Stanton Optical

Bakersfield location is so shady. Shell game & pass the buck and Spanish Inquisition to cancel an order. Already dealt with 5 different call center people in Florida in the last 36 hours; they BARELY speak ENGLISH there at the call center, let alone comprehend the fact you want to cancel your order. Was told by local staff to come back to have measurements taken to assure proper fit; I show up later that evening, nobody has a clue what I am talking about, and of course the lady that helped me on Oct 24 is not there that evening, and so I go back in the evening of Oct 25 , and I sit at a table for 15 minutes and nobody gives me the time of day. I walked out. I don't do business like this, especially dropping nearly $800 on 2 pairs of glasses. Asked repeatedly what my Vision Service Plan coverage was; staff there was NOT helpful on this, and I later discovered this was an out of network location, because I had to call the insurer.

Before I file a complaint with the BBB I'm going to try this first. I went to Stanton Optical on 8/2/19 and Carol immediately came to assist me. Her first question was had I been there before and I told her no. I had taken my son there before, but I had not been through the process myself. She stated the first step was to pick out 2 pair of glasses which I did. After that she took me to the exam area and had me sign in for an eye exam. Then the problem began. When that was over and she had me sit down to give me the total, she told me my prescription for my bifocals were $346 and with the cost of the glasses my total would be around $546. That was so far off the chart from the advertised 2 pair for $59 or $69. I was in shock and told her I couldn't pay that. She then said she had another plan where my prescription would be $100 less. Again I informed her that was too much. She showed me the cost of the glasses I picked out and I asked her if I could look for a less expensive pair of glasses. Then she said she had a basic packet where my prescription would only be $128 and she would charge me for the $89 pair of glasses and give me the other higher pair free. At that point I was very frustrated that the cost of my prescription kept changing with each packet instead of there being a set price for bifocals. I then said I needed to call my husband because I could not make that purchase without his approval. She appeared very frustrated having to stand there and wait because he didn't answer the phone nor did he respond to my text right away. The nature of his job doesn't allow him to just answer his phone at will. Several minutes went by and I kept calling. Finally I asked her how much time I had to make a decision and THAT'S WHEN SHE INFORMED ME FOR THE FIRST TIME that if I didn't make a purchase the exam cost $99. I called my husband again and he answered that time and When I explained what she said he became very furious because at that point we were stuck. My 2 choices were to pay the $217 for the glasses which was the last price she quoted me or pay $99 and walk out with nothing. While I was on the phone she began talking to me saying I could finance the amount and pay over 6 months but they would have to run my credit. My husband said, absolutely not. I guess we have no choice but to pay for the glasses because I'm not giving them $99 and still have to go somewhere else to get some glasses. When I ended the call she said she could give me one last discount and make it an even $200. I didn't feel like I had any other choice so I reluctantly agreed and gave her the $200. If Carol, who was aware that I had not been there before, had told me up front how the process works and what the about the $99 eye exam if no purchase was made, I would have called my husband at the onset and we could have made a better choice. As it was, I agreed to go through the process not having all the information to make a better choice. After returning home I looked at their site online and it states that the exam without a purchase was approximately $45. $99 is nowhere near (approximately) $45. It was totally and completely unfair to withhold very pertinent information until the end, leaving me to have to give them money whether I bought glasses or not. I wanted to just walk out but was afraid the police would be called since I had already taken the exam, but I only did the exam NOT KNOWING AND NOT BEING TOLD it would be $99 without a purchase. I already deal with depression and chronic pain and this incident caused me to be in even more pain from the stress. The restitution I want is to get my money back and cancel the glasses and because I am a fair and honest person I am willing to pay $45 for the exam like your website states instead of $99. This could have all been avoided if the employees would stop trying to trap and trick people into making higher purchases and just be honest about what they advertise. You should explain to people upfront what it is that you get for 2/$59. I look forward to hearing from you very soon.
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