Empire Visionworks

While this location had been decent in the past, my 2016 visit was disappointing. I was left with the feeling of an underhanded used car salesman. Instead of a straight forward process to get a pair of glasses, the experience now mostly consists of up selling useless add-​ons not covered by insurance (3D retina picture, expensive lens coatings, etc.)

I went here several times, and everyone I interacted with was friendly and polite. The customer service was good and I’m happy with my experience.

Lack of customer service, and the way the older staff treat you like your beneath them!

I have fond memories of this place. I got my first pair of glasses here. My younger sister got hers here, and so did my brother. I used to come here every year when I lived in Corning 6 years ago.. . but MAN, how things have gone downhill since then!
Maybe it’s because I work with clients and customers on a daily basis that I’m so amazed when I receive poor customer service. Experiences like these remind me that people who work in customer service don’t necessarily share my desire to help the customer and to make a good impression for the company I represent.
I paid them a visit on a weekday, mid-​afternoon. «Oh great, there she comes,» said the look on the receptionist’s face. But when I said hi to her with a smile, she did greet me back and showed me a form to fill out. I filled it out and waited to be called in for the eye exam. So far, so good.
Now, I had asked for new prescriptions for frames and contact lenses. I had made that clear to the eye doctor. Although the eye doctor was a bit sloppy with the air-​puff tonometer test (if my eyes could scream in pain, that’s what they would have been doing), he was very friendly and professional when he acknowledged that I needed frames AND contacts.
We proceeded with the eye exams. Same steps as usual, plus a few for the contacts (or so I thought). Since I had to leave Corning the next day, arrangements were made for my parents to pick up my frames. Because I would be out of town and would not be able to try on the contacts, the doctor wrote me a prescription and told me to show it to my local vision center to get contacts.
Turns out it was just a regular prescription. What was the point of visiting my favorite childhood vision center when I would have to go through the entire process again back in the city? The doctor knew it was my first time getting contacts. NOW I know what a contact prescription looks like, but why did the doctor tell me then that the regular prescription was a contact lens prescription?
The frames I got were fine. After all that hassle, the prescription still isn’t strong enough. The selection of frames was all right. The man behind the register rang me out wrong, so we had to redo the transaction. Since I paid with credit card, I had to wait for the manager to come in the following day to get my balance adjusted. No apologies for the inconvenience. They don’t really seem to care anymore.