Boots Opticians

[Notstayingup]

Booked an appointment for my nearly 5 year old to have her eyes tested tomorrow.

The shop just called me to remind me I have an appointment tomorrow (very nice of them) and proceeded to tell me that the appointment would take around a hour! For what?? So I asked what could possibly take that long and she said that they would do a prescreening, take images of her eyes and then do the test. I was as when I had my eyes tested last time they spent more time trying to sell me stuff (special images of the back of my eyes, new glasses when my prescription hadn't changed etc) but I thought they wouldn't bother for a basic child's free eye test.

AIBU to think that is a ridiculously long time for a test that should take around 30 mins max?? andbedreadingitnow

[wigglesrock]

I think my 8 year olds first eye test took around 40/45 mins - they did all the checks you mentioned and then she needed glasses so they sorted out what prescription she needed, had a chat with her & me about when she needed to wear the glasses, picked out pairs she liked, then checked out what glasses were comfy on her - across the nose etc. If she hadn't have needed glasses the appt would probably have taken 25/ 30 mins. Tbh I was really impressed with them - the staff were brilliant with my dd and there was no hard selling. The glasses and lens we got were within the prescription cost.

[PPie10]

I don't see what the big problem is. They were just informing you of the length of time to prepare yourself in case. You don't have to go.

[IHopeYouStepOnALegoPiece]

I love boots opticians tbh...they're extremely thorough. It does tKe a while but I come out feeling confident that they've been as thorough as possible

[WannaBeAWarhol]

My 6 year old has just got glasses, his first opticians appointment took about 45 mins, they then booked another one for the next week to have a different test. After that they said they knew what prescription he needed but they like to refer children to the hospital. 9 week wait for a hospital appointment! He finally got his glasses a couple of weeks ago! I thought we'd be straight in n out n sorted with a pair of glasses!

[kali110]

What is the problem? They're telling you how long it may take.
Last time i went for an eye test i had to have drops and i couldn't see for 30 minutes so i can well imagine how long apps can take.

[WannaBeAWarhol]

Also my post sounds quite arsey n I'm not, Boots opticians were great and I'd always go back there with DS it was just a very long drawn out process for us!

[SabineUndine]

Opticians are really thorough these days. I remember for my first specs, it took about 10 minutes. Now they do loads of stuff to check your eyes are healthy. I think it's great.

[Notstayingup]

Thanks for all the responses - guess I ABU! Think I will go well prepared with lots of distractions!!

[TrollTheRespawnJeremy]

If they only booked you in for 30 mins and your child does require glasses then it means the appointment behind you will run late will they accommodate you.

They're just ensuring that they have enough time to deal with each customer. Wish more places did that rather than packing them in!

[barleysugar]

It's probably long in case they need to use eye drops to dilate the pupils, which they really should do with a child. The drops can take 30 mins to work!

[WonkoTheSane42]

An hour seems reasonable for a child's eye test. An optometrist can easily take 45 minutes on the test alone, depending on how thorough they are and on how experienced they are. Eye tests are pretty important health checks; it's not just about needing glasses or not. One of my partner's colleagues helped to find a brain tumour in a teenage patient during a routine eye test.

[maisiejones]

I think Boots are rubbish. They took so long to make my new glasses that by the time I picked them up my vision had changed. They then charged me £90 for a new lens only for me to find, when examined by an ophthalmic surgeon that I'd developed a cataract. No wonder I couldn't see!

[Notstayingup]

Just to come back to say that the optician was wonderful, we were in and out in 30 mins and I was very very impressed.