Alvernon Optical, Inc.

Great service. Friendly and competent doctor.

I have been a happy patient of Dr. Tetrault since I was a kid — he is probably one of the nicest and most professional doctors I’ve ever been treated by! He’s patient, unassuming, polite, and obviously genuinely cares about the service his patients receive. One interesting thing about him is that he actually used to be an intensive care nurse — so he comes from a very specialized medical background, and he noticeably internalizes any potential eye-​related medical concerns his patients may have. I greatly appreciate the wonderful care I’ve received from him over the years, and will continue to be Dr. Tetrault’s patient for many years to come!
In addition to the great care from Dr. Tetrault, the office staff at the particular location are wonderful. I’ve read some of the negative reviews, and am frankly quite shocked — I don’t think those people picked the correct location or something! The staff are always very helpful and patient. This is by far the best location within Alvernon Optical.

I haven’t lived in Tucson for well over 12 years (live in NYC) however, I come down quite frequently to visit with family. Despite not living here, I still come here for my eye exams! They have my records from when I was in the 7^th grade!
I come because it’s easy, it’s quick, and I like the doctor.

While I can’t speak for the locations at Alvernon/​5^th, Sunrise/​Swan, and Tanque Verde/​Sabino Canyon, the Alvernon Optical on Glenn/​Campbell gets a thumbs up from me. Although it is still far from the best eye doctor in the Old Pueblo, it’s one of the better ones out there as it gets the job done with decent customer service.
I needed to make an eye exam appointment because it had been a full year since I last had one. Only a few eye doctors participated in my new insurance plan, and most of them didn’t have great ratings. About half the participants in my plan were Nationwide Vision, but its poor reviews made me sing that «Nationwide ain’t on my side» jingle repeatedly in my head. Alvernon Optical was pretty much the only one that actually had good ratings. Setting up an appointment there was a piece of cake.
The Alvernon Optical on the northeast corner of Glenn and Campbell is part of the Campbell Plaza Shopping Center. The office is on the southernmost end of a long row of stores from Staples to Ross to Albertsons to ACE; it is on the same side of the plaza as the Panda Express and the Five Guys.
I arrived at the eye doctor at my scheduled appointment time on a Friday afternoon, and it really wasn’t a long wait before Dr. David Tetrault took me into his office. The eye exam was surprisingly much easier than I thought, and it took only ten minutes before I was done. My vision really hadn’t changed at all, and Dr. Tetrault was happy for me because of that. Yet I can’t help but wonder if his eye exam really was comprehensive enough to really make that determination.
Anyways, they had offered me to take a look at their frames for a pair of new glasses, which would have been covered under my insurance, but since Dr. Tetrault said my vision didn’t change much, I didn’t think it would be worth it to peruse the frames they had, so I just left.
A while later, I decided maybe I should go for sunglasses instead since it would help me see when I’m driving with the sun in my eyes. I went back to the office on a Saturday (yes, they were open on Saturdays), and Jaime, the optician at Alvernon Optical, helped me out. He was the one I primarily interacted with from there on out. I did contact all the other vision providers that participated in my insurance, but Alvernon Optical had the cheapest sunglasses.
Even though it was kind of difficult for me to understand Jaime, he was still patient enough to answer all the questions that I had, and he would take the extra time to make sure that the sunglasses he would get were the sunglasses that I wanted. My sunglasses came in a timely manner… earlier than Jaime expected.
Like I said in the first paragraph, there are some better eye doctors out there that have more of a family style atmosphere, but you won’t be disappointed with Alvernon Optical! However, if you do end up going to Alvernon Optical, please take note of the entire eye exam in your mind as it may not be as thorough as those of other eye doctors.

This place is horrible. Do not go here. They did the most bullshit awful 2 minute (maximum) «eye exam» on me. I’ve never felt more used for my money or treated so badly. They charged out the ass for this exam as well. This was just outrageous. I wouldn’t trust them with the eye care of my worst enemy. Seriously do not go here. I was legitimately in the exam room for two minutes. I checked. This was a «thorough exam» I got after I informed the doctor that I haven’t had an eye exam in 2 – 3 years.

I wish I could give this place a good review like some of the others on here, but I’m reviewing the optical shop only, not the optometrist’s office. I decided to come here because I really wanted to support a local company. I walked in mid-​morning and noticed that both opticians were helping customers. No problem, I figured that would give me time to browse the eyeglass selection. Well, I browsed, and browsed, and browsed… after over a half hour I had looked at every pair of frames at least twice and had probably tried on half the inventory in the shop. Not once did I get any acknowledgement at all that I was an interested customer. No greeting, no «Somebody will be with you shortly»… nada. It was like I didn’t exist. I finally gave up and went to the Lenscrafter on Oracle. As soon as i stepped in the door I was acknowledged with a greeting. I was given a tray to hold the frames I liked, and was given a detailed layout of the store. What a world of difference! As much as I didn’t want to give my money to a national chain, the experience at Lenscrafter was just worlds above what I experienced at Alvernon Optical. I spent my $ 800 at Lenscrafter, Sorry, Alvernon Optical, but your shoddy customer service blew it for me. I guess you didn’t want my money.

I haven’t received my glasses yet — I just went in for an exam and new frames today. But if they’re right, and I am 99.9% sure they will be, I found the best eye doctor in the world in Dr. Tetrault. George, the manager, is also one of the very nicest people I’ve ever met. Like, really, really nice. To the point that I felt nervous speaking, lest I insult their delicate spirits. Dr. Tetrault was so patient and thorough — I feel like my last prescription was off, but not by much — so he went through some extra steps to determine how much my eyes have changed/​how off the Rx was. Granted, it was only a little wrong, but now, if the glasses are perfect, I’ll have better than ²⁰⁄₂₀. Frame selection a mite lacking but, I mean, how many eyeglass shapes are there? They do free adjustments and cleaning, like most optical shops I’ve been to, but they seem to do it with, um, glee?

Been a patient of Dr. Tetrault since 2004. He’s compassionate, thorough, and professional. The long term staff are efficient & pleasant, especially the staff members who do the fittings. Good selection of frames. Lots of front door parking. Located in shopping center on corner of Campbell and Glenn. Their only flaw –as with all other Tucson eyeglass stores– is the lack of contemporary frame styles found on the major online eye frame sellers. However, if you buy online, for a reasonable price they will make sure the Rx is correct & the fit is good. I like this place & the people. Every time I’ve made an appointment, they are ready for me. But if you need a quick frame adjustment, advice, or just want to browse, they will accommodate you.

Great! Recommended by another eye-​glass wearer and they fulfilled my quality expectations. Told me important medical-​eye information and I have been renewing my prescriptions through Alvernon Optical ever since.

Went in on a Friday evening… they were about to close… i spoke with one of the eye doctors, he gave me their business card and said come back tomorrow. I went back in on Saturday around noon. They had several customers in the store ahead of me. The very soft spoken secretary told me they were so busy, that it would be best to come back on monday, she added that customers seem to always come the last hour of the day. (She was complaining about us pesky customers, ya know, the ones that give this business it’s income… sheesh!) okay. I actually came back on Monday, this would be my third visit in 4 days trying to make a purchase! Again, soft spoken receptionist barely utters two words to me… tells me it will be a while there are people ahead of me. Okay, i wait, i wait, i waited a half an hour, then asked, do you know how long this wait will be, and can i schedule an appointment? «No, we don’t schedule appointments, and no, can not say how long the wait will be.» Wow. Third visit, total time invested would be 2 hours with travel… i am done. No attempt was made to be friendly, no attempt was made to give customers any sense of organization happening? Aimless customers walking around. BAD Atmosphere as well… If there would have been any cheerfulness and effort on the part of the receptionist, i would have stayed and waited. But there was NONE at all. AT ALL ! Horrible, not once, not twice, but three attempts to give you my business Alvernon Optical. FAIL

This place is great. I was in and out in 25 minutes with prescriptions for eyeglasses and contacts and it was the cheapest place I found in town — $ 107 as compared to $ 120, $ 130 at other companies.

I’ve been to quite a few eye doctors over the years within a glasses store. After losing a long time favorite on the East side and struggling a few years to find one I liked, I found this one. I just finished my second annual exam. I bought new glasses last year and got a free adjustment this year to make them fit much better. I am happy with the glasses and the new doctor. I’ll be back next year for my annual exam.

Went to get an eye exam and new prescriptions for contacts and glasses. I was seen quickly, and I received a complete eye exam together with an extended meeting with the optician, who was very professional and friendly, and very complete in his explanations and recommendations. Would definitely recommend Alvernon Optical to anybody looking for glasses or contacts. Not the cheapest service or glasses/​lenses, but I am glad to pay a little more, knowing their service is top-​notch.

We were passing through Tucson and my husband needed a new pair of glasses. The minute we walked into this optical practice our eyes began to sting from the fragrance used to scent the showroom. Most aware medical establishments recognize that many people are sensitive to such chemicals and desist from using them in medical facilities. Many medical offices in WA where we live have signs requesting patients to come without fragrances. Certainly watering and stinging eyes can impact the accuracy of eye exams. As I didn’t want to begin wheezing, I waited for my husband outside in the 95 degree heat.. .. I wouldn’t patronize a store for eyeglass when it requires its patrons to breathe air permeated with cheap perfumes that can trigger asthma and allergic responses. I complained to the management who wasn’t aware that medical practices in other states limit the use of fragrances and chemicals out of respect for the patients and patrons.

Clear as a bell!
Stopped here after having a difficult experience at Fashion Eye – they were half the price, very cool, easy to work with, twice as fast as turn around and eager to help.
Wow – service. Go figure. I’m going back here to get my prescription filled next week. I had a great frame that I needed to make sunglasses from. They gave me options, showed me samples and helped me make a nice decision. I’m looking forward to my new glasses. Thanks!

I recently broke my rimless glasses during a… er…passionate exploit after an amazing night with my
GF and was left with few options for recourse. I contacted my primary optician to no avail. Luckily a quick google search and phone call brought me here. $ 8 and 15 minutes later my glasses went from utterly useless to better then new. They’ve EARNED my business from here on out.

I love this place! After years of going to a mall chain eye place (not knowing any better) I discovered Alvernon Opticals right around the corner. They take my insurance, the waits are short and the prices tons cheaper than the mall place.
And best of all two years in a row going and my glasses are perfect. At the mall place I always had to go back because the prescription wasn’t right. The dr. here really knows his stuff.
And they take insurance for the exam!

I booked an appointment early (9:20 am) a couple of weeks back since I was looking to get my prescription for both glasses and contacts renewed. The doctor was pleasant and, having told the receptionist that I had to be at school at 10:00, was also super speedy. I even went a little early and they were able to get me started before the scheduled time. I was allowed to use my student insurance, and though the prices were not as low as I wanted (this is the insurance’s fault though), they were still pretty reasonable.
I would definitely use these guys again! And they are local to boot! And apparently they can make prescription dive masks and swim goggles. I don’t know how useful this is in Tucson and I don’t see how contact lenses wouldn’t solve this problem, but hey, weirder things have happened.
PS: To whoever posted the only existing photo for the Alvernon Optical so far: well done ;)