Blink Optical

My boyfriend recently visited Blink since it is conveniently located in the same building as my primary care doctor (Polyclinic at 7^th and Madison). The service was excellent and the exam a piece of cake. It was super easy to book and appointment and I was really impressed with their selection of frames. They even offered to order some frames for me to just try on without having to buy them or anything which was really cool. I’ve been to a lot of places where you feel pressured to purchase frames and I have walked out with some crappy glasses that cost an arm and a leg because of high pressure sales tactics but not here. Staff was helpful but not overbearing. I will be using them from now on and highly recommend. Check them out.

Worse service ever. They messed my order for contact lenses once and didn’t even said sorry. Later I tried to call to schedule an urgent appointment and they said that the soonest they can see me is in 2 weeks ??? Seriously, i’m glad they are not physicians.

I had a great experience with Blink Optical. Dr. Lebar was thorough and fitted me with a really great pair of contacts. This was a welcomed surprise after having several poor prescriptions (I now realize) over the last 4 years. I had been told by my previous 2 optometrists at a large vision clinic in West Seattle that my non-​optimal vision was just due to aging (40s) eyes. Not so, as Dr. Lebar has shown me!
Picking out glasses with Megan was also a pleasure. She steered me in the right direction with frame styles and I’m very please with the end result.

I ran out of contacts months ago and halloween was approaching so i got an appointment during my lunch for an exam and contact fitting. The manager Cindy was extremely helpful and knowledgeable in utilizing my medical insurance and vision insurance to it’s fullest potential. the receptionist who did my initial eye screening was very friendly and thorough, as was the clinician who ran my vision test. They had my prescription in stock and hooked me up with a pair i walked out wearing. The atmosphere is neat too, with all the natural light from the GIGANTIC window/​walls of the Polyclinic

I went to Blink to get an exam and new glasses last month. Despite what some of the reviews say, I was greeted right when I walked in, and the staff was very friendly and helpful.
I’ve been to many different places for my exams, glasses and contacts, and I always felt like just another customer. This place was different.
Dr. Lebar was great, she was very nice and helped a lot when I had a few questions during my exam.
The rest of the staff was very helpful with me in picking out the right pair of glasses and getting them adjusted to fit me correctly.
I left very happy and satisfied.
I recommend Blink to anyone who needs eye care or is looking for contacts or glasses.
Thank you so much!

I have nothing negative to say about my eye exam or the doctor that saw me. My terrible experience relates to their administrative staff — which appears to be the overwhelming theme among Unilocal reviewers.
After my eye exam, I went up to the counter to pay. No one had told me that I needed to bring my HSA card, so I did not think it would be huge deal to pay later. (As that is common everywhere else.) When I informed them that I did not have my HSA card but could pay the following day, they told me that was not acceptable and that I would have to take out the contacts the doctor had just fitted me with.
Seriously.
Cindy at Blink Optical asked me to take out my contacts and walk back to work blind.
Cindy’s coercion tactics failed. I told her that I would not take out my contacts and that I would be paying the following day. Cindy finally «relented» and said she could make an exception for me. (Lucky me.)
My experience since that point has not improved. I have primary and secondary health insurance. My secondary insurance requires that it see proof of payment from my primary before it reimburses the medical provider. Since April, my secondary insurance has been sending letters to Blink (cc’ing me) asking Blink to provide it with this information. Blink has failed to respond to any of these multiple requests.
Just yesterday I received a letter from my secondary insurance informing me that they were denying my claim with Blink because Blink failed to respond.
Cindy, this administrative neglect is unprofessional. If you want to get paid, do your job. Don’t come looking at me because my secondary insurance gave you plenty of options to get paid and you neglected your responsibilities.

Dr. Lebar is fine, but I wish I had read and paid attention to the other reviews here about the staff before I went in. First of all, when I arrived, the manager was sitting on her desk starting at her cell phone and said nothing to me until I said «hello?» After the exam, they billed me for a charge saying «my insurance doesn’t cover it» and were not at all understanding and refused to let me pay later or make any accommodation whatsoever. This wouldn’t have been a problem if I hadn’t specifically asked about it on the phone before I booked the appointment. I’d try someplace else.

I went to Blink because I had just had cataract surgery with a specialist at Polyclinic and Blink has the lobby optometry clinic. I ordered my glasses there and when I came in to see if they had arrived the woman there said she was «at lunch» and «couldn’t» check.
The service is wretched, in fact nearly non-​existent. No one ever acknowledges your presence. They just merrily go about whatever they were doing when you walked in — talking on the phone, talking to each other, checking out a previous customer. Today there were three women there and one customer was writing a check. I stood around for a while hoping for help — just wanted the cheap frames tightened up again, a 5 second task, but they didn’t know that because as far as they were concerned I didn’t even exist. I eventually left without talking to anyone. I won’t be back.

Terrible customer service. A year ago I went to have an exam and order new glasses. I also wanted new contacts. After my exam I ordered glasses but I had to come back in order to get contacts as the doctor wanted to see me again. After my glasses came in I had to go have a third time to see the doctor. It turned out they incorrectly ordered my glasses with «upgraded» lenses. When I told them that wasn’t what I ordered, they kindly decided they «wouldn’t charge me». This week I attempted to order new contacts but couldn’t find my prescription so I emailed Blink (the supervisor, Cindy) asking for a copy. After 5 days of no response I called only to find out that I either can have the prescription mailed or I can pick it up (or they can fax it to me and who in this day and age has a fax) but won’t email it. Their excuse for not replying any sooner was that they didn’t have access to the email box of the supervisor who I emailed and they didn’t know why I hadn’t called sooner. Terrible place and rude staff.

This place has the best customer service! Super friendly and knowledgeable staff who are eager to help make the best selection. Parking is easy and affordable. Lots of styles and colors to choose from, and super quick turn around time. I highly recommend Blink Optical!

After ordering contacts here and told it would be one week, I called 3 weeks later to ask where my contacts were. They told me that I had a prescription that took longer than normal. Surprise that exactly one week later (a month total) they arrived.
Obviously they forgot to order my contact lenses. Additionally, I’ve been in there 3 times for various reasons and no one is ever at the front desk. This place is a joke and they only survive as they are part of the Polyclinic and they get walk in business. Many other reputable, professional places around.

I stopped by the front desk to obtain new patient forms and to request the administrative staff to review my eye insurance prior to my appointment so that I would be informed of my costs. I completed paperwork in advance and admin. staff researched my eye insurance. I received a telephone call informing me that they could not find eye insurance but that my health insurance covered an eye exam with no co-​pay (confirmation of the same via voice mail was left regarding no co-​pay and no eye insurance found). I knew that I had eye insurance and asked staff to search again. After 3 failed attempts the staff were unable to find eye insurance. I then pulled my own eye insurance coverage and benefits and faxed it to them. Optometrist was friendly, but she did not listen to my and her own request. The Optometrist asked if I was driving back to work and I stated yes, so she told me that she would not have my eyes dilated. The Optometrist dilated my eyes and I obviously had a difficult time driving back to work after the appointment; not to mention dangerous. Very disappointed in my visit.

My experience at Blink optical was wonderful at first. I wouldn’t hesitate to give 5 stars to Dr Lebar, she was friendly, thorough and helpful during the eye exam. She even turned what should have been a terrifying experience for my 5 year old into a day at the funhouse. He was particularly excited about having his pupils dilated. When I opted for glasses, the ophthalmologist was very competent and even offered suggestions about which types of glasses would fit my facial structure.
(Edited) After I left, I never heard from them again, until I called a month later only to be told that the frames were «broken» and had to be redone. I was told to come pick them up 3 days later, and to make up for the long wait they would throw in a gift card. Again there was no follow up call 3 days later to let me know that my glasses were ready.
Well at least they had good customer service, I figured… a gift card or credit towards the next eye exam would ensure they don’t lose another customer.
Finally, two months after the eye exam my wife swung by to pick them up. There were no gift cards.
Edit: I received a mail from Cindy who explained the wait was due to strict QA. Revising to 4 stars due to the excellent eye exam and friendliness of staff.

I have found a new home for my eyes. Dr. Lebar is very compassionate, Knowledgeable, and NICE! She took her time to answer my questions and concerns. I am really pleased that I took a shot on this practice. Most of all, for the complete comfortable experience.
Thanks

I took my eyeglass prescription to Cindy at Blink because I suspected that my previous optician (phonetic i balls) had botched the job. My eyeglasses should have been fine for both long distance and close up reading but they were not, and I was getting tired of switching glasses. I took the same prescription from the same ophthalmologist to Cindy and the glasses Blink made work beautifully for both distance and reading. Cindy was a pleasure to work with; she is very knowledgeable about eyeglass; and appears to have good contact with the ophthalmologist’s offices if needed. Unless you are 100% satisfied with your current optician, it would be worthwhile to check at Blink the next time you need glasses