Specsavers Reviews

The employees do everything so fast, that is what I really don't like about Specsavers. There was this lady checking my eyes with that machine, she was also writing down the info on the computer and I don't know but it looked like she wanted to show off how fast she can do it. Obviously she was making mistakes, then deleting it... it is eyes. If she makes one mistake then she can fu+k up the eyes. And it was not just this lady, it was all of the employees.So please, slow down :-) !

Bought an £89 pair of Specsavers glasses (after my eye test) in February of this year - and got a free pair. This BOGOF offer runs most of the time. Paid extra for the anti-glare. Arm hinge broke (a pin came out of a hole) after my glasses dropped on the floor from a short distance (about waist height) in late October (only 8 months after getting them). Apparently you never push them down your nose bridge as this widens the arms and causes them to drop off your face when you bend forward. You live and learn! As I had 2 pairs, these broken glasses hadn’t been worn every day (as I alternate them) and they are only needed for reading (so not used all day). So I rang Specsavers, fully expecting them to repair them for free, considering they weren’t even a year old, and that they had cost me £89 plus the price of anti-glare lenses (I still have my receipt!) - and also considering that it was just that a hinge had come apart in one place, after one fall. It looked like a small dab of superglue would have fixed them! I was very tempted but resisted.I was told that they don’t do free repairs unless it’s just a missing screw! Also, I was informed that at (only) 8 months old, they were past the age of being replaced for free. So obviously Specsavers considers 8 months to be a reasonable lifespan for their £89 frames - worrying!!!I was advised that I had to bring them in for them to see the fault. I described it to the lady as I wished to gauge whether the cost of repair warranted a visit, as I knew it wasn’t a case of a missing screw! I was told it sounded as if my glasses may need a new arm, possibly new frames. Was told £17 or approx £50, respectively. Quite a difference! They’d have to see them first to know. So I asked if she would check if they had a replacement arm (red glasses, made by specsavers, they knew the model, so I imagined they could check quickly). Too busy to check! I made it abundantly clear that I only wanted them fixed and was not interested in buying new frames, as I could manage with just the other pair. I asked again if she would check whether they had the arm in stock as she said they may have some out the back. I was put on hold for a minute or two and then informed that they were still too busy to check whether they had the replacement arm for my particular style of glasses. I said if they didn’t have the arm there was no point in arranging an appointment. She insisted that because of Covid, to make an appointment if I wanted them fixed regardless. She apologised for not checking for me. Don’t they have a stock inventory? They have my details on record for the glasses I bought! Surely they know what stock/parts they have!?I explained that I’m shielding and don’t go to shops but she (I think her name was Sharon, at the Park Centre branch in Belfast) agreed that it was ok for my husband to attend my appointment. She said a new arm, if they had one, (at approx £17) could be done on the spot within minutes while he waited - but again she said the staff were too busy to check if they had the correct arm. No suggestion of checking later or the next day, and ringing me back! So I made the appointment for 2 days later, as I was getting nowhere fast.Total waste of time! When he got there they looked and quickly reported that they didn’t have an arm - which they could have done while I was on the phone and surprise, surprise - they said there was nothing they could do other than put my lens into new frames for £60! Exactly as I’d expected!I had told her on the phone that there was no point in my husband going there if they didn’t have the arm in stock. They could have saved his time and effort and given the appointment to someone else. They could have rang me back later that day or even the next day. Call me sceptical, but they obviously want you to go to the effort of coming in so that you spend your money there!Anyway, my brother-in-law is an optician (living and working in England) - so I rang him about my glasses, and he said that it wasn’t surprising that Specsavers didn’t look for a spare arm when I rang, and waited instead for my husband to attend an appointment, to then be told there was no spare arm, and that he should buy new frames. He believes that Specsavers make most of their money from frames sales, and that’s why they offer free eye tests - to get you in the door to spend! There’s not much profit in repairs. He told me to try Eyeworld, so my husband took my glasses there - no appointment needed - where a very helpful optician (Mark) said that he could see a manufacturing fault in the hinge! He said they’d have refunded me immediately (and returned them to the manufacturer), had I bought them there, regardless of age. He also added that he could tell by looking at them that they weren’t worn very often!Specsavers: DEFECTIVE glasses should be refunded, repaired or replaced FREE OF CHARGE! I won’t be buying your glasses again!