Garvey Optometry

Dr. Lam is the best!!! I’ve been with her for over 10 years & I wouldn’t go to anyone or anywhere else. She’s very friendly and knowledgeable in her field and extends her knowledge to her patients by explaining whats actually going on with their eyes and how to keep them healthy. I always feel comfortable during my examinations– so comfortable that I never hesitate to tell her that I wear my contact lenses for 12+ hours even when she advises me year after year to wear them for 8.
The wait is usually not too bad, and I never feel rushed during my visits with Dr. Lam. Plus, her and her staff are multi-​lingual.

I love this place! Been here for over 7 years. Never will i go anywhere else. I LOVE Dr. Taylor Lam. Shes amazing. Shes soo funny and super friendly. She also takes her time and explains what going on with your eye and what you should do. She tried her best to help you in anyway that she can and i absolutely love her

I don’t normally hand out 1 stars, but this is just outrageous.
This optometrist and her conniving staff repeatedly tried to swindle me. My wait time was ridiculous and then my eye exam did nothing but to scare me. She basically gave me a rundown of everything bad that can happen to my eye and how she conveniently has an overpriced product JUST for each one. She said that I have premature sun damage, signs of glaucoma development, corneal erosion and everything else in her medical vocabulary.
Of course, I got myself TWO second opinions who scoffed at the notion of such advanced disease with absolutely no evidence of disease.
In any case, I still was curious as to how much money I would save by going here for my frames. Answer is NOTHING. I wasted time and money only to find out that her generic-​branded plastic frames cost $ 20 short of a quality Lacoste pair at a legitimate optometry just two miles up the road.
Abridged Review: Save yourself the time, money and spare yourself the hypochondria by going elsewhere. You’re in the SGV, you’ll find plenty of better places.

My husband and I decided to trust his eyes to this place because of the glowing reviews it had. Everything was fine until she kept trying to sell us some retina photographs. Then she proceeded to tell my poor hubby that he «looks like he has glaucoma», but it would take a series of tests (expensive ones mind you) to make sure”. Dr. Lam is con-​artist!
We rushed outta there fast, and got his eyes checked by 2 other doctors, that confirmed there’s no signs of glaucoma in my hubby’s eyes — we were paranoid after what this crazy lady said.
1 extra star for the exam being dirt cheap (included a dilation.) But that’s it, no more.

This is the last time I spend one and a half hours waiting in their lobby with an appointment set.
There is absolutely no reason to even bother making appointments here since you’ll be waiting behind a family of seven followed by three other problem customers.
Dr. lam is nice and all but they have that one lady who just hassles you if you ask for anything other than to pay.
The service is fine, albeit lengthy and slow-​paced as hell (as if I’m supposed to mistake slow-​pacing with quality), but I can’t stand that they try to stuff their pockets so much that we end up on the short end of the stick.

After 3 months, 6 pair of contact lenses improperly fitted, and $ 454, I walked out of Dr. Lam’s office without any contact lenses and a «sorry it did not work out.» Dr. Lam pushed me to get hard lenses and told me that she would credit me toward soft lenses if the hard lenses did not work out.
After months of enduring redness, irritation, blurred vision, and one pair that suffocated and prevented oxygen inflow to my eyes, Dr. Lam concluded that I was incompatible, and said she could not credit me for soft lenses due to the many adjustments– adjustments that she made because she couldn’t get it right the first few times, and it took her that long to realize that my eyes were too sensitive to the material!
I felt extremely disappointed and taken advantage of. The verbal agreement was not honored nor did I receive any product in the end. I just had to buy soft lenses elsewhere for another $ 160.
Please BEWARE– this woman is very manipulative in making you believe in her intentions and recommendations. She only recommends expensive options so she can make more money off of you.
She asked her assistant to call me and ask that I not write a negative Unilocal review.

My girlfriend recommended this place years ago. And since then my whole entire family has gone. She is great to say the least. She is friendly, funny, and extremely knowledgeable. The office is nice and clean and the staff is extremely friendly.
Customer Service
Dr; Lam is…
GREAT AT EXPLAINING what going on with your eyes as well as the exams. She made me feel comfortable and didn’t use technical terms to further confuse me. She’s like that cool teacher that made things interesting to listen to. SHE EVEN REMEMBERS random facts about me as well as random conversations we had a year ago. I was so surprised that she actually remembered our talks. Not to sound cliché, but it seems like she really cares about her customers. She even remembers my family by name and all!
The staff is…
BILINGUAL in both Spanish and Chinese, so its great for the demographic of this area (which is great because my parents only speak Spanish and they were made to feel at home). They are also extremely friendly!
PS. Dr Lam volunteers as an instructor and mentor to students studying optometry at a college. (volunteer! meaning free of charge because she loves what she does). Once you go, you’ll understand why all us Unilocaler’s like her so much!

I love Dr. Lam! I’ve gone to her for about 6 or so years and she’s absolutely amazing. She inspired me to pursue a career as an optometrist. Words cannot describe how grateful I am to her. You’ll just have to go and see for yourself.

Dr. Lam is a very thorough optometrist who makes sure you are satisfied with what you need. She does not rush any patients even when there are people waiting in the store. Also her staff is great, they make sure you are taken care of and very tentative. And prices are very reasonable for frames and contacts. I recommend this optometry place to everyone who needs a good eye doctor.

I have never been so grateful for Unilocal – I found Garvey Optometry and Dr. Taylor Lam! I was surprised to find out that Dr. Lam takes on 2^nd-​year and up optometry students under her wing (for free) and gives them the opportunity to apply their book knowledge on actual patients. Don’t let this scare you off! Her two students when I went in for my appointment, Faydim and Laila, did the preliminary tests, wrote down what they did on their own notepads, and Dr. Lam verified the results to include in my actual file. She also had the students explain things to me to give them practice in speaking «patient-​ese.» If the explanations weren’t very clear, she gave them (and me) a better explanation.
Due to the learning environment of my exam, I learned the most about my vision and general eye health from this one visit than I have from the other 20 years of vision exams. I had my eyelids flipped inside out for the first time in at least five years. Dr. Lam was surprised when she heard that it’s been that long, since she does it for every yearly exam to check on the health of the eye. She was also shocked to hear that the last time I had my pupils dilated was four years ago. As a near-​sighted person (or myope), I am more at risk for problems developing in my eye than a person with normal or far-​sighted vision. Dilation allows doctors to see more of what’s in my eye. (See how I’m just throwing out all this vision jargon like I know what I’m talking about? I got this from my appointment!)
I’m really grateful that Dr. Lam so thoroughly checked my vision and even identified why my eyes feel constantly irritated (dry eye, superficial punctate keratitis or SPK – partially due to eyelashes that I had that were growing/​curling inward that would scratch against my cornea whenever I blinked – she plucked those out). I will add that one of Dr. Lam’s previous students (from years ago) personally drove over from his own optometry practice in Pico Rivera to give her something and stayed to talk to Faydim and Laila about how much they can learn from Dr. Lam. That’s really reassuring.
AND, major kudos to Sue for being so patient with me as I looked for glasses and for breaking down the costs for me for contacts and glasses depending on which I chose to get insurance coverage for. She was super helpful and so, so sweet as I was confused by one of the special treatments for my glasses lens.
EDITED A WEEK LATER TO ADD: Went in for my contact lens fitting follow-​up. Dr. Lam, Faydim, and Laila were extremely thorough with my fitting – I tried on four different pairs of contact lenses before they agreed on a brand that would meet my needs and fit/​move in my eyes correctly.
Thanks, Dr. Lam and team!

i have been taking my children and I to Dr Taylor for about 7 – 8 yrs now. She is a phenomenal optometrist. I have recommended friends and family to her and they have all been satisfied. Both my children have been going to her since they were toddlers and she has great patience and is super friendly. I recommend her to everyone! Best of all Walk-​ins are always welcomed!

Ever since I was 12, I’ve always gone to see another optometrist. Unfortunately, it was very hard to pick new pairs of glasses because none of them were my style. Each year I would find a pair of glasses that I would be half-​satisfied with on the spot. Though 2 weeks after my glasses were ready to be picked up, the glasses that I had picked seem to be the worst decision I have ever made.
Finally, after 6 whole years of loyalty to this optometrist, my mom finally decided to switch to a new optometrist. Sitting in front of me was a woman who is young, beautiful, and has a very professional radio voice. With that being said, she updates herself by going to seminars to find the latest technology that she could carry. From things like machinery, to things like new contact lenses, and a variety of much more. She allowed me to feel comfortable sitting in the intimidating chair because of her knowledge. Unlike many other health professionals, Dr. Taylor Lam actually walked me through what she was doing, why she was doing it, and how it would help me. I asked her an array of questions and yet her patience was always there. I remember being surprised by some of the steps of my eye check up in Garvey Optometry. I don’t remember my old optometry’s eye check up being as detailed. Many optometry offices don’t do extensive check ups like hers. They skip some of the vital steps of the check up process. From the point on, I knew I was put into good hands. The patience, the care, and the advanced technology that Dr. Lam gives is unbeatable. The staff members are extremely nice and easy to talk to as well.
Oh, and following up on the old story, I finally found a pair of glasses at Dr. Lam’s office that I absolutely LOVE. I don’t mind wearing glasses instead of contacts. In fact, I actually prefer it! Her youth and modern style allows her office to carry some of the most fashionable and affordable frames.
I highly recommend going to Garvey Optometry.

Dr. Lam is not only friendly and funny, she is very thorough and professional. In addition, her team is very helpful, not only giving you advice on frames, but also getting the best deal for you! My brother and sister are also her clients!

Dr. Taylor Lam is hands-​down the best optometrist I have ever worked with. She is very caring and takes time with her patients, unlike other doctors who only want money and rush the patients. I highly recommend Dr. Lam – She is very professional and you will be very satisfied.