgeon rushed through every aspect of pre-surgery consultation and left me a nervous wreck. The customer service was laughable and they more or less bullied me into leaving a deposit – I wish I had never gone through with the surgery my vision has improved a few lines on the chart but I still require distance glasses. All in all I wish I had paid heed to the majority of reviews on the internet which tend to be negative – thought I was getting a bargain but it’s NOT worth the risk.

One month on and Amazing! I am noticing so much around me, not just for a few feet, I can see for miles! I am still glad that I have had them done. I just want to believe that it will last for years. My normal optician (who did not recommend me having it done) has said that the surgeon - Tom Materman, has done an excellent job and he was glad that I didn't go for the cheap option.

I had a standard LASIK done two days ago. The results are unbelievable. My vision is better than 20/20 in both eyes. The first hour after the surgery was a bit painful but after a 3 hour nap I could see perfectly fine and the pain was gone. The next day I felt completely normal and I'm back at work today in front of a computer. No problems. I would recommend it to anyone, worth every penny. And you don't have to go for the most expensive option to get excellent results.