Smith, Duane D, OD Duane Smith & Assoc

I've been a patient for about 4 years now and have finally decided that it is not worth it to get my eyes tested here. \r \r Pros:\r - Both doctors are extremely kind and knowledgeable. I have seen both and these gentlemen take the time to answer any and every question you may have. I randomly asked ""is there fluid in my eye?"" and got a 10 minute long explanation. Dr. Smith was excited to hear the question because he apparently was (leisurely) reading an article before bed the previous night about eye fluid. Hey - if this doctor is doing this in his free time, then I wanted to see him. \r - The office is associated with Lenscrafters. This makes it easy for one-stop-shopping. \r \r Cons:\r - I once had to wait 45 minutes for an appointment that I scheduled weeks ago. The receptionist did not seem apologetic nor concerned about me. While I was waiting, the receptionist left the desk for a moment and a gentleman arrived and stood, waiting. The receptionist came back and immediately began to talk on the phone and socialize rather than attend to the gentleman who was waiting. He ended up leaving out of frustration, and when I brought it to her attention, she believed that she was not at fault since he didn't interrupt her.\r - I was told that I'd be called when my trial contacts came in, but was never called. I called every two weeks, only to hear ""no, they're not in."" About 8 weeks later, I hear ""oh, they arrived a long time ago."" I go in and express my dissatisfaction to Dr. Smith. He then promised that he would call me personally when my second pair of trial lenses arrived, but again, I never got a call. \r - Don't count on them to return your messages. I had a question and was told that only a specific person could answer it, but that she was with a patient. I left my name and number and never got a call back. Two days later, I had to call again - she was still not there. \r - I am in need of a follow up appointment because my prescription is incorrect. I doubt my eyes have changed significantly within a few months, but the glasses that I just purchased currently strain my eyes. Kindness is one thing, but I would rather not have to keep getting my eyes retested. I haven't gone in yet, but I will be livid if I get charged for another appointment if my current (incorrect) prescription is still valid. \r - The staff just doesn't seem concerned about the patients. Pros: Kind doctors Cons: Unknowledgeable staff, late doctors, calls not returned more

I just got back from my initial ""eye appointment"" with Dr. Duane Smith. I put quotations because the eye appointment never happened. My appointment was scheduled for 12:00pm. I arrived on time to find that the place was empty; there was no one at the receptionist's desk. I asked the staff at Lenscrafters whether the office was open today (Sunday) and I was told that it was, but no one had arrived yet. I was then shown where the waiting area was. After sitting there for 15 minutes, the receptionist arrived. I asked him whether the doctor was there yet, and he had no idea. He gave me some paperwork to fill out. While I was waiting, the doctor arrived around 12:30pm. He came over to me and asked ""have you finished your paperwork yet?"" I said, ""no"", as I had been waiting to see whether the doctor was there before I got started. He briskly gave me an overview of the paperwork and then said ""hurry up, you're late"". I was stunned. When the receptionist came back, I told him ""I've been the one waiting when NO ONE was here and the doctor tells me to hurry up because I'M LATE? I'll take my business elsewhere."" I am not surprised to see the negative reviews after dealing with such a rude and inconsiderate doctor myself. If you value time and customer service, don't go to Dr. Duane Smith. He and the staff there should be ashamed of themselves. Cons: Rude, Inconsiderate, Late more

I am stunned at the negative reviews people have posted. I have been seeing Dr. Smith for years! His kindess is absolutely sincere. More importantly, he stays very current with the science and technology of optometry. Dr. Smith has ALWAYS been able to answer questions / concerns I have had thoroughly and expertly. He has NEVER tried to suggest anything more than I have needed. In fact, he has done the opposite. He has recommended passing on some of the procedures if the latest information he has in my file is current enough. He has tried to guide me down the path of one pair of glasses over two pairs. I will continue to go to Dr. Smith as long as he is practicing. Pros: Stays on top of the current science / technology in his fiel more

Before you go there - please be prepared to additional!\r If you pay, he looks professional and kind; but he has his unique way to take all the money out from your account! Be prepared! Free follow-up? It is only a dream! He will charge you again and again so be aware!!!!!!!! Pros: seems quite professional Cons: actually very greedy more

I could not agree more with the lady that gave a previous negative review of this ""doctor""\r He does not care about giving you a decent service but about you getting lost after you have paid.\r His ""kind manners"" are for the first visit, then he becomes very impolite and rude - - just as he was described above. It was hard for me to believe I was interacting with the same person when I had to see him for a second time for mis-fitted glasses. \r \r There are many doctors out there that know more about glasses and are sincerely kind. I do not recommend this guy at all!!! Zero stars would be the appropriate rating. more

I am very pleased with the office, specially, the Dr. Duane's wonderful etiquete and personality. I've been a patient for about two years and never had much trouble until last fall started experiencing difficulty with my contacts. Dr. Duane had a follow up consultation with me free of charge and prescribed another type of contacts. Unfortunately, those were being discontinuted by the manufacturer and I had to come in for another prescription. He gave me a trial pair for the new prescription (because it was a different manufacturer than the previous one), but that pair broke as I tried to put it them on. They ordered another pair for me (I have astigmatism and my prescription is so high that offices never carry it on their inventory and have to special order it) and finally, I was able to try them for two weeks. I have to say that during all this ordeal, the Dr. and the staff kept a corteous and very nice demeanor. The Dr. even asked me how my job was going when I came in and mentioned I had broke his record for precriptions in one year to a single patient!. Although, these contacts are far more expensive than the ones I was using before, I trust the Dr. when he says they are the best for me (he uses the same brand) and am happy to finally have some spare contacts. The only thing I think they need to improve is on the phone maintenance, very rarely I'll call and someone actually picks up the phone, I seem to always get a voice mail! Thankfully, they always call me back, but not without some game of phonetagging first. Despite that observation, I recommend the office and above all Dr. Duane. Pros: Late hours, inexpensive garage parking, good location, friendly staff Cons: Phone always goes to voicemail more

My initial visit to Dr. Smith's office was a walk-in many years ago when needing to get a new pair of glasses at LensCrafters on short notice. I was very pleasantly surprised by his friendliness, expertise, professionalism, and excellent bedside manner. I've been going back to his office exclusively for all my eye care appointments since then. He has been consistently terrific, takes extra time to answer all of my questions, and has demonstrated a breadth of knowledge I continue to be surprised by. For example, I recently asked about LASIK and not only did he give me great advice he also did a quick exam to determine whether I'm a likely candidate, and suggested several alternatives.\r \r In my experience the staff in his office have been great. Especially since I'm a little disorganized with my paperwork there have been a couple of occasions where I had forgotten my insurance paperwork and needed to be refunded for my visit at a later time, and in both cases they handled it promptly and with a minimum of hassle. They're very attentive and have been accommodating to last-minute schedule changes and missed appointments.\r Pros: Terrific with people, very knowledgeable, great staff Cons: None so far! more

I was totally expecting to have a horrible doctor at the mall Lenscrafters. Much to my surprise, Dr. Smith is very personable, thorough and just good at what he does. He's from the midwest and has a non-Boston sort of friendliness about him. I had brought coffee in with me to the appointment and at the end, he even asked if I'd like him to reheat it in the microwave. Haven't encountered that kind of experience with a doctor since I moved to Boston 9 years ago.\r \r BUT, the staff told me that Dr. Smith didn't accept my insurance, so I paid for the visit. Once I talked to my HR department it turns out that he DOES accept my insurance. I called his office and Bianca was very nice and said she'd just arrange for a refund for me, which was great. But they like to write you a check instead of just crediting your credit card. That was on December 15. As of today (Feb 6th) I still haven't been refunded! The Accounting dept was quick to make my insurance pay them for the visit, but they still haven't refunded me. So they got paid twice. I've called repeatedly and been told that the person who handles that is only in on Wednesdays. I call every Wednesday and have yet to get my check. \r \r It's such a shame because I thought Dr. Smith was great, but I don't think I can go back when the staff don't know what insurance they accept and the Accounting Dept is such a wreck. Pros: Great doctor, friendly, doesn't rush you Cons: Support staff can't get billing and insurance straight more

Doctor Smith is anything but fabulous. He took care of me with such warmth and concerns. At a time of my visit I thought that he'd excepted Blue Cross, but he didn't. During my second visit I expressed the fact that I wish I knew he is not affiliated with BCBS, so he offered to pay me back. He deserves to be paid and I'm glad to be back to him regardless of his affiliation (by the way, now he accepts BCBS). Dr. Smith is very professional, caring and knowledgable. If you have an eye problem, consult with him and you'll know.\r Lilia Gouarian more

I have had a great experience with Dr Duane Smith over the past several months as he has moved me to multi-focal contacts and glasses. His patience and expertise have resulted in contact fit that is so good I don't feel them. This is tricky with gas-permeable rigid lenses. I should know: I am 52 now and have been wearing contacts since I was 12. Smith is a real gem, formerly at Mass Eye and Ear. My good fortune he's now at a Lenscrafters. Highest recommendation. more

Dr. Smith he doesn't care about you as a patient after he gets that $200+ initial visit fee. He also is rude, unprofessional and, in my opinion, misadvertises. Despite the fact that he works AT Lenscrafters in the MALL, he refuses to take anyone but initial visit patients on the weekend. I'm an attorney downtown with no car, working a ton of hours, and have no way to get all the way to Cambridgeside Galleria in the middle of the week. I went for months without contacts because he would not see me on the weekend after my initial appointment. When I explained that my husband is a doctor working 120 hours a week, with the car, and I work a ton downtown, his response was, and I quote, ""I work a lot, too. So what? Take a cab."" (I didn't take a cab, b/c Cambridgeside Galleria is far from downtown, and getting a cab back from there would be very hard. Cabs don't exactly frequent malls in the burbs. ) I understand that not all optometrists take appts on the weekend, but given that he is in the mall, and actually does take ""new"" appointments on the weekend, I think it is horrible that he doesn't make exceptions and doesn't post his policy in his office. I would never have come there if I would have known that, after pocketing my money for an initial appointment, he would no longer see me as a valuable patient and would not make a simple exception. When I asked him to make an exception, he said, ""You came on a Friday for your first appointment. Now see, you ARE able to come during the week, so this is your problem, not mine."" Yes, he spoke to me that way (and I explained that my first appt was during my vacation). He was not just unprofessional with me-- he was incredibly rude. I will tell everyone I know to avoid his office like the plague. When I told him he would lose me as a patient, he said that was fine by him. So, if you're considering him as a doctor, just know that he doesn't care about you as a patient after he gets that $200+ initial visit fee. more

You know that your doctor is good, especially when you travel from outside the United States to see him. I travel from Bermuda to see Dr. Smith. He is so very professional and kind. He is able to alert me to my health by the condition of my eyes. His equipment is up to date, and never is that rushed appointment feeling you can get from other doctors. He is kind and attentive. He is the best!!!!! Pros: Professional, Kind, Attentive more