A Visual Affair

Called their DC office at 2:30pm today to check their hour s today. I was told they will close at 5:30pm so I told them I will arrive at 5pm to pick up my eye glasses. Arrived at the store at 5pm, but the store is already closed. Called them, but only answering machine. Waste of my time, not happy with their service.

In a sea of impersonal bigbox vision stores, this is an oasis of comfort and attention. Manager John Mathis projects an attitude of caring, and a refreshing unwillingness to push the most expensive frames in the store (unless you want them, of course!). I have done my comparison shopping, and always return to A Visual Affair because the store has a beautiful variety of frames, excellent prices, and superb service.

The staff was very nice and welcoming. I only had an eye exam with Dr. Bindal. He was very thorough, professional and spends a good deal of time with the customer. There was no marketing traps or pressure to buy glasses. I would go again. Thanks.

First things first: If you’re buying a pair of glasses from an optometrist, it will be more expensive than buying from Warby Parker.
Once you can get over the $$ aspect, this place is great! I’m honestly a little surprised by the negative reviews. Dr. Bindal was very charming and efficient. Yes, he was running a little late, but only by a little bit.
But my favorite part about this place is Brian, the admin who helps you pick out your glasses. He is like a goddman glasses whisperer! He instantly knows what frames/​style/​color would look good on you and fit your personality. I just ordered the most beauuuuutiful pair of Versace glasses from them and I’m SO EXCITED. I have a pretty quirky tastes and gravitate towards weird shit – he gracefully steered my away from the lenses that would make me look like Ms. Frizzle. (It’s a fine line I walk, y’all.) Or, I’d point to a pair of circular frames and he would just say, «Yeah, not the right style for you.» But, like, he’d say it in a way that wouldn’t offend you – just like, in a «trust me, I’m looking out for you kind of way and you’ll thank me later» kind of way. And you know what? I’M THANKING HIM. (Also, I wanted a pair of crazy Prada glasses that made me look like a crazy sorceress. Brian’s response? «WOW. Those are something. But maybe, not right for you.» I LOVE THIS MAN.)
Honestly, Brian himself was worth the extra $$ it takes to buy from them than getting a pair online!
Anyways, moral of the story: go for Brian. He’s the best. I would trust him with my life. I have already asked if he would help me pick out my wedding dress. I was only semi-​joking. (Also: I am not even engaged!!!)

This office sent me a bill FOURTEEN MONTHS after the appointment. My insurance won’t pay it since it’s a different calendar year. Tried to call to pay it out-​of-​pocket and they can’t find my chart. Woman on phone says, with some annoyance, they «still» only have paper records, nothing electronic, even though they have two locations.
Everyone there seems nice and they have a good selection of glasses, but the disorganization and confusion is too much. As others have said, Dr. Bindal interrupts and likes to talk about himself.
Going to Dr. Lobaugh now a few blocks away and everything is electronic (they even have a machine that reads your insurance card and ID card so you don’t have to fill that out a million times) and all charges are explained clearly before you receive services. Go to him instead.

I’ve been looking a cute pair of sunglasses for a while. I found this cute little store by my office and fell in LOVE. The sales girl was great! Very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. She was honest about what looked good and what didn’t. I will absolutely be coming back and telling everyone in my office to go. Do yourself a favor and get your glasses from here. Ask for Amber!

Went in for an eye exam and to purchase glasses. The eye exam was fine. On the other hand, this store’s website provides false information about which glasses brands they stock. I purchased a Groupon in advance, meaning I had already paid in part for my glasses. I specifically chose A Visual Affair because I wanted to try Oliver Peoples frames. As it turns out, they no longer stock Oliver Peoples– despite what their website claims. However, the DC store said their Virginia store still had many Oliver Peoples frames, so I biked to the metro, and then took the metro to Pentagon City to check out those frames. Apparently, «many Oliver Peoples frames» means one women’s frame. You’d think they’d at least check before sending a customer to another state for frames. I also expressed my frustration that their website misleads customers about which frames they stock. Several weeks later, they still have not updated it.

Updating my review nearly 2 years later just to say how happy I’ve been with this practice. I’ve been able to make an appointment every time I’ve needed one, even last-​minute. Dr Bindal always takes plenty of time to answer my questions and explain what’s happening. And every time I’ve been here, Dr Bindal and his staff have gone above and beyond to help me — from bringing contacts to me at my office nearby because I hadn’t been able to pick them up, to walking me through any options to save money, to letting me experiment with different lenses. I couldn’t be happier!

The service was average. My issue is that they performed services that were not covered by my vision insurance, without asking me, and then billed my medical insurance. Adding insult to injury, they billed me for the amount my medical insurance did not cover. I really do not understand how they can get away with this and think that this is a legitimate practice. I refused to pay and they have sent me to collections. If they acknowledge that they did not get my consent before performing a service that would not be covered by my vision insurance they should have been more ethical and write-​off the difference, it was less than $ 100. This clearly shows that they are all about the money.

Joe, the sales associate, is so knowledgeable and professional! My prescription was correct but it didn’t work well with the frame I picked so Joe helped me pick another frame and made me a brand new pair of glasses in a week. I will definitely go back to Visual Affairs for my next appointment.

There’s some important information for clients who intend to purchase glasses/​contacts elsewhere, and who are going to Dr. Bindal for the prescription.
I used Blue Cross Carefirst’s discount vision program for an eye examination — I don’t have the separate vision insurance package, but you can use the medical package and only co-​pay $ 10. Dr. Bindal’s exam was thorough, and I have nothing bad to report on this part.
What’s much more important to know is that the eyeglass prescription he will give you will be incomplete — neither he nor his staff will include the pupillary distance (PD) measure that you need if you intend to order glasses elsewhere, especially on line.
The quote for lenses and frames I received in his office from the retail sales staff was over $ 400 more than what I found on the internet for exactly the same quality later that night. So I called back the next day, and Dr. Bindal’s staff quickly explained that a PD measurement would cost an additional $ 20. That would raise the cost of my eyeglass prescription alone to $ 30. Frankly, I find it outrageous — I have few kind words for these sorts of business practices.
I contacted Carefirst and Davis Vision, which is the insurance company that processes vision claims. They said this business practice appears to be very new and they don’t have a protocol in place to either adjust the co-​pay or remove the Dr. from the list of preferred providers. They did call Dr. Bindal’s office, though, and I’m hopeful that they will screen for these types of extra charges when renewing their list of preferred providers in the future.
If anyone intends to purchase eyeglasses on line — and I think everyone should, it’s hundreds of $ cheaper and good web companies guarantee their product — you’ll want to ask up front on total charges before going to Dr. Bindal.

Dr. Bindal has the bedside manner of a steamroller.
During my first visit, I thought he was a little pretentious and less-​than-​personable, but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt today. My bad.
To keep this brief, I’ll sum up my visit with a few highlights:
1. He warned me that gas perm contact lens fittings run $ 199 before he proceeded with the examination «because he likes his clients to know what they’re getting into up front.» Very kind. *After* the exam, he said my only option was to order the contacts from him – and they’ll be an additional $ 300. Evidently, Dr. Bindal’s professional transparency has its limits. When I suggested as much, he claimed he didn’t know how much the contacts would be until he had done the exam, but $ 300 is the *starting* price. Surely he was aware of that.
2. I actually had to ask him to please stop interrupting me so that I could ask a question. Twice.
3. He said his goal was to make sure his clients are happy. lol!
4. He seemed in a hurry from the moment he waltzed into the room – either that or he urgently had to use the restroom but either way he clearly had somewhere better to be.
5. He spoke to me as though I were a child attempting to grasp the miracle of human eyeballs for the very first time. Charming.
6. Ultimately, he didn’t charge for the visit (I left with nothing except inspiration for this Unilocal review anyway), saying «he’d wait until I decided how to proceed.»
Dr. Bindal, don’t wait up for me. It’s just not going to work out between us.
P. S. Please see his passive aggressive note below for a taste of his charming demeanor!

Optical shops are not my favorite businesses –i always have a hard time finding frames i really like, plus I’ve had some really horrible experiences with buying glasses. But since I depend on glasses or contacts to be able to see anything at all, I have no way of escaping.
Among the many shops and doctors I have tried, Visual Affair has been one of the best, though it’s far from perfect. I have actually bought three pairs of glasses from them, all horribly expensive but good quality. Service has been rather variable. My first pair feel apart after one week because the screws had not been properly tightened. I went to their shop in Dupont and the salesperson tried to charge me for fixing the screw issue, which was irritating given that i had just spent 800 dollars on my glasses in their Pentagon city store. The contacts are way overpriced: so resist the pushy sales tactics after a contacts exam and get them online, it’s way cheaper.

As a first-​time vision patient (ahem, not getting older, just getting better!), Dr. Bindal was great at explaining the eye exam and how I could utilize minimal corrective vision. I was seen within 10 minutes of arriving, Dr. Bindal was very thorough, and the staff members in the store were very helpful as well. Great place!

The staff at A Visual Affair worked hard to accommodate my complicated vision plan (they DO take Davis Vision, for anyone looking), and actually helped me spend less than I would have without their help and advice. They also repaired a broken pair of eyeglasses on the spot, free of charge.

Went in with a colleague to just check out the selection of glasses. I have never been to a optical store and found so many pairs of glasses I loved. Terri helped us and her customer service was great! Both myself and my colleague bought a pair of glasses which arrived early.
Weather you are looking for traditional or unique glasses — A Visual Affair will have something for you. Definitely going back.

I made an appointment with Dr. Bindal through ZocDoc. His staff called twice to reschedule the time and a third time to request insurance information. When the day of the appointment came, I rushed from another appointment across town to be on time. When I arrived, the receptionist told me that Dr. Bindal was running late and wasn’t in the office yet. I waited 20 minutes and Dr. Bindal never showed. The entire point of scheduling through ZocDoc was to avoid wasted calls and time. Everyone is entitled to some understanding in a bad day running late, but my time is valuable too. A little advance notice that he would be late would have been courteous and professional, and there’s been no apology for the missed appointment.

I just went there to get an eye exam and look around for a new frame. I didn’t have to wait for long, the front end lady was very nice and helpful in explaining to me the possible costs with my insudance coverage, and Dr. Bindal was very efficient and personable. Best of all, they did not try to hard-​sell a new pair of glasses or new lenses after the exam like I was used to at certain other places right around here. (which is why I stopped going there, e-​hem, Optical Gallery) I will definitely go back to get new lenses and for my regular check-​ups.

I spoke to Ali– the receptionist at Visual Affair today because my insurance indicated that they were in my new coverage plan. She was very nice and very knowledgeable about the store’s pricing and even looked up my insurance plan to see exactly what they cost for an exam and contact fitting were. She was great and my review is in no way a reflection of her professionalism.
I was informed by her however that Visual Affair charges a $ 20 fee for obtaining PD Measurements and prescription if you don’t buy directly from them. Really? After I hung up, I checked around because it seems to me like they are making you pay for your own medical records. I didn’t think that sounded right.
I was right. According to the Bureau of Consumer Protection, «The Federal Trade Commission enforces both the Contact Lens Rule and the Eyeglass Rule. These Rules require that eye care providers give their customers copies of their prescriptions: Contact lens prescriptions must be given to the customers once the lens fitting is complete; eyeglass prescriptions must be given to customers at the end of the eye exam.»
Also in regards to paying for lenses, «As an eye care provider, can I charge a patient for trial lenses or require a patient to buy them?
You may, but only if the trial lenses are necessary to complete the fitting process. This is sometimes the case with some „specialty“ or custom-​made lenses. You may not require a patient to buy contact lenses — such as a six-​month supply of disposable lenses — as a condition of giving them a copy of their prescription.»
For more info, here is the link to the FTC site:
Requiring someone to pay a $ 20 penalty to obtain their prescription in order to buy contacts elsewhere does not seem to fit within the requirements of the law. If i am mistaken, I would appreciate being corrected! If my interpretation is correct though, Visual Affair should probably change their policies.
I understand that they want to remain competitive with Warby Parker and 1 – 800 Contacts, but laws are laws people. I now have the sense that I will be nickle and dimed at Visual Affair and choose to take my business elsewhere.

I found A Visual Affair through ZocDoc, because I enjoy not actually having to talk to people and do the «when are you free/​what about 2 PM on a busy Tuesday» dance. After verifying that my insurance was valid there, I confirmed my appointment and was happy to find something one block from my office (turned out to be a huge blessing with the number of visits I had to make. I also spoke with a friend who knows Dr. Bindal personally and highly recommended him, so I was happy about feeling like I had someone who wouldn’t try to rob me and blind me in the process.
Good things:
–Dr. Bindal is phenomenal. He gets 6 stars from me. He tolerated my straight forward questions/​etc and I felt like he gave me straight forward answers (e.g., «most lawyers and engineers are perfectionists about their vision, so they don’t like XYZ for ABC reasons, so maybe this isn’t the best option for you»).
–I love my frames and get compliments on both pairs all the time.
–They’ll give you saline solution whenever you stop in and ask for it.
–The staff is very helpful and sweet (although not the fastest workers ever) — and they respond/​follow up when they say they will.
Meh things:
–The other doctor, who I got for some follow-​up contacts visions, was not as easily relate-​able. I had a hard time establishing the same rapport/​comfort with him and didn’t feel like I received as great of care from him, which naturally made me nervous (I was a first-​time contacts-​seeker, and he didn’t answer my questions very well about the whole sticking-​your-​fingers-​in-​your-​eyes lifestyle).
Not great things:
–You will wait FOREVER. Forever and ever and ever. Apparently they don’t pad appointment times for runover/​etc, so what should be a ten minute appointment at 1:00 ends up being a 30-​minute wait and a 15-​minute appointment at 1:30. Very frustrating when you show up early like a good citizen.
–The prices are a bit high, but what are you going to do at an eye doctor in the middle of downtown DC? They’re not entirely transparent in how they price/​invoice things (important if you’re trying to get insurance to cover any of it), so be sure to stay on top of that.