I've purchased several pairs of glasses here over the years and my experience with the last two pairs was one of the worst customer service experiences I've ever had. I ordered one pair of half frame glasses and brought in another pair of my own frames to have lenses put in. After waiting a week longer than they initially told me, I went to pick them up. The lenses in the half frame glasses were ground incorrectly so that there was a gap between the lenses and the frame. In the other pair, the lenses were shaped asymmetrically and the frames were bent in such a way to try to hide it. When I pointed this out to David, he acted like he didn't know what I was talking about and that I was being too picky. He did agree to regrind the lenses for these frames but said that the gap in the other frames was just how those glasses were designed (even through the plastic lenses that were in for display didn't have this gap). So I return in a week to pick up the ""corrected"" glasses only to find that they were worse than before. I could not believe this, and immediately pointed it out. This time, both David and Samantha presented a tone of ""too bad, I don't want to hear it, this is how it is."" I was treated rudely and realized there was nothing I could do except speak with the store owner, who wasn't in at the time. So I made an appointment with the owner and discussed the problems I was having with him. He acted completely uninterested in listening to me, and when I showed him my glasses he said he could see what I was talking about but ""they're not that bad.""
The story ends by me going to Goleta Valley Optical to have the lenses reground for the glasses that had the gap, and THEY DID IT PERFECTLY the first time. The other pair of glasses ended up never being used and filed away in a drawer in case I desperately need a pair. Still, I wouldn't be caught in public wearing them....
Summary: Unapologetic incompetence, combined with rude and poor customer service and a lethargic owner. Certainly, Santa Barbara deserves better than this.
Pros: decent selection of frames
Cons: incompetent staff and terrible customer service
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