It only took me ten years, but I finally took the plunge and registered with an optician in…read moreEdinburgh. I chose 20 20 because 1. it's over the road from my flat, and 2. the chain, as a whole, gets pretty good Yelp reviews, so it seemed like a solid choice. And it was! I popped by, registered, made an appointment for a couple of days' time, and that was that. All super easy. When my appointment came, I was seen by optician Alan, who's very friendly, and put me at ease. He answered a couple of questions I had about why I have a tendency to close one eye, and gave me a few exercises to try at home. After the test, I was handed over to one of the women front of house who very patiently helped me sift through lots of very similar looking frames til I found 'the ones'. She explained the prices available, and I set up a monthly subscription that covers various costs and gives me a pretty heft discount on frames (sweet). I've also been in for new contact lenses, which I was dismayed to realise won't be a perfect fit in my right eye due to my excessively wonkily astigmatic eyes, but they're doing the best they can. Hurray! All in all, I've been pleased with the service I've received from 20 20. They're not the cheapest opticians by any stretch of the imagination, but they are friendly and I do now own a very swanky pair of purple specs so overall I'm pretty pleased!

I've never bought glasses from here but they are the closest opticians to home.. which means I've…read morepopped in on a couple of occasions when I've needed adjustments made to my specs. They have always been more than eager to help out and have never charged me to make adjustments and even give my glasses a good proper clean. Last time I stopped in they had a stack of cleaning cloths on the counter and seemed happy for people to help themselves. When my next eye check is due, I think I'll be paying them a visit!

This place is great--easy to get an appointment, great selection of frames at a nice price and they…read moreare even fairly upscale. They order contact lenses for you to try on before you buy too, and everything comes in really fast. Steven is really nice and always there to help you with whatever you need! I even got a discount on my cool new frames for Black Friday a few months ago so I am extra-pleased.

At 58 years of age I needed advice about my changing eyesight. I've been wearing specs for short…read moresightedness for years but am now also experiencing problems reading small print, a real nuisance when shopping when I had to take my specs off to read price labels etc.! Friends and family had recommended varifocals but I had reservations. I was so grateful for the objective and professional advice I was given by the optician at Marchmont, which enabled me to weigh up the advantages of different lenses before making my own decision. I did not feel pressured and was reassured that I would be given full and sympathetic follow-up care after buying my varifocals. There was an impressive selection of fashionable frames to choose from at my leisure and I was delighted to be able to choose a second pair of glasses free!

Always found them pretty good. Lovely frames though at expensive end. And very good lenses.read more

#yelpmission My…read moreeyesight is BAD! I'm very near-sighted with astigmatism in both eyes. I had to get contacts at 13 because glasses couldn't correct my eyesight; and of course hard (gas permeable) lenses are my only option if I want good vision. I have moved quite a bit since I was 13 and in every new location, finding a good optician is more important than finding a hairdresser - hair grows back! I have often found that some opticians have a bit of an ego and want to try new things or see if they can get a better fit than my existing lenses. They rarely do. So, I don't want to go to a high street chain and see a different optician every time I go. When I moved to Falkirk, I couldn't find a contact lens specialist so I looked further afield and came across RC Cunning: long established, only 2 doctors in the practice and listed contact lens fitting as their speciality. That was over 10 years ago and I still won't go anywhere else although now it's handier since I've moved to Edinburgh. In all that time I have only seen 3 different opticians (Mr Cunnings has semi-retired) and they have all been friendly, efficient, thorough and excellent at explaining everything they are doing and all my options. At one point, I was given a free pair of the 'new' torque lenses to try - soft lenses that are thicker in places to accommodate an astigmatism. Great to give them a free trial as I found out they didn't work for me - but the optician was happy for me to have a go and just as happy to admit that my current fit for the hard lenses is great without making any unnecessary changes. The biggest challenge though has been my eye glass prescription. Glasses just don't give me good vision and they have been so diligent in trying to get me the best possible solution. Hard contact lenses apparently flatten down the eye, but when I wear glasses, the eye eventually goes back to normal (well, somewhat). They realised that popping out my lenses before my eye test would mean I would get a prescription for my 'flattened' eye surface, but after a few hours, the vision from the glasses wouldn't be as good. My existing glasses weren't good enough to wear every day for a week, so again, I got a free pair of soft lenses to wear for 7 days before going back and redoing the eye test for glasses. Seemed to work as they managed to get my best glasses prescription ever. So what does this level of service and dedication cost? Surprisingly not much. The eye test for glasses was covered by the NHS and I pay around £22 a month for my lenses (I get a new pair posted to my house every year after my prescription is rechecked and updated) - I've never been asked to pay any extra. Their glasses are expensive as they only carry high end frames so I just have them print out my prescription and I head over to a high street chain that offers multi-pair deals.

Staff are always so lovely helpful and friendly and Paul who saw me was very friendly, polite and…read moredown to earth but all staff here are great at their jobs and I always leave happy!

I'm so happy and pleased to have these guys as my opticians. I've been with specsavers for years…read more(in Australia) and have never has an issue. And so the streak continues. Upon arrival for my initial appointment, I was promptly seen to and had my eyes checked. The lovely lady explained to me each step which I thought was nice, especially if you've never had puffs of smoke blown in your eyes- it can be quite the uncomfortable experience! After a 5 minute wait post eye-check, I was then seen by a super chipper optician named Miguel. He took me through further testing and gave such a clear explanation as to the next steps after some friendly banter. Agreeing that I needed new glasses, I was left on my own to browse for about 10 minites. As soon as I had picked my frames I was assisted by another woman who helped with fitting and costs, and an appointment was made for the following week. Fast forward one week, I was seen to straight away to get my glasses. No issues, same great service. Really, I could not reccomend these guys enough. Service was fantastic and it seemed to operate like a well oiled machine with people coming in and out at just the right time. Every staff member I interacted with was friendly and so helpful. In terms of the shop itself, its spacious and very clean so I'm guessing there may have been a refurbished based on previous reviews. These guys will have my business for years to come, I cannot compliment their customer service enough. Oh and my glasses are fab and I'm looking fly now in case you were wondering.

I am visiting from the United States. The airlines lost my luggage. Unfortunately my contacts were…read morepacked in that suitcase. I obtained a copy of my prescription from my optometrist in the States to show to Specsavers. They had the contacts I needed in stock, and gave me enough daily wear contacts to see me through the rest of my trip! If I lived here I would use them for all of my eye care needs! They were wonderful! Deb C Scottsdale, Arizona USA

If you need a new pair of glasses or two...come to this place! I was shopping around for the most…read moreaffordable pair of glasses and Specsaver was the place I decided to purchase some new ones because of their affordable prices and various offers. Since I alway wear glasses, I try to switch up the design and colour. This place has many different types of glasses that fits the shape of your face, style, and personally preferences. Most importantly they have different price ranges. You can get frames from £25 to £100+. The majority of their frames fall under £69 and the designer glasses starts around 80+. Mind you, the type of lens you want also changes the price and the add ons. The staff here are AMAZING and friendly. They know their stuff, and I have to give a shout out to Samantha who helped me cause she was awesome! She took the time to make sure I was happy with the glasses I selected. I always have a hard time finding good fitting frames cause of my petite face, but she was happy to show me different types and even looked into the hidden stash they have in the storage to see if others fit better. Another good thing about this place is the quick turn around for the glasses. Usually it can take 10-14 days to get glasses with proper prescription, but I got it in 5 days! The staff that helped me when I picked up my glasses were equally as nice and helpful. She made sure the frames fit and since it was a bit lose, she used her magic to make sure it fit me perfectly. I only bought my glasses here since I had my prescription, but you can also get your eye sight and hearing test in this location.

I was able to get an appointment for a free eye test really easily. They talked me through…read moreeverything that they were doing, e.g peripheral vision test and they were so helpful. Bright & clean shop with friendly knowledgeable staff. I am now on their books for a annual sight test

I stepped on my brand new glasses while on vacation in Great Britain. Once we reached Edinburgh I…read morelooked up the nearest optician and took them to Black & Lizars to see about getting a repair. The staff was extremely nice and after a quick look assured me they could fix the glasses and to take a 15 minute wander about and they would be ready when I got back. The did fix the glasses and then insisted on not charging me. Wonderful people and establishment.

Took my daughter to pick up her glasses, she complained she couldn't see through the new ones. Very…read morerude staff member (black dude couldn't catch his name) told her she needed to just wear them "and get used to them" he then took her old glasses away and told her "you can't have these" Next day she still can't see, has horrendous headaches, we called and they asked us to pop down.... All ok so far. We get there and I asked where her old glasses were as she can't have no glasses. "We don't take old glasses" I told them they most definitely did. Same member of staff who fitted her glasses then interrupts my conversation to say he didn't take her old glasses. I explain he did. "You weren't there so you need to stop talking" My husband then interjected and told him he was there and that's what happened. He loudly called us liars. I asked them to check the cctv and lo and behold, we were right and Mr arrogant attitude was the liar. They sorted her glasses and gave her a free pair but I have NEVER been spoken to with such a huge level of disrespect. What's worse is that upon telling other people about this 3 other people have stopped going here because of this one man! Maybe retrain him or don't let him near the public. Under no circumstances is it ok to tell a customer they are lying and it's beyond the pale to tell them to stop talking. Man's an imbecile and I certainly will never be back nor will any of my family! As for his forced apology before we left "Sorry you remember things wrong" isn't really a sorry. He can stick it right up his behind if there's room... his head so far up there already.

This is my local optician. They always have loads of great staff on hand, are usually able to check…read moremy eyes on the same day I go in (even if I leave it til mid-afternoon), and they have a great range of frames to choose from for both men and women. I was a little worried that I would get stuck with trendy 'hipster' glasses this time - huge ones that wouldn't suit me, but I was able to find two pairs I liked that were a good match (one is of the slightly larger framed variety, thus both on-trend and they don't look daft on me - win!). They are very careful about checking time and time again that your new specs are comfortable and sit correctly on your ears and nose. They also offer lots of useful advice so that you can get specs which are as comfortable and aesthetically-pleasing as you'd like. The opticians are very good at explaining to you what they check for, the health of your eyes, and what has changed about your prescription. The other staff are very good at advising, and helping you decide between frames. Overall, does what an optician should do.

I visited thrice so far this shop, eye and contact lenses test and purchase of contact lenses too…read more Having been in four other places so far in Edinburgh, this was the best experience I have had so far and I highly recommend it. Very attentive and helpful friendly staff. They're part of the Black and Lizars chain, they joined them recently.