Friday, April 10, 2015

New Glasses


Our family purchases vision insurance primarily because so many of us wear glasses and my eyes are so bad that I need to get them checked each year to check for retinal detachment because I'm extremely near-sighted.  The last time we all went to the eye doctor, he was extremely condescending to us.  We decided to look for another doctor in our net work, but hadn't found one.  The year was slipping away, so in December I called and made an appointment with the doctor we don't like just to get my benefits for 2014 before they expired.

Once I arrived at the doctor's office, a pleasant surprised awaited.  The previous doctor had retired and sold his practice to a new doctor.  She was thorough and pleasant.  After the exam, I spoke with the office manager and explained that I wanted to order either contacts or glasses with my 2014 benefits and would then return in January to purchase the other with my 2015 benefits.  She made an appointment for January and said that we would order the contacts then, because the doctor wanted to make sure that they were working properly for me.

When I returned in January, I was told that they had filed the claim from my previous visit without placing the order for contacts and I couldn't use my 2014 benefits any longer.  I ordered the contacts with my 2015 benefits, but left without purchasing glasses.  Due to my poor vision and need for bifocals, the lenses for my glasses would have cost me a little over $400 plus frames.

Mike wanted me to replace my glasses because it was difficult for me to read with my old glasses and I get headaches when I wear them for extended periods.  He boss at work regularly ordered glasses from an online company called Zinni Optical.  The site offers tons of frame choices.  The customer uploads a photo of themselves and then enters their measurements and prescription.  The site eliminates frames that aren't suitable for the prescription or measurements.  The customer clicks on various frames and the site loads the frame onto the uploaded photograph.  Mike was thrilled and had a great time picking out two different frames for me.  I ordered both pairs with my strong bifocal prescription, anti-glare coating, and ultra-light lenses for $160!!

It took about two weeks for the glasses to arrive.  The plastic frames fit perfectly.  A small adjustment was necessary for the wire frames, but it was an easy adjustment for me to do.  It's been over three months since they arrived and I will purchase glasses from them in the future.  The frames are slightly less heavy-duty than frames from the eye doctor, but they were also less that 15% of the cost.  My frames were $12 and $10. 

Amy and Katie ordered glasses from Zinni and recently received their orders.  They are pleased with their purchases as well.  I highly recommend them.

2 comments:

Lucius Calhoun said...

Hello, Karen! It must have been quite disappointing to not be able to use your 2014 benefits, but I’m glad you found an easier alternative, especially since you tend to have headaches. Also, I think you made a better purchase, what with all those functional frame coatings at a cheaper price. Thanks for sharing!


Lucius Calhoun @ Bolton Vision Centre

Unknown said...

I'm in the same boat with my eye care. My coverage is for every two years. Luckily my far-sightedness isn't too bad, but I've recently started developing astigmatism. My new pair of glasses ended up setting me back a hundred dollars while my insurance covered $170. I'm definitely going to have to check out some other options for myself in the future.

Doris Gibbs @ Moody Eyes