Edmonds Eyecare Associates

My son has been going here for almost three years and though our Optometrist was nice he gave my son the wrong prescription for his glasses the year before and didn’t know it until recently. My son went a whole year with the wrong prescription and this year we have to pay out of pocket for new/​correct glasses to replace the wrong one. My son also wears contacts most of the day and changes into his glasses during the evening or when he is having a lazy day. He did complain that the glasses seemed wrong but we were told that switching from contacts to glasses need some adjustments (we were told this by the Optometrist) so I double checked the prescription to make sure Target didn’t make a mistake, never thinking that it was the optometrist who made the mistake. The associates at Edmonds Eyecare said it was our mistake for not having brought the glasses in to them and that we should have not trusted the optometrist! It was such a crazy explaination that the conversation got heated and I had her repeat what she was saying. It bascially came down to that it was my fault for trusting our doctor with the prescription… WOW. Isn’t that the whole reason we pay so much to see them in the first place. They didn’t want to take any responsibility for their mistake, even though the Optonetrist admitted to the mistake the company would not help pay for the correct glasses. They also try hard to sell you their glasses which are more expensive then most other places, charge for fitting fees and sitting fees for contacts and ordering contacts from them cost a considerble $$ more. THe sad thing is that my son went a whole year with the wrong glass prescription.

Very caring and professional. I have been going here for the past several years. My entire family trusts their care. They do a very thorough job and explain any issues. Also, they work great and are very patient working with younger children.

Wow, I couldn’t disagree more with the rest of these reviews.
All of the staff at Edmonds Eyecare have been professional and prompt… and yes, I’ve been having eye exams for more than 4 decades and you always have to wait in the dark room. You are having your eyes dilated. Your eyes need to be prepared so that all the tests they are running can see inside there. It’s no quick exam, and if it is, it’s not being done right. And, yes, insurance companies are paying less and less — even the ‘EXCELLENT’ ones. But don’t immediately start blaming the Dr’s for this… do a little research on the cut that insurance companies are siphoning.
I realize that one bad experience can taint a person’s perspective, but I’ve had dozens of wonderful experiences at Edmonds Eyecare, and I know that there are plenty of others out there who would say the same.

This place is just plain terrible. My insurance has always been the same and it covers EVERYTHING. And now they come up with these Exam fees ($ 40) when you get there, or a fitting fee ($ 150) if you want to try new pairs of contacts because the ones you are wearing are extinct. Seriously? I’ve had a fitting there for free and now suddenly you have all these surprise fees? That my EXCELLENT INSURANCE just happens to NOT COVER? Yeah because the insurance company knows it’s bogus. They are just trying to make more money. They always screw up my insurance, mess up my chart and have no idea what’s going on. These are my EYES, I need to be able to SEE, I don’t want some Joe Schmoe messing up my prescription.
Stay FAR FAR AWAY.

My dad tried to get his prescription filled. It was a four month process. Basically the lab was havjng issues, and so his glasses never got made. They ended up just giving him the glasses free. After sending them in the mail, to the wrong address of course.

I waited in the waiting room a half hour after my scheduled time. I then waited in the exam room over 45 minutes for the dr. When the doctor did finally arrive he seemed uninterested in actually helping me. He then preceded to tell me that my eyes have different prescriptions. Knowing this for years it didn’t surprise me. He then baffled me by saying your eyes are different but lets just make them the same. When I asked why he told me they’re not that different and it’ll be easier for you. My eyes have been different for 7 years I think I can handle it. But he assured me I would not even notice because the difference is that small. I should have stood my ground but I trusted him. Wrong move I now get headaches from my glasses and contacts that I changed to the new prescription. I know have to pay out of pocket to go somewhere else to get an actual prescription, glasses and contacts.
After the dr I had to wait another half hour just to talk to someone about glasses and they didn’t even have a selection worth looking at. Most were also $ 350-​$ 400.
I don’t want anyone else to have money and time wasted so steer clear of this place.

EEA used to be very good, but I think they came under new management about 2008 or 2009 because since then I’ve had a lot of grief with them. One time they dilated my eyes and forgot about me, left me sitting in an exam room for well over an hour before I realized what had happened and stormed out. They also push very hard on the «upsell» options these days, with every phone call resulting in a recommendation for lots of exams and procedures. To get my reading glasses replaced I was told I’d have to have a $ 45 «contact lens evaluation.» I’ve had a couple of medical emergencies when my contacts scratched my eye, and each time I had to decline several procedures unrelated to the issue.
They’re okay with being told «no way» but I get tired of them contantly trying to dip into my insurance!
If I had any better options nearby I’d jump ship.

I am a huge fan of Dr Ben Stoebner. He has been my eye doctor for about 6 years (in Redmond & in Edmonds) and I can’t say enough good things about him. He was the first eye doctor to actually listen to what I was saying and not jump to conclusions when working through my vision issues. He is willing to patiently try different solutions and he is willing to recommend natural solutions too, not just prescriptions, which I really appreciate. As someone who is terrified of doctors in general and who had such bad eye doctor experiences as a kid that I literally can be brought to tears just considering an eye doctor visit, I am very careful about my doctor selection. Stoebner has gone a long way to rebuilding my trust in the medical world. Great eye doctor, great clinic.