Site for Sore Eyes

Very good service, especially from the eye doctor, who went the extra mile to help me with an eye condition and follow up with me. Just be warned that if you wear contact lenses, the cost of the exam is significantly more than the regular price quoted.

I happened to stumble across this store on the day of it’s new opening. I was greeted by the owners who immediatley made me feel like I was in good hands. They were friendly, knowledgable, and very accomodating as I had my young children with me. I will only go to this location from now on for all my eye ware prescription needs. I get complimented on my Michael Kors eyeglasses at least once a week. Thank you so much to everyone that helped me from start to finish.

I’ve been getting eye exams and contacts in this area my whole life and this place is the best around! Excellent service, i had a great optometrist and by far the best selection of frames! I highly recommend this place!

I really really like this place. The staff is always warm and helpful and there is free, easy parking. I’ve been to the Site for Sore Eyes in Walnut Creek and had a terrible experience — these establishments must be independently owned. At any rate, I’ve gotten glasses and contacts here for my strangely shaped eyeballs, and I feel every time the staff went above and beyond their job descriptions to give me great service. In particular, the opthamologist and the sweet dark-​haired woman always at the front desk. I know that I can get my prescriptions filled online for cheaper, but I am happy paying extra for expertise and supporting a (hopefully) franchised local business.

I am so beyond pleased with my visit today! I Unilocaled this place before I came (as I usually do with new businesses) and came across a few reviews regarding unhelpful & rude staff.
I experienced no such thing!
The exam was quick and the doctor was super nice and personable.
When I was done with my exam, I came back out to pick out my lenses. I believe Sara (h?) helped me, and she really helped me pick out lenses that looked good on my face. She wasn’t afraid to tell me if something just didn’t look right.
She also discussed my options with me (save 40% with insurance or save 50% and get a free pair with their current promotion).
Both frames were ready for me by 4pm! (My appt was at 11 that morning)
I will definitely be recommending this location to friends, and I will absolutely be back for my eyewear needs!
Thanks, Site For Sore Eyes!

Wow! Incredible service from everyone. So nice they even attempted to get us to keep our used frames to save money. What??! My first time understanding what exactly is wrong with my eyes… well I’m abnormal… both near and far sighted. Ah well. Love, love, love the service and staff!

Have gone back several times to have our glasses adjusted. Finally had to go to a real optometry store. Run don’t walk away from this store.

If I hadn’t been a long-​time customer of Pacific North Optical, also in Concord, I might not know what to look for in optical care.
I went to Site for Sore Eyes as I needed my new prescription filled quickly before a trip. Unfortunately, the quick turnaround advertised is only for standard prescriptions. So mine took longer. Also the second pair at 50% off had few options and were definitely «second rate» in quality.
Staff at Site for Sore Eyes are friendly enough, but definitely not the professionals I am used to dealing with. Pretty much handed me my glasses and really didn’t take time to make any adjustments on the fit until I complained.
Will think twice about returning.

This review is regarding the sales and customer service aspect of Site for Sore Eyes…
I had a great experience here! I came here on my lunch break because I just got a new prescription and I wanted to compare their prices to the ones at Kaiser. The prices were comparable, so I decided to give it a try and I am glad I did.
They have a big selection of frames to choose from, and I quickly found one I loved. One thing that I really enjoyed about my experience here is that I did NOT have a sales person breathing down my neck. Nothing makes me want to ninja-​kick someone in the head like a pushy sales person. The owner, Robbie (sp?), made a few suggestions when he saw what type of frame I was looking for but he pretty much just left me to it. For just over $ 300 I walked out with a frame that I absolutely loved and a FREE pair of 2^nd glasses. The free pair of glasses was from a case with «non-​designer» frames, but I was still able to find a design I liked.
The BEST part of my experience is that by the end of the business day my glasses were ready to be picked up. It was like 2^nd Christmas! I am very happy with the service I received here.

I’ve waited a long time to actually review this business because my frustration was so over the top. I can not believe how badly they treat their customers. The owner was so incredibly rude to me, condescending and dismissive. I can not believe that they have been in business as long as they have. I have honestly never, ever been treated this badly in a business. Unbelievable and unacceptable.

Rarely do I give a one star review, but this place deserves it. I’ve been to another site for sore eyes in SJ and that was fine, so came here to buy contacts.
Staff was very disrespectful. Asked how much a box of my contacts would be, and she rolled her eyes and looked it up.
The price was 30 $ more than the other location had charged me, so I asked if prices are the same at every location. «yes. they are the same.» I started to explain the price difference, and she interrupted me and said, «oh, oh… actually. don’t quote me on that.» Alright. Whatever. I’m desperate. gimmie contacts, yo.
«how long will it take to get the contacts in?» she said «3 business days.» Then she asked how many boxes I wanted. I told her one box, and yet again, same condescending attitude. She says, «since you’re only willing to buy one box, it might take a little longer.» okay. how long? «5−7 business days.» GAH. fine.
7 business days go by, and I call. I again explain that I will be leaving the area soon after my business trip, and need to know when the contacts will be in. I was assured no longer than 2 business days.
Those 2 days come and go, and I call back. I ask to speak to a manager and was told they would call me back. Nope. 2 days later, I call back again, explain the situation, ask for a refund, and ask to speak to a manager. «We don’t have a manager and dont issue refunds.» WHAT??? I don’t have the product I paid for! They say they will speak to the owner and will call me back this same day.
Thankfully, i heard back that day and they gave me a refund. What a nightmare.

I waited for 1hour and 20 mins to have my fallow up exam. I walked out and was never seen. Do Not waste your time there. I asked to have my prescription mailed to me and they never did.

I am reviewing the Optomistrist aspect of this place. I just saw Dr. Lowe who is in the office on Mondays and I must say I was very pleased with my visit. I went in with a contact lense induced papillary conjunctivitis. Dr. Lowe is very knowledgable of the eyes and how to care for them.
On the other hand I cannot reccommend the sales part unless you just have money like that. The glasses there are pretty high even with deals such as groupon and your own insurance coverage. I have VSP and was still quoted $ 196, for one of the cheapest pairs of frames throughout the whole store.

Never going back here again.
I purchased the Groupon deal «$ 20 for $ 150 Toward a Complete Pair of Eyeglasses with Free Second Pair»
Fine Print: «Expires Jun 5, 2013
Limit 5 per person, may buy 5 additional as gifts. Limit 1 per visit. Valid in-​store only. Not valid for sale items. Free second pair of prescription eyeglasses can be chosen from a large special frame selection with single-​vision clear lenses. Not valid on eye exams. Not valid towards contact lenses or non-​prescription sunglasses. Not valid in combination with insurance or vision care plans. Valid only at listed locations. Must use promotional value in 1 visit.
See the rules that apply to all deals.»
It is not clearly stated anywhere in the deal that restrictions apply for where you may apply the $ 150 of credit. When I went to this location I could not get prescription sunglasses (even though it states «Not valid towards non-​prescription sunglasses») the person who worked there insisted that meant not valid towards any sunglasses. I could not get a pair of Gunnars.
I ended having a limited selection of very expensive glasses that they would allow me to apply the $ 150 to. In the end, I would have to pay at least $ 150 for any glasses no matter which ones I would have chosen.
Even worse, the «Free» pair of glasses actually turned out to be $ 60 glasses. I have no idea why this is the case, but I guess free doesn’t mean the same thing to Site for Sore Eyes as it does for the rest of the world.
Even so, I needed glasses, so I still put in my order. The frames I picked needed to be special ordered, so they estimated it would take two weeks for them to arrive. Fast-​forward to a month later, and I still haven’t gotten my glasses yet. I tried calling them and they just said that it wasn’t there yet, and they would call me when it arrives.

DO NOT BUY THE LIVING SOCIAL VOUCHER!
I went to site for sore eyes in concord ca. Thinking I might have to pay a little more then just the $ 20 for the voucher, well was I surprised when the woman showed me the most inexpensive frames at $ 199, then the lenses were $ 140, then she proceeds to tell me that my total price is $ 189. I was shocked to say the least, but then she so rudely asked me if I knew how to read… um hello lady, she was rude, I told her yes I knew how to read, she then proceeded to read my voucher very slowly to me…“Voucher for $ 150 TOWARDS a COMPLETE pair of eyeglasses and a second pair at NO cost from site for sore eyes!” She emphasized TOWARDS, and COMPLETE, about three times, I told her I understood that but that the total she was giving me was ridiculous, $ 189. This voucher is a joke, she made me feel stupid in front of other customers, and she is very rude! I would NEVER recommend this place to anyone!

The optometrist is ok but you can definitely get a better eye exam and optometrist through your hospital provider.
The staff that works here is terrible. They all seem slow and incompetent and struggle to answer basic questions.
I have purchased glasses (frames and lenses) here and was satisfied but I wear contacts daily and their contact’s brand (EasyWear) is terrible. They kill your eyes and are made out of a poor, out of date material. I went to Kaiser and my optometrist thought my 2 day old Site for Sore Eyes contacts were a week and a half old. That is proof of how low quality their contacts are and their loss of me as a customer.

I’ve read that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I guess buying from Site for Sore Eyes in Concord has driven me to insanity.
I bought two pair of glasses with single-​vision lenses there about 10 years ago. I had a few problems back then, but after three separate trips there, they eventually fixed most of them. But, based on that experience, I told myself back then that I’d never go back.
Fast forward to December 2010… I had vision insurance through my employer (waste of money — another topic!) and needed to switch to progressive lenses after getting a complete eye exam from an ophthalmologist. Turns out the ONLY store within 25 miles of me that took my insurance was… yep…Site for Sore Eyes. I thought, well, they can’t be as bad as they were 10 years ago, right?
Remember that definition of insanity?
I was greeted by the store manager, a man named Robbie, who was a bit less than friendly. He seemed impatient when I wanted to ask him questions about progressive lenses since I’ve never worn them before. When I told him I was using my vision insurance, he nearly rolled his eyes and gave me a look like I was truly wasting his time at that point. He showed me the case with the limited selection of frames reserved for «insurance» customers, but I did manager to find a pair I liked. I paid for some extras not covered by the insurance ($ 110) and was told they’d be ready in a couple of days.
When I returned to pick them up, a woman (Maria?) helped me with the fitting. She managed to come off as more impatient than Robbie (it must be part of their hiring and training process) — she didn’t want to be bothered with my questions and acted like I was wasting her time even though there was nobody else in the store! I was less than impressed, but left with my new glasses.
It takes some time to adjust to wearing progressives when you’ve only worn single vision, and the prescription was a good bit stronger than my previous glasses, but after two weeks I was still having a difficult time focusing with the new glasses. I went back to the store and asked them to check the prescription — I figured something must be wrong. Of course, they said they were correct and that I just had to keep wearing them. I kept trying for several more weeks, but no improvement. It was so difficult to focus with these glasses that I just stopped wearing them.
A couple of months ago, I went back to my ophthalmologist for a routine exam and he asked me how the glasses were working out. I told him I had quit wearing them. I suggested that something might be wrong with them, so he took my glasses and checked them with a machine that reads the prescription. I hear him say «Oh, I see the problem» and felt vindicated. It turns out that they ARE screwed up — one lens has the «optical center» in the upper right corner, while the other has its center just below the middle line and to the left. My eyes were trying to focus in two different places! Since I’m not a chameleon, these glasses could never work according to my doctor.
I tried to contact Sterling Optical on their website (they own Site for Sore Eyes) since the store refused to admit any problem. I filled out their complaint form and sent it. No response, of course. I tried it again a couple of weeks later, still no response.
At this point, I can’t waste any more time on these people. I’m off to Costco or Lens Crafters with my prescription to find something that will work.
They should change their name to «Site for Sore Customers»…

It is 5 stars for the being able to get my new glasses in less than 2 hours, thus saving other drivers from a driver who could not even see freeway signs.
Zero stars for the cheap plastic frame that they gave me for free, to tempt me to also get sunglasses. The frames melted enough that they hung really strangely on my face. I went back and they put they in hot water and bended them back into shape. The repair lasted one day. I went back and got another pair. They then told me the reason was that I left them in a hot car. Perhaps, but my other pair has lasted for over 300k miles in a hot car and never changed shape. And darn, they wouldn’t use my non-​melting frames.
I have not used their on-​site optometrist.

5 Stars for the Optometrist, –3 for the experience in the shop.
I went there with every intention of purchasing a pair of glasses. My daughter had been there recently and was pleased, so I had no reservations in going there and expected a great experience.
As said, the optometrist, Dr. Lee was great. She did a very thorough exam and explained things very well.
Then, I went out into the shop…
An older woman waited on me and was rather short with answers — not very friendly. She told me that I could pick a second pair of glasses free, which seemed great to me, and I first picked out a pair of low cost frames, which were very poor quality, but hey, as a backup they were fine. It took me a while to pick the second frames and she seemed to be getting impatient, but I finally had a pair and then she started adding things up.
Well, the main glasses were going to cost me almost $ 900, and that was with me pulling things I wanted put like transitions and high index lenses. I then found that I would have to pay for «extras» like progressive lenses and so forth in my «free» pair of glasses — I believe these would have cost me $ 400. So $ 1,300 for a pair of glasses. I walked out.
I went to the local Costco with the prescription from Dr. Lee, got frames that I liked much better, and ALL of the bells and whistles I wanted — total cost — $ 236 — over $ 1,000 less! Both places quoted me 7 – 10 business days for delivery.
Note that I have very specialized lenses Progressive, Prism, High index lenses, scratch resistant and glare resistant, UV resistant coatings, transition lenses. Most people under 45 would not have the complexities I have. That said, the crazy prices of this place relative to Costco demands that I warn people away from this place.
I want to point out that I would go to Dr. Lee again (her exam was only $ 10 more than the Costco exam, and I thought she was extremely thorough), but stay away from the shop — unless you like getting ripped off.

This Site for Sore Eyes is the one that the guys at work use to get their prescription safety glasses. It’s convenient location-​wise, there’s an optometrist on premises for eye exams, staff are helpful, and the glasses are ready on a timely basis.
However, it’s still a good idea to get a separate full eye exam beyond your immediate prescription needs. And if you’re a Cal Alumnus, I highly recommend the UC Berkeley Eye Center at Minor Hall.