I’ve been short-sighted since I was about five years old, so wearing glasses is second nature to me now. When I was younger I used to have those horrible thick rimmed NHS glasses which I hated as made me feel different from my friends. I still cringe when looking at photographs of me as a child wearing them. Thankfully things have moved on considerably since then and now glasses come in a wide range of colours and styles.
Over the years I have visited several opticians but a couple of years ago Specsavers opened in our town and I was keen to try them out. I first visited them in 2012 after I had Erin and was due for an eye test as it had been about three years since my last one. I had quite a good experience so decided I would stick with them. Then two years ago I took Luc to them for his first eye test after he had been suffering with headaches for a period of time. It turned out he needed glasses for reading and looking at the board in school. He chose his own glasses and I have to say they were so much better than the ones I had to wear at his age. Then last month I was approached by Specsavers and asked if I would like to review their range of Frozen glasses but as Luc is the only one of the children who wears glasses I didn’t think he would thank me! So instead I was asked if I would like to review an eye test myself. Great timing for me as it had been just over two years since my last eye test so I agreed.
A couple of days later I received a voucher that entitled me to a free eye test and also glasses up to the value of £150, all for the purpose of this post and something I am very grateful for. I got straight on the telephone to book my appointment and managed to get one for a fortnight later. Initially I hoped I would be able to go alone however the week before I had a new child start with me and I obtained permission to take her along with me to my appointment.
That morning I took my four to school as usual and meet my minded child then we both headed over to Specsavers. My appointment was the first of the day so we didn’t have to wait. I was shown a seat just off the shop floor where my details were checked and then I had my eyes photographed to check for abnormalities then we were shown to some seats to wait for the eye test. One of the members of staff kindly gave the little one with me one of their children’s brochures with a few games in to look at and I had taken some plain paper and crayons with me too for her to play with. After a five minutes it was time for us to go in for the eye test.
The optician went over some questions with me asking if I had experienced any problems since my last eye test. I hadn’t apart from fact I had been finding that I do not need to wear my glasses when reading or using the laptop most of the time. The optician explained this was normal for short slightedness and that I will find in a couple of years it will change again. She then reviewed the photographs of my eyes and said they looked normal before turning the lights off and using her torch to check the front of my eyes as the photographs only check the back. That was also okay so we moved on to check my vision using the different lenses to find ones that were both comfortable and enabled me to see clearly. With that complete the optician informed me that my prescription had only changed very slightly but that I would need new lenses. I have to say the little one with me was very good and was very interested in what was happening. We were then shown back out into the main shop front where I was told they needed to check for any blind spots I may have. This entailed looking into a machine one eye at a time and watching for spots to flash around the screen. Each time I saw one I had to press a button. It’s a very quick process and I passed with flying colours.
Then it was time to choose new glasses, the member of staff showed me which ones were within my budget and then left me to have a look for five minutes. I had lots of fun trying different styles on and making the little one with me laugh. When I found a couple of pairs I liked the member of staff went to see if he had any others in the store-room. My old pairs were frameless ones and I had quite liked them however they did not have any available. After a lot of humming and arghing I opted to go for two pairs, one in a black frame and another a purple. With the decision made we went to sit down to sort out ordering them with the correct lenses for me.
I was told about Specsavers new Digital precision Eyecare which is very clever and helps calculate the measurements needed to ensure your glasses fit perfectly and should mean that less adjustments when your glasses are ready for you. It’s also very simple too and is all done using an iPad and makes you feel like your having your photograph taken!
I was then told I would receive a call when the glasses where ready which is usually around a week. I thanked them for all their help as we left. My appointment had been first thing on a Monday morning so I hadn’t expected to hear anything until the following week however on the Saturday I received a call to say my glasses had come in and offering me an appointment to fit them that afternoon. So later that day I went back to collect them. The fitting part was very easy and only the arms of the frames needed to be adjusted very slightly as they were a bit loose but that was it. It was a very straight forward process. I opted to wear my old pair home and then adjust to my lenses there as I was driving. I was going out with friends for a meal that evening so it would be chance to see if they noticed my new glasses too! I don’t take photo’s with me in very often but here’s one with one of the new pairs, what do you think?
I was very pleased with the whole experience with Specsavers, from eye test through to choosing new glasses and fitting it was a very smooth process and very straight forward. I was provided with information about what they were doing and why at every stage and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to them in future. In fact I made appointments for Rowan and Trystan to have their first eye tests with them this week.
So on Tuesday Morning we all headed down to the branch again and the two younger boys had their eye test. The only difference was that they were also tested for colour blindness, something that men suffer with. Trystan is at about the right age for it to start displaying itself too and in fact his test indicated he may well be colour blind and will be retested next year. My dad is colour-blind and it does tend to be a hereditary condition. Neither of the boys required glasses at this stage which Rowan was disappointed about as he wanted some glasses! Again the process was very smooth and the optician tailored the eye tests to the age of each of the boys and explained everything as she did it which put them both at ease. So it’s safe to say the children are also happy about the way their eye tests went with Specsavers. So a big thank you to Specsavers Cardigan for helping make our experiences good ones.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a voucher for a free eye test and glasses for the purpose of this post however the content of the post is 100% my own.