Pearle Vision

I visited this location twice in one day and the experience was very bitter-​sweet… with a definite turning point where the ‘sweet’ went ‘bitter’.
I’ve been looking for a new place to buy glasses for quite some time. I always used to go to the same place, where I had a particular sales girl I would come in to see, as I’m somewhat of a nervous shopper when it comes to anything style-​related (especially when it costs hundreds of dollars) and like to get an outside opinion, and she had never steered me wrong… but they went out of business, leaving me looking for a new place.
I looked all over Chinook, perusing not just the frames but the staff, looking for somebody who seemed friendly enough to not mind me harassing them endlessly but who seemed to have a fashion sense I could appreciate enough to trust them with this undertaking… and I found that in one lovely young lady here named Nicki (at least I think that’s how she spells it, it’s been a few days). She not only had the style, but was an absolute delight to work with, and walked me through dozens and dozens of frames, giving individual feedback on how the shape, color, fit, etc. worked with my face. She never once made me feel rushed, or pressured, laid several key concerns to rest… basically when I look for a sales person, she’s 110% what I want to see. We picked out a couple of good frames and went over to process my insurance.
Here’s where things went haywire. There were several changes in my employers insurance policy a few months back that have lead to only specific places being able to direct-​bill for our plan, and other places requiring me to pay up front and be reimbursed. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for which will be the case at any given location, so when it came up as charging me for the full ammount, I asked if that meant I was being charged upfront and would be reimbursed (trusting that these people knew what the messages they get on their computer stand for). I had two seperate sales people AND a guy I would later learn was the assistant manager all say yes, that’s what it meant… but they all seemed very cautious about making such a claim.
I paid and left the store, but an hour later I couldn’t get over that hesitation, so I called my insurance company and was told there was ANOTHER change I wasn’t aware of — my entire vision coverage had been stricken. I wasn’t going to see a single red cent. Being as I couldn’t afford the package I paid for entirely out of pocket at the time, I went back and asked to cancel the order — this was less than 2 hours later on an order set to take a week, NOTHING had been produced, but the young lady I spoke to when I came back was FAR less friendly than the last and snapped back at me that they «don’t do refunds.» It wasn’t until I reminded her that I made the purchase under false pretenses given to me by their staff that she begrudgingly agreed to go ask the assistant manager (who had been one of the ones to give me this inaccurate impression), and left me waiting while they discussed it in the back. Eventually, he must have seen how it would reflect on him if I went further up the chain and agreed to the refund but even then this second sales girl was very snippy about it, almost like she was playing the sore loser.
The store and SOME of their sales team are great. I fully plan on coming back in a couple weeks and re-​buying the package I had picked out and dealing with the Nicki in the future as I imagine like most sales people she makes a commision and SHE deserves it… but apparently the management can’t be trusted as far as they can be thrown, so make sure you know EXACTLY what you’re getting and don’t take their word for anything.

This Pearle Vision is simple. I went in here looking for new frames, I really want green ones. As I browsed the frames a woman came and asked if I needed help, I told her what I was looking for. She said they only had a couple green frames, I tried them on and they didn’t work for me. They carry affordable options, like Vogue, and designer frames, like D&G. Their selection wasn’t too impressive, they had mostly black and brown frames. They charge $ 80 for an eye exam. Lenses start around $ 95 and up.
I would return to Pearle Vision for cheap options when it comes to eye wear. The service was friendly. It wouldn’t be my first recommendation though.