To use local optician for eye test & Specsavers for glasses

[MrsQuince]

I have an appointment booked with my local optician and suspect I will be told I need new specs. While I always try to support indie businesses, I feel torn as this particular opticians stocks only really expensive designer frames.

So I am considering taking the prescription and buying the glasses elsewhere - either Specsavers or an online company.

Are there any potential downsides to this approach?

And what about the ethics of it - will the local optician still make a profit on my test (I get a free NHS test but pay a bit extra for OCT scan) or is the margin really just in the sale of frames?

You can choose to buy from wherever you wish.

My only comment is that the two occasions when I've bought from Specsavers, the glasses have come apart within weeks and I've then spent ages looking for the tiny screws and reassembling them. Total pain.

I haven't had the same issue with Vision Express or on-line

I had exactly the same question , same circumstances @MrsQuince .
In the end I went to Specsavers for test and glasses.
It was ok but I struggled with the hard sell for expensive frames
I've previously got glasses from Asda and next time will go back there for test and glasses. Cheaper than Specsavers and nicer staff.

Of course you can do that. I always shop around. You just say that you can't see anything you like, and they'll give you a copy of the prescription.

I had similar issues, with them.,

I do the same thing. The indie is really, really good but very expensive. They also still insist on face masks and I refuse to try on multiple pairs of pricey frames while having to wear gloves and mask.

Why don't you buy the frames you want from wherever and then take them with you for the eye test and ask the optician to fit the new lenses.

My local optician has designer frames but also cheaper ones. They always hand over the prescription.

THey also don't sell contact lenses, they will do the annual check, or if you are new to contacts the initial fitting, but they say you can get them cheaper online.

If you are taking the prescription away with you ask them to measure your 'pupil distance' it's not on the standard script but you need it to get the lenses right.

The opticians at Specsavers are local opticians. Specsavers is a franchise and its likely that your particular franchise is operated by a local optician who has invested into the franchise and also works at the store.

I would book both the sight tests and specs from the same place tbh. Often prescriptions with different optometrists will vary, so if you need a re test, assuming specs made up and you couldn’t tolerate the prescription, that may be easier with the same practice. Specsavers have a very good policy on this. IMHO you wont necessarily get a better service from an independent, and you won’t be supporting them by having a sight tests, only by ordering specs, this is where they make their money.

@Almostwelsh specsavers are not a franchise, they are run as joint venture, which is different to a franchised business model.

I had problems at 2 separate branches of Specsavers, I had a new pair of specs, driving the following day, suddenly felt nauseous, when I got to the shop, the right lense had fallen out! They didn't want to know! Boots have me completely the wrong script.3rd Specsavers, sent by GP for scanning. She told me to use blephasol and eyes permanently. Went to Asda,eye test 3 hours, lovely guy thought it might be a detached retina. Told me...use the products a couple of months,then break, because otherwise you get a knock on effect, like too many painkillers giving you a headache. Have now gone there 10 years. Glasses from glassesdirect for over 20 years, never had a problem. The last Specsavers wanted to sell me contact lenses, I am mildly short sighted. They put them in free trial, got in the car, couldn't see the instruments. I could see miles away, but not close up,had a hell of a job removing them.

Indi opticians all the way for me. They fix a broken "arm", do stuff to make glasses for perfectly again, know le personally and know my eyesight and I trust them to see any problems in my eyes. Why not pay for that? It's one of the few "shops" on a high street where that old fashioned "personal customer service" remains strong.

I ditched my local independent optician after he charged me £100 for an eye test. He was taking the piss.

Specsavers, vision direct etc vary dramatically so of course peoples experiences will vary

Where I used to live, I wouldn't touch Specsavers because I had a bad experience there and chose Vision Direct

Now where I live I have been using the same Specsavers branch for 20 years and have seen the same 1 or 2 optometrists throughout that time. I get excellent CS there

Only one time have I had a problem with a prescription where they had changed the brand of lens they used, the partner tracked down my old lens brand and I got replacements within a week

I have never experienced "hard sell'. I take a basket and walk around the displays and pick whatever frames I think I like, then take them back and sit with an advisor and try them on and this can easily take a couple of hours, back and forth. I have a complex prescription, I have to wear glasses to see anything, so the frames are something I have to really love but it doesn't matter if I pay £49 or £149 and indeed I came out with two pairs this week, one pair from each end of the price bracket. Its the cost of my prescription that pushes up the price to "do I need to remortgage the house " level

@Roselilly36 it still means that it's likely a local optician has invested into the business and actually works at the store.