Stahl Eyecare Experts

I have been legally blind in my right eye for more than 50 years. Do Hufnagel performed cataract surgery Monday and I can see from that eye for the first time. He is a very skilled surgeon and I cannot thank him enough. I was told all of my life that there was nothing that could be done. I would recommend him to anyone. My biggest fear was losing the vision in my good eye. Now I’m more at ease and looking forward to seeing the world with two eyes

Scam artists and thieves, once your eyes are dilated they will try to empty your pockets, be really carefull not to let them cheat you with the $ 500.00 glasses «special».
DONT BE FOOLED-​same product for less than half just about everywhere.
Unprofessional staff, rude dismissive Drs and high prices make this eye «factory» a place to avoid at ALL cost.

Dr. Werner is hands down the best ophthalmologist I’ve been too. I have seen many doctors in my life, and my dad (who had his LASIK done by Dr. Werner), recommended I give him a shot. It was a pleasurable experience on all fronts.

Dr. Marc Werner did Lasik on both eyes almost 19 years ago. I have been ²⁰⁄₁₀ ever since. I now live in Los Angeles, but I schedule my trips to New York to include check ups with Dr. Werner. He and his staff have always been available to me for and my many questions over the years. I am grateful for the Amazing service from the STahl Staff and Dr. Werner.

I used Stahl Eyecare experts on Long Island for many years so when I moved to Brooklyn I was relieved to find they also had an office in Manhattan. Unfortunately the office in Manhattan was below expectations in every way. Last year, I went for my eye check up and to get new glasses but I had trouble with my glass prescription when I was given new glasses — they made me dizzy and gave me headaches through the eyes. Had to go back twice (!) to get a new prescription that was better. The first time I went back I was told to tough it out I’ll get used to them (!). The second time I was angry and they finally re did my prescription.
Recently I’ve been dealing with bloodshot swollen eyes, gritty deposits, and incredibly itchy. I’ve been back six times in the last six weeks. I’m suffering here — very uncomfortable and worried (after all it is my eyesight I’m worried about) Kept having to go back to complain that the symptoms were still bothering me. I was on antibiotic drops for a week, and told to use artificial tears. That’s it. I’ve seen three of the doctors and they just scratch their heads. Its the same complaint but they charge you like its the first time they are seeing you and its a new problem. Six co– pay’s later I’m still suffering and they make me feel like I’m faking. I don’t need the attitude — I just want relief. I felt the doctors and staff were not taking me seriously. And I was extra mad because I had been such a long term loyal patient. I’m off to find an eye doctor who cares more about my eyesight than about the amount of co-​pays they can squeeze out of you.
Also I have to mention that you WILL sit in the waiting room for 90 minutes (!) waiting to be seen. They take their sweet time messing you around.
My advice is — don’t bother with Stahl– use anyone else !

I’m a bit surprised to see some negative reviews, as well.
As a preface, I’d probably have given 4 stars after my first regular check-​up, but bumped it up to 5 after a couple of visits and having Lasik earlier this year.
For my first visit, everything was fine, quick, professional. I didn’t have to wait long before seeing anyone and was in & out very fast, probably under an hour. I’ve been visiting an ophthalmologist for about 20 years, and there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary here. The only thing that would’ve bumped it down to 4-​stars was that the doctor (Dr. Werner) was in and out very fast — I got the sense that they schedule a ton of patients, so there is limited time. Fortunately, I have healthy eyes, so I really didn’t need anything more than a new prescription and checkup, so maybe that was why.
Fast-​forward a year, and it was a much more impressive experience. I went in for my next annual check-​up, and Dr. Werner and a few other people actually remembered me — that was a pleasant surprise. Enough to make me happy I’d come back.
The real kicker for me, though, has been the Lasik procedure I had in early 2014. The results were great — I can see a bit better than ²⁰⁄₂₀ after about 6 weeks. Also, Stahl made it super easy. They have their own driver service for the day of the operation, which was great since their surgical center is in Garden City. I live in Brooklyn and was scheduled to be picked up. My surgery was scheduled for the morning after we had a foot of snow, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. As it turned out, I didn’t need to worry — the driver was there as scheduled, was super friendly, and I arrived at my appointment with no problem at all.
Once there, everything was fairly simple. I’d guess I was in and out in less than 2 hours. Everything was very clean and professional feeling, and I thought I got a good explanation of what was going to happen. Also, Dr Werner was very helpful throughout the operation, telling what was about to happen each step.
All in all, I’d definitely recommend. It’s not like having your eyes dilated & examined is the most exciting thing to do, but this was a perfectly good experience.

I had a 9am appointment and no one showed up until 9:10. They were rude to me for being concerned about the tardiness. I didn’t see the doctor until about 9:20. And that’s only because I pressed the front desk person to get my chart to the doctor. The doctor did a fine job, it was a routine exam

That’s a most interesting comment about my initial review. You are the ONLY eye care facility that diagnosed my eye pressure as being high in 25 years. I tell you one thing I won’t forget — your incompetence and impudent way of treating your patients. What’s your excuse for giving me the wrong eyeglass Rx, that I must’ve forgotten that eyeglasses are an accessory and not really meant to improve eyesight!!!

I’m surprised by the negative reviews. They get four stars because I felt a bit rushed the second time I came in. I went in for a contact lens annual fitting in September-​ish (because you need a new GD prescription every year), and also for a LASIK evaluation. I ended up going back a week later for a follow up.
The way my appointments worked, and I imagine they all work, is you see Galo for the lens fitting and then the doctor (Werner in my case) for an eye health exam. I read one review by someone that sounded shocked not to be seen by the doctor right away, but I’ve found this arrangement is pretty typical in my years of seeing various eye doctors.
At my first appointment, Galo gave me some contacts with a larger diameter than I was used to, because he saw some pressure on my eyes from the lens being too tight. He said my eyes weren’t looking great because of blood restriction and such from contact lens over wear, which is definitely plausible, since I wear them sun up to sun down. He also went up a quarter step in the prescription. I took some samples home to try out for a few days, and was instructed to come back after leaving them completely out for 3 days for the LASIK eval.
They felt a little better, but I hardly noticed the prescription change. When I came back they decided to lower it back down, but kept the increased diameter. The second time they didn’t charge me a copay –and thus didn’t bill it to my insurance as a second appointment– and instead looped it in with a free LASIK eval. Granted, there was extra incentive for them to bring me back in, since I was interested in LASIK. It was nice to do the lens try-​out, though. Getting those right really is kind of subjective… just think about sitting the chair and saying «well… maybe the first lens is a little less blurry? umm… I don’t know, they look really similar.» At least that’s how it usually goes with me.
I thought Werner was great. Attentive, reassuring, and detailed. Galo likewise, and the staff was friendly (or as friendly as you can expect a New York City medical front desk to be).
I think it’s obvious from their website that this medical group is focused on LASIK — much of the reason I chose to see them, and did end up booking an appointment for the surgery. I’ll post a follow up review of that experience.
And a note on wait times… I see lots of poor reviews about long wait times at medical offices, and great reviews when they get you in quickly. Yeah, it’s annoying when you’re first in the day and the doc is running late, but otherwise, longer wait times aren’t necessarily indicative of a doctor twiddling his thumbs in the back, or catching up on The Days of Our Lives. It usually means they’re spending too much time talking with patients. Not a terrible thing in my opinion. I’d rather read reviews on the quality of service.

If I had to depend on the negative reviews I probably would never come to Stahl, but I researched Dr. Werner which led me there. Most of my communication was with Galo, who was fitting me for contact lenses. Galo is a fast talker so be sure to pay attention or you might get lost, but I think he is awesome. I felt he was thorough, knowledgeable and understanding. Dr. Werner, the same. I am considering Lasik and he assured me that someone with my prescription could be corrected, so that made me feel really good.
My only negative comment would be their time management. I was waiting around for quite some time for my field visual exam, and to see Dr. Werner. I work nearby so I use my lunch hour to accomplish a lot, and sitting for 2 hours is not how I wanted to spend my lunch. Otherwise, the service is excellent. They are quite busy I get, but they have to do better with their scheduling practices. There was one receptionist that was a bit attitudinal, but I wasn’t really affected by it. I would highly recommend Stahl and the service of Dr. Werner and Galo!

I got Lasik here, while the surgery went perfectly and I can see a little better than ²⁰⁄₂₀.
However my biggest gripe with this place is that the staff and doctors have no respect for the patients time. My surgery was delayed for over an hour for no reason for explanation. I even arrived 15 min before my appointment time.
During moody first post op, once again I had the first appointment slow and arrived on time, the doctor was late and didn’t see me till 20 min later.
However, my worst so far is my second post op experience. My appointment was for 9:30, I was on time and checked in. The receptionist acknowledges that I was there. I sit down and I wait, the tech doesn’t come out, after 20 min of waiting, I go back to the receptionist for an update. «He will be with you in a min» she says. Ten min later he ten comes out and checks my eyes. Then leaves the room so I can wait for Dr. Chang to see me.
Another 15 min passes by and I realize that I don’t hear the doctors voice. I go out into the reception area and ask the tech if the doctor was even in. He says the doctor was stuck in traffic.
NOBODY HAD THE COURTESY TO TELL ME HE WAS STUCK IN TRAFFIC AND WAS LATE!
What a waste of my time and so unprofessional.
No courtesy at all.

Really surprised by the low stars that Stahl is getting on Unilocal.I have been wearing glasses since I was 8 so I know some things about the eye care experience and Stahl is pretty top notch.
Galo, in particular, is the man. I can’t believe someone complained about him! But I noticed he responded on Unilocal to apologize, so… another point for Galo in my book!
I usually see a lot of people in the waiting room, yet I’ve never waited for my appointment. They do have a more limited selection of frames than your typical storefront, yet I’ve found frames I like here two years in a row.
Oh, one more thing ladies… Dr. Werner is total eye candy and, with your temporarily impaired vision, you may convince yourself that he is swooping in for a kiss when he is really just examining your pupils. Make sure you don’t pucker up! Or, if you do, please let me know how it goes. Best of luck!

Dr. Thierry Hufnagel simply the best, did my Lasik few days ago, and it’s the best, changed my life 100%… My vision is not ²⁰⁄₂₀ its ²⁰⁄₁₅. Can it get any better than this? Love this doctor and his staff. No regrets 100%

I am surprised by the low ratings. I previously went to Rosemblaum Eye Center, after getting horrible treatment, (you can read my review) going thru months of treatment for conjunctivitis and then also being told I would never be able to wear contacts again in my life, I decided to get a second opinion from Stahl Eyecare. The staff there was soooo nice and accommodating! There is no long waits. My appt was at 12:00 and I saw the doctor at 12:05! The doctor was really nice after I told him my story. He prescribed me a different type of contacts that alleviated my problem and I was happy again wearing contacts… after just one visit! I’ve also had no eye problems ever since.

I’m surprised by these overly negative reviews. I’ve visited Stahl Eye Center 3 – 4 times per year for nearly 7 years now, and while my experiences haven’t always been stellar, overall I’m very happy. Sure, some of reception staff over the years could grow a little in the customer interaction area, but I feel that’s quite true of the vast majority of NYC medical practices.
The *advantages* of Stahl are entirely lacking in reviews. It’s quite nice that they have dedicated specialists for contacts, retinas, corneas, etc., and they do all forms of surgery in-​house should the need or desire arise. In a single visit I’ll see 2 – 3 different doctors, each ensuring I’m healthy in their area of focus; this is especially beneficial to me since I have a rare cornea condition, and otherwise I’d have to visit more than a single practice for regular eye exams, contacts, and cornea checkups.
Furthermore, given that the office is a team of people, you can see any of the doctors. Some of the doctors only work 2 – 3 days per week, but if you need to schedule an appointment (emergency?) then another one will gladly see you and they’re able to fit you in quickly.
Lastly, Galo has been very accommodating with my challenging eyes. Not only does my cornea condition severely restrict options in the contact lens department, but my eyes also get dry and gunky more than average. Galo has suggested I trial new contacts (new tech, new brands, etc) every year, even though we seemingly always revert back to the same brand/​model I’ve had for years. It’s unfortunate that none of his newer suggestions seem to turn out better, but I’m thankful that he’s exploring options and giving me choice. He’s quite knowledgable and pleasant to deal with, regardless of what any other reviews of him say.

It’s a shame that the great work these doctors do is being clouded by their optometrist. I’ve been seeing Dr. Chang for 9 years since he did my lasik, and have seen him annually as my opthalmologist ever since. There is usually a wait in the waiting room and exam room, but I never felt it was excessive. I have (had?) astigmatism and nearsightedness of ²⁰⁄₃₇₅ and felt I had to do something.
Nine years on, and I still don’t wear glasses or contacts — I’m thrilled with the way my surgery came out and don’t regret going with Dr. Chang in the least.

I had a great experience here. I met with Galo, an Optician and Director of the Contact Lens Division, who not only helped get rid of my headaches and eye aches, but also kept me laughing through the entire experience. He also explained to me why I was having these headaches and how to take care of my eyes better so one day I don’t go blind.
He discovered that I had been wearing the wrong prescription for years. Galo was the only optician who caught the problem and helped to remedy it.
He was also very nice and made the entire process easy and quick. I highly recommend going to see him at the Stahl Eyecare Experts.

UPDATE:
I updated the ratings two stars up, because they did everything they could to take care of the mess up and fix it, without requiring any further intervention on my side.
Still not an optimal experience, but I want to give them credit for the effort.
I had a horrible experience at the Stahl Eye center.
I actually like my eye doctor there, I think he is good, even if often tries to sell me more expensive procedures. But the place is terrible and I will not go back.
Here are the facts:
— I had to wait for 1 hour
— they tried repeatedly to sell me the most expensive frame in their collection even after I repeatedly said no.
— I asked if they could fix my current frame, which was loose. The woman who tried to sell me the most expensive frame said that she could do it. When I got my glasses back, both of my lenses had cracks in the coating, meaning that they are now useless. I told her that there was something wrong with my lenses, and she first tried to deny it, then basicallyblamed me and the fact that the lenses were «old.» [Of course my glasses were perfectly fine until she «fixed» them.]
She never admitted she must have done something wrong nor took responsibility for the damage.
I had several things planned for today, but after this misadventure (which took the entire morning), I had to go back to Brooklyn to exchange my blurry glasses for an old pair I had at home (which, by the way, has still perfect lenses, with no scratches or coating cracks) I missed the movie I already bought my ticket for, and I was upset the entire day.
Not worthed.

This review is for Galo Andrade and the Stahl Eye Center overall office support.
I wish I had read reviews for this place before I went. My experience with this place has been very negative and it’s basically been impossible for me to get a prescription for my contacts. While Galo corrected a faulty prescription I had received from an optometrist, his customer service skills and that of the staff have been nothing short of a nightmare. If you want to know in more detail read on. Otherwise, I would completely avoid this place.
When I came back for a refill of my contacts, he gave me a different prescription from what he originally provided. I had to point this out to him. There is one woman who either works the front desk or generally helps him who has a horrendous attitude. When she gave me my contacts I was in the waiting room and she threw everything in my lap.
Next I tried to order contacts through Lenscrafters since they are next door to my office. The woman at Lenscrafters asked me for my doctor’s information and I gave them the contact info for the Stahl Eye Center. She called me back and told me that the receptionist there refused to provide it unless I personally called it in. She also added that the woman she spoke with was ‘very nasty’. So I called them to personally request that Lenscrafters on Broad Street receive my prescription information. When I called them they asked me to call their Garden City office. When I called their Garden City office they told me no-​one was there and to call the next day.
Every time I’ve tried calling this place it usually results in the receptionist asking me to call back or call the Garden City Office. They always have trouble finding my file. Their administrative operation is a mess.
I tried one last time ordering contacts through my insurance company. I received an email from them indicating that the Stahl Eye Center has no records of me in their office.
I should’ve just put up the money to go and see a new eye doctor. This place is just not worth the stress!

Is there any way to give them NO stars? These guys are crooks! I scheduled an appointment after my eye was swollen for a couple of days and they made me wait for roughly an hour. Then some guy comes in. Spends less than 5 minutes looking at my eye and says just to put hot water on it. He told me to come back a week later for a check up. Once again I was made to wait for an hour then this new doctor came and looked at me for less than 5 minutes and said the same thing. I get a bill a few weeks later for $ 475! When I called their billing to ask about it, the most unprofessional, rude lady spoke with me. These guys are not here to help people but rather rip you off for all you’re worth.
They never even told me what was wrong with my eye. It wasn’t until a few weeks later that I go someplace else for an eye exam that the nice Optomegrist told me about my glands. And she did that for no charge.