After a recent visit to Optomise in Newtownards I wondered why someone would go to a local optician…read morerather than a big brand opticians such as Specsavers? The only way to solve this debate is a good old fashioned shoot out: Optomise is a well established family business with a lot of experience. Sure you may say that Specsavers for instance employ experience staff but do they greet you by your first name when you walk into the shop? Optomise have further enhanced their services by introducing house calls to elderly and vulnerable people to their list of attributes. They offer a good choice of frames and a competitive price depending your prescription. They will also work around the customers schedule and make an appointment that is convenient for you rather than the big brand policy of fitting you in when it suits them. So there we have it, after an intriguing match up between big brand opticians and Optomise, it appears that Optomise have come out on top with a resounding 5 star to nil victory. Optomise are sure to stay top of the optician league for a long time to come. I know what your thinking, and no the refree does not need glasses.

I started taking my two girls to Specsavers back in December. We had previously gone to a smaller…read moreoptician so when we arrived at Specsavers we weren't sure what to make of it. It is an extremely busy place with lots of people walking about with clipboards- slightly daunting for the kids, felt like a bit of an interview too in the consultation area. Very professional thorough service but. Opticians are all very competent and great with the kids. On Monday my daughter stood on her glasses, I automatically saw pounds signs but we called in yesterday on passing and spoke to one of the girls with the clip boards. She told us to take a seat in the waiting area, and within a few minutes a young man came and looked at the glasses. He had them fixed for free within 5 minutes. Delighted with the service. We'll definitely be back to Specsavers!

For a while I worked in a bank and spent most of my time staring at computers in illuminous…read morelighting and after not too long I developed sore heads and had to go get my eyes tested and get glasses to work at computers. On a family recommendation I headed to Specsavers and was really pleased with the professionalism and service I got from both the sales staff and the optometrist. This is despite me offending her when attempting to flirt by asking 'do you need a degree to do this job?'. The prices are pretty good, especially as you can get two pairs of glasses for the price of one. The staff, as I said were excellent and I felt the level of service was of the hightest standard. Its located in Bloomfield Shopping Centre which means there is plenty of parking, ATMs near by and lots of other shops around which means you can pop in here while you are shopping. Very Good.

I have used RA Glass as my optician ever since childhood. The branch in Carrickfergus is the…read moreoriginal branch of which there are now 6 stores. I have always been very happy with the treatment and service I have got from RA Glass, particularly in the last number of years as I have come to require glasses. All eye-tests are through and stress free, the opticians are friendly and can answer any questions I have without any issues. They also have a good range of frames available, and contact lens plans (I haven't plucked out the courage to try these yet though!!)

Mackeys is a great opticians , I've been going here since I was a lot younger. I got a recent eye…read moretest and the optician was very friendly and very good at doing at what she does . Gave my eyes a good thorough examination and found out that I have some tearing at my retina, now going to refer me to a specialist possibly for laser surgery to hopefully repair and prevent any future damage. very good opticians, lots of frames to choose from and accurate fitting. I got my new glasses the next day so no long waiting. Car parking to rear of premises.

Although Mackeys may not be the only opticians in the area it is probably the biggest, most obvious…read moreand closest to me. For me, being somewhat contrary and choosy, big and obvious isn't usually my first choice but this time the task on hand was to arrange for my daughter to get contact lenses ASAP and going to Mackeys seemed to be the easiest way of getting the job done. In the event an appointment was arranged quite quickly, almost within a week. This was commendable because I often find that that getting an appointment with an optician can involve a long wait. As it turned out the lenses were fitted easily without any fuss. A pair of contact lenses was provided on trial to see if they were suitable and once that was ok everything was quickly sorted out. Since then I've been a perfectly satisfied customer of Mackeys. I haven't used them for getting glasses yet but they seem to have a good a range as anywhere so I wouldn't hesitate to do so if the need arises.