Costco Optometry

5 star service!
I must have good karma today because my number was called after only waiting for 5 minutes! Nataliatalila helped me today and was really nice. (Thank God her name is on my receipt, otherwise I would butchered the spelling of her lovely name.) She explained to me to that they didn’t have the contacts I needed, but they could order them & after I pay they will arrive 3 – 5 business days later. In the meantime, I believe another staff, Carol advised her to give me samples to hold me over until my order arrives. Thank you Nataliatalila & Carol that was thoughtful & perfect since I’m going out of town for a few days.
Minus one star for lack of information!
Even though the staff are knowledgeable and helpful, it would be more efficient to have information/​process explained on a board to read, a flyer to take home to review or better yet everything explained on the Costco website!
Tips/​Info for contacts:
1.) No appointment needed
2.) Remember to get a number as soon as you get there
3.) Be sure to bring the correct prescription. Eye exams for glasses & contacts are different & so are the prescriptions. But if you bring the wrong one, you can call your optometrist to fax one over. If you don’t have an eye contact prescription & don’t have a optometrist, you can make an appointment with Dr. Woo who’s office is within the Costco Optometry. He is great!
4.) Acuvue Oasys Contacts can be purchase in packs of 12 or 24 & you receive a 10% Costco store credit with purchase. I bought one 12 pack for each eye, total of 2 packs for $ 135 and I received $ 13.50 in Costco store credit! Nice surprise!
5.) Prepaid pick up procedure
a.) via phone– call in order, but can only pay Amex
b.) via person– you can pay cash, Amex or debit
You’re welcome! :)

Disorganized, messy, dirty, boxes all over. Only half of the displays had anything in them. I understand that the Costco employees that work on the floor can wear more comfortable clothing, but the employees working in the optical department should be presenting themselves in a more professional manner. The Dr. was great, but everything else was a disaster including the doctors receptionist/​lady that is right outside his office. She was snippy and slow.

Wow. Just got off the phone after trying to understand if they take VSP insurance. That was so confusing. The woman, whom I couldn’t really understand, kept asking me if my VSP was in or out of network? Shouldn’t that be a function of the doctor not me?
She also told me if she figured out if costco took my VSP coverage that I’d have to cancel the appointment through VSP?
I kept telling her I wanted to understand what I would pay with VSP, but the way she expained it, that by her checking if I was covered via VSP at costco, I would automatically get an appointment, and if wanted to cancel the appointment, I would have to do it through VSP?
Well, after going in circles for 10 minutes. I just said goodbye.
That was soooo annoying.

Dr. Woo, the eye doctor in this Costco, is great. He’s super competent and efficient. However, the optical department just outside his office is the most poorly run department I’ve ever experienced in a Costco. I am a huge Costco fan and it pains me to write a negative review, but this department is grossly inefficient and incompetent. Two of the gals behind the counter hustle and are pleasant and helpful. They handle 5 customers in the time it takes the other two to get through one transaction. I really hope they do some reorganization here and make some much needed improvements.

Bought prescription sun glasses and reading glasses. Never could read with them, and ended up using my old glasses for another year. My husband bought prescription glasses and never made it home with them. He couldn’t read road signs any better than with his old glasses. He returned them the same day. 2 strike outs– we are going back to our former doctor, who was expensive, but at least, they worked.

Don’t bother.
I joined Costco just for their optical services. I did so after calling them and asking about pricing and other information.
When I went in for replacement lenses they refused to accept my glasses. I know that when frames get new lenses there is a risk to the frame, but they just refused… well not even just. The first person said maybe it would be ok and I was ready to pay for it all another person came up and said no, they wouldn’t take my frames. (They are metal frames, I wasn’t worried about them.) They said they only handle simple frames.
If you have simple frames, then yes, this place is hundreds of dollars less than any place else. I can’t talk to their quality. I was royally ticked off that they wasted my time. Unless you by frames there, I wouldn’t risk it.

I called Costco Optometry to book an eye appointment. I called at 10:20am because I thought the hold wouldn’t be bad as this is probably not busy time since people would be at work. I was put on hold for 16 minutes (which is ridiculous).
Then the lady picks up and I ask her if I can set an appointment. She says I have to call the doctor and if I would like his phone number. I said sure. She gave me a phone number and hung up literally the second after she said the last digit. Then I saw the number I had just written down… It was the same EXACT number as I had called her on. WTF.
For a $ 53 billion company, this is so unorganized.

Called to inquire about the availability of contact lens, and was told to ‘order it’ then the person hung up on me… I’ve been there two times and they didn’t seem so efficient, and the person next to me was told they are running out of the stock for her. Please, check the inventory more frequently.

You would think if you received goods or services from one Costco, namely the Optometry Dept, that the services would be honored and equal care and professional treatment would be displayed. NOT THE CASE.
Being in the medical profession myself it pains me to write this review but the code of medical ethics and just general common courtesy and professionalism was replaced by rudeness, arrogance, and a sense of entitlement.
Unfortunately my experience with Dr. Stephen A. Woo was clearly not stellar. I recently had my eyes examined at Costco and received a prescription for contacts. When I visited Costco, my eyes were very dry and uncomfortable. All I wanted was the doctor on duty, Woo, to do two things. 1). Give me a temporary pair of contacts to replace what I was wearing and/​or 2). To please allow me to purchase a box of the contacts I needed.
The answer I got was this in a rude, condescending and arrogant tone: «YOU GOT YOUR PRESCRIPTION FROM ANOTHER COSTCO, I HAVE NO TIME TO CALL OR GET THAT PRESCRIPTION FROM THE OTHER COSTCO, SO YOUR ONLY OPTION IS TO TRAVEL 30 PLUS MILES TO YOUR ORIGINAL COSTCO OPTOMETRIST.»
You would think the information would be linked or worst case scenario the receptionist there playing with her nails and hair could verify the patients id and call the other Costco to get the prescription.
I was truly taken aback at his lack of customer service, the arrogance and his «better than thou prideful attitude.» His service/​tone is not indicative of the medical profession and what we stand for. Dr. Woo has clearly lost HIS VISION for why he entered the medical field, which is to assist and to better the lives of his patients. Think he traded it in for the almighty dollar!
I would never go back to see Stephen A. Woo and would strongly recommend anyone to visit his practice.
Thank you

I was in and out in 20 minutes, with a cute pair of progressive glasses and an even cuter pair of progressive sunglasses! $ 380 for everything.
Costco has a better selection and better return policy than the boutique place I had used 2 years ago (and I don’t wear the glasses because they don’t fit). And at Costco, the glasses are all lined up on the wall, so you can try as many as you want.
Becca helped me select the frames and style that best suit my face and needs, and she was very personable, expert, and fun. Then she measured me, made some adjustments, and checked me out in a jiffy.
The glasses will be here in 10 days.

Once you can actually speak to someone, they are pretty great!
Had some issues with a pair of glasses, and they worked really hard to make it right!
Pleasantly, each and every time — It was 4X total before they were correct. But this was a manufacturing issue, not their fault.
Sadly, I have never waited less than 40 minutes for that privilege of speaking to one of the staff. The longest was 1.5 hrs to actually speak to someone.
And that was just to pick up a pre-​paid order.
They are helpful, pleasant, affordable.
But don’t think you are going to zip in and zip out!
Grab a number the MINUTE you arrive, and bring a snack, you will be there a while!

These people don’t have a clue what they are doing. I wanted lenses made for my existing frames (which were not purchased at Costco). They charged me an extra $ 18 fee to send my frames to their lab in San Diego.
A week later I get a voicemail telling me they can’t make the lenses for my frames because they are constructed of both plastic and metal. I was told to come pick up my frames and get a refund.
This is complete nonsense. These exact Shuron frames have been made in the US since 1948 and there is nothing unusual about them whatsoever. Ironically, Costco sells their own similarly constructed frame! I have had almost the exact same prescription lenses made for this exact frame at one of those Site For Sore Lenscrafters places.
I called up Costco Optical and they blamed their «new lab» and said they couldn’t do anything about it. So I said I was coming in to pick them up. they told me the frames were still at their lab in San Diego and wouldn’t be back for several days more. I asked them why they left a voicemail message telling me to pick up my frames if they were still in San Diego? All I got were robotic «I’m sorry sir, there’s nothing we can do» responses.
Bottom line:… it’s not worth whatever small amount of money you might save.
Bring your frames to one of the chain places… they know what they’re doing and don’t jerk you around.

For price and quality, Costco Optometry is TOPS. As I had lost my glasses on the first day of a long overseas trip, I contacted a friend in SF and she had replacement glasses made in Corte Madera, at a place where they can make lens in less than 2 hours. I was impressed by their speed. I then went to order two pair of eyeglasses, and they kept offering special additions, but kept putting me off when I asked about the price until they were finished with exam, etc — the lenses alone for one pair were five hundred dollars. As I needed the glasses, i paid almost $ 1,200 for the two pairs. Within two weeks, the «scratch resistant» lenses were scratched and when i went back, they wanted an additional $ 100 to fix. Costco is not like that — their lens I think are superior to any made at any of the large firms I’ve used before (and I use progressive lenses) — they are more scratch resistant and i have never had any problems with Costco lenses (though I have had problems with other optometrists, including a leading medical center in SF. And if there ever is any problem with Costco frames or lenses, they are quick to solve the problem. I’ve read other reviews here complaining about the waiting time — but let’s face it — this is Costco — not a boutique optometrist where you can pay $ 500 for frames alone — much less lenses. And waiting is something that is expected at Costco. But to repeat myself, my experience is that Costco lenses are superior to any made! And they resolve post-​pickup problems without any additional cost. And though there is a wait, every person who works there who has helped me has been extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Costco Optometry on 10^th Street is TOPS! Thanks

I called to get information. i was on hold forever, then they hung up on me. Understaffed, would you say?

Sloooow service, last time I was here they didn’t know how to get my coverage info from VSP, I had to go home and call VSP directly. Now I have the info but am going to have to bail after wasting my lunch break because theres only 1 person here on a friday. Maybe someday I’ll actually be able to review a product or something.

I called the costco glass shop trying to ask about getting lenses for existing frame. He answered me that they may not be able to make lenses for frames purchased from outside. When I asked about the price, he just put me on hold forever. Obviously, he does not know price or want to answer customer’s question.
If you already have a frame, do not waste your time here.

Terrible service. Expect to wait at least 30 minutes for any kind of service.
Their prices are low though.

Stacey helped me today with getting new lenses for frames I purchased from Optical Underground. Not only did she provide me excellent service, she answered my VSP benefit questions with a smile. She even called my doctor’s office to get a contact lens prescription faxed. My doctor’s office is closed today, but I appreciated the fact that Stacey did everything she could to provide me with fantastic customer service.

Great prices, not-​so-​great service. Horribly slow service on Saturdays and once the service reps call your number, you feel super rushed.
I’m only coming back because of the cheaper pricing on contact lenses.

In order to maintain my lifestyle-​above-​my-​means, I have to cut some corners. Seems to me the easiest place to do this is in the medical arena: I mean, we’re all going to die someday and I’d rather die in Prada than polyester.
The Costco optometry department is on board with me. Throw $ 40 or so at them and they will get you in and out in about 10 minutes with a prescription (for glasses– contacts exams are more…). Awesome. I have special contact needs that usually cost a fortune. Not at this chop shop! I got a year’s supply for around $ 100 and a pair of designer glasses (yes! they have designer for cheap) were around $ 60 total. Boy’s run-​of-​the-​mill prescription contacts run about $ 15 for a few months supply! Which is good, because he has a lot of things to buy for me.
The sales staff won’t treat you like you’re worth a damn, but with the money I save, I can head to Saks, where they’ll practically fall at my feet.