Eye See

During my unscheduled dismount of Buster the face shield on my helmet scratched the right lens of my eyeglasses. Accordingly, I went to the Optical Shop at Wake Ophthalmology Associates to order a replacement lens. When the lens came in last week, it was the wrong shape and had to be reordered. The replacement came in yesterday and I stopped by to pick it up today.


After doing a few calculations, the technician presented me with a bill of $186 for the lens. You could have knocked me over with a feather. I was expecting about half that ... tops. I inquired as to what justified that price. It was a "poly" lens I was told. OK, the polycarbonate raw material must have cost a good 5¢. The lens require four holes to be drilled. How much for that? $20. I offered to do all their drill of small holes for $5. What else? Polishing. $37 for cleaning the lens with a lens cloth after attaching the lens.

I noted that, based on the original price of the glasses, the $186 charge for a single lens didn't make sense. The technician checked the computer records and announced that someone had made an error and undercharged me for the glasses when I bought them!

This was the point in time that I must have lost it.

I told them that, after a quarter century of patronage, I could no longer afford their services and asked for my prescription. They dropped the drilling and polishing charges. I paid them $149 and bid them farewell ... forever.

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