Today was even worse

I have wasted two days holiday and I only get 13. Today I had the opticians and I wish that I never went. It essentially costed me £130 for a check up that I didn’t need. I knew my eye sight hadn’t altered, so from now on, I am going to do what I had bee doing and not go unless I know I need to.

I wish that I was allowed to send this email to Specsavers:

I made sure that all of my details were up to date when I booked the appointment. I selected that I didn’t want the additional testing, which costs more. Then, when I got there, they said they needed to update all of my details. They asked if I needed the additional testing. I very quietly said, “No thank you.” My appointment was at 10:25am. At 10:35am they took me for the additional eye health testing that I asked not to have twice. My anxiety was already high by then. Waiting in noisy areas, with lots of people coming and going, and having to constantly be alert in case someone is speaking to me, on top of struggling to understand a new voice and being made to have the additional testing that I didn’t ask for twice, that was a lot. Then at 11:45am I had my eye test. I feel so unlucky. The customer service assistant, from two years ago, who made me cry was now my optician. She said that my eyes are healthy. My prescription hasn’t changed, but my current glasses have the wrong astigmatism and they are so scratched that the glare coating has come off. She said I wouldn’t have to pay for the eye test, just the new frames and lenses, but this was only valid for this immediate appointment slot. I didn’t want the eye test waived. I wanted to pay for it, so that I could leave the shop, but now I was in a situation, where I couldn’t leave the shop.

The optician took me to the customer service person. The customer service person looked up my current frames and said they don’t manufacture them anymore. Then she said she was going to help me pick out a similar pair. She took me over to the frames and asked me which ones I looked at when I came in. I didn’t look at the frames when I came in, as I was instructed to sit down. Then she handed me a red pair that I didn’t like and said they were the closest to the ones I have now. I currently have Nathalia frames in pastel purple. These were a dark red and not similar to the shape of my square frames at all. I said, “Okay, thank you.” She asked me to try them on. I said, “No thank you.” She said I needed to try them on. I said, “No thank you. I won’t be able to see what they look like,” as I cannot see anything without my glasses on. She asked me if there were any frames that I liked. I didn’t get the chance to look. I wasn’t offered the option to look by myself. I didn’t get the option to pick any up to look at. I didn’t get the option to look at any other section than the pair that we were standing in front of. I didn’t want to be in the shop anymore. I just wanted to pay for the eye test, so that I could leave, but I wasn’t allowed to pay for my eye test, I was made to have new frames. As she said they no longer manufacture anything similar to my current frames I said, “If they are the only ones I will have to go with them.” With the discount of not having to pay for the eye test they did only come to £130, which is the cheapest opticians visit I have ever had. So it was essentially a £130 eye test, as I am not going to pick the glasses up when they are ready, because I will never wear them. Please, could you tell me if there is a way to cancel the glasses, so that someone doesn’t go through the effort of making something that I will not collect? Either that or I pick them up and put them directly into the glasses recycling bin next to the till and walk out.

Specsavers don't give you an appointment number or a code that relates to me as a person/customer. So, even if I could send the email, I couldn't identify that it was me. I can't have them email me back and say that they need to phone me to discuss it either. I don't know if I could even cope with emailing them back either. I just want the experience of today to just go away forever. It is 14:28 and I still haven't stopped crying yet.

 

- Josie -