Optima Optometry has been my go-to for years, and Dr. Helena Huyen P. Nguyen is fantastic. She's friendly, thorough, and clearly focused on your eye health, not selling extras. The office has excellent equipment (including retinal imaging that other places often charge extra for), and the staff is always welcoming with zero pressure. They're reservation-only now, which I actually prefer because appointments feel organized and attentive. Best optometry experience I've had in the Bay Area. read more

I went in for a routine eye exam hoping to use my insurance toward prescription sunglasses. During the appointment, I was suddenly told there was "damage" to my retina and that the back of my eye was "flooded" and possibly always would be. I was also told I didn't actually have a vision problem, so insurance supposedly wouldn't cover sunglasses. Despite that, I was then sold glasses for computer work along with an extra $75 charge for a "special blue light" feature that was supposed to help slow the damage to my eyes. Between my out-of-pocket cost and what was billed to my insurance, the total ended up being much higher than expected. I also noticed "Calvin Klein" billed through insurance, which made no sense considering I had just been told insurance wouldn't cover glasses because I didn't need a prescription. I left the appointment extremely worried and was told to see a specialist. Looking back, there were a lot of red flags, but at the time I was scared something was seriously wrong with my eyesight. Two weeks later, after picking up the "GFBriller" glasses, I saw a specialist at Kaiser and was told my eyes are perfectly healthy. I was informed that blue light glasses are largely a marketing gimmick, and I now feel like I was manipulated into buying unnecessary products through fear and misinformation. Very disappointing experience, and I would strongly encourage others to get a second opinion before agreeing to expensive add-ons or diagnoses from this company. read more

Rude, unprofessional, elitist, and DISCRIMINATORY!!! After researching local offices, I decided on this business for my partner and I. Oddly, they only allow appointments by email or phone message, which should have been my first red flag. I emailed and received a response. After some back and forth, we were offered today, November 3rd at 11:15. I accepted and asked for charges to plan a budget. I never received those and figured they were protecting their pricing (another red flag). I called, left a message, and emailed this morning, realizing they never emailed a confirmation nor their charges for our budgeting. I finally received a call 30 minutes before our appointments. "Sir, we offered you tomorrow, November 4 at 10:15. We did NOT offer you today. You don't have an appointment today." His tone was incredibly condescending and disrespectful. Especially when he was WRONG, and speaking to someone who was about to spend thousands of dollars at his business. "Yes you did," I replied. "I have the email offering today, and I emailed back and accepted." "NO YOU DIDN'T! I TOLD YOU YOU DON'T HAVE AN APPOINTMENT TODAY!" The male with an accent who called was SO incredibly rude, I didn't even bother getting his name! What a miserable imbecile. He yelled at me, spoke over me, and wouldn't let me finish my sentence. I have never been fought by a man-child like that. I guess the idiot finally checked his emails and realized he was wrong. His tone changed and he shot back an impotent, "Well if that's what happened it was a mistake. Sorry." See pictures of the emails proving they offered and we accepted. Obviously this office has a problem with LGBTQ people. Perhaps if my partner and I were a cis hetero couple, we would have been treated with dignity. Not the case at Dr. Helena Huyen P Nguyen's office. Don't waste your time with these rude, pretentious, discriminatory people!!! No doctor, glasses, or services are worth dealing with the hostility and disrespect of Dr. Helena Huyen P Nguyen's office staff. read more

Optima Optometry - Proof: they offered today, Thursday 11/3 at 11:15 am. - Optometrists Near Me - Santa Clara, California

See all

Rude front staff. Doctor is thorough and explained everything. But the staff is not only rude, but hard to comment with. Their behavior and language was as though only the doctor's time was valuable and mine wasn't. Not going back here unless they hire new staff!!! read more

10 Stars! This was my first time using Optima. My prior experience getting eye glasses started many years ago with a highly recommended optometrist in Mt. View, then Costco in Mt. View, and I can say that the difference between them and Optima is night vs day. Reason: Optima is not a hurry-up production shop. They take the time to do a very thorough and detailed examination combined with what others have noted--Dr. Helena Nguyen is incredibly skilled and talented optometrist. And that became evident the first time I tried-on my new eye glasses: No blurriness and "Wow! Everything is now is sharp focus!" Totally satisfied! Give them consideration. Don't mess around with anyone else. read more

I've been going here ever since I was a child (over 10years) and I can say with full confidence that Dr. Helena Nguyen is incredibly skilled and talented as an optometrist and if it wasn't for her I wouldn't keep coming back. That said, her staff, namely the ones in charge of selling eye glasses and booking appointments are incredibly rude. I was a bit late to an appointment for just picking out glasses (had done my actual eye examination prior) and her husband refused to let me in to see what they had because they had already started putting glasses away and were abiding by Covid19 regulations so they couldn't let me in. Mind you, there's still 1.5hrs left before they close the office at this point and there is no one other than the staff in the store, and my "allotted time slot" appointment still had 5-10min left. I already knew the style I wanted and literally just had to go in and pick it out but they refused me because I was slightly late and they had already began putting things away. I wasn't asking them to unpack their items, I just wanted to go in and point out the style I wanted. They even said "well you didn't pick out something when you had your eye exam earlier this year so that's on you". (Btw the reason why I didn't buy frames earlier in the year was because they wouldn't stop pushing designer frames like Gucci or Coach on me that were well outside my budget for frames). This isn't the first time I've had an issue appointments either. If you live a busy lifestyle or you frequently encounter traffic, DO NOT go here. They WILL NOT be understanding if you're late because you got caught in traffic or were delayed in some way. You will absolutely be turned away and they will not be understanding about it. I would recommend others to go here for eye exams by Dr. Helena Nguyen. But I recommend going elsewhere for actual frames or if you live a busy lifestyle that makes being consistently on time tough. read more

After deciding that I should switch optometrists due to the fact that the one that I go to (which was super close to my office) didn't offer a broad enough selection of glasses that I'm looking for. I mean, yes, you can order some from the catalog that they have in the office, but still, I want to see how they look on me right then. I don't want to have to come back in again just to try them on... With that being said, I called around to a few spots to find a particular frame that I was looking for. And this was the third place I called. They had the one I was looking for as well as a bunch of other nice frames just in case those didn't work out. The place isn't exactly close to home, but it's not that far of a drive. The people are all very nice and the doctors here are chill. read more

They are under Davis Vision, so I came here (being close to good restaurants helped too). The place has tons of glasses. My eye exam went with a breeze, the DR. was very nice and explained everything to me, and even gave me some warnings about my eyes. IE if I start seeing lots of flashes, go see an eye doc asap!. Because my vision plan covered the eye exam, I also had an contacts fitted. I have to go back in 2 weeks. The staff was friendly in helping with the paperwork. I'm not sure about the prices of glasses, but I usually buy mine online. read more

I really wish I could continue to go here because it's so close to my house but they are lacking when it's comes to insurance knowledge. They refused to coordinate benefits between my two vision plans. Great people, super nice, but if I can't get a combined frame allowance...defeats the purpose of having two plans. I don't need two pairs of glasses I want one nice pair. All they had to do was call the carrier and ask about how to coordinate benefits. Lazy! Will not return. read more

I have been their client since 2013, but it's now time to move on ... Dr. Helena is great. Even though I don't live in that area I still went back, just for her. Lately I have been having problems with their administrative staff. Once they messed up my order and sent me 2 years of contact lenses instead of one. I had to drive all the way to their office to hand back the extra year's supply. This year Dr. Helena asked me to try out a newer type of contact lens. I started experiencing issues using these lens. I call up the office and they ask me to come in for a visit. When I come in, the reception lady says I need to pay the consulation fee. I mention that this is just a follow-up, not a new session. The business owner comes up and goes through my records. He starts lecturing me that these are "latest and greatest lenses" and he cannot believe that I have a problem. In front of the office staff he starts talking down to me like I am some dumb moron who is new to contact lens usage. Dr. Helena comes out and realises that I just need to exchange back to the older brand lenses I was using last year. She said that I did not even need to come in to the office for that! When a business owner starts treating a customer like a naive piece of sh*t .... you know it's time to try another business. read more

Leaving another bad review for the doctor's husband. Like everyone else here, I can say the doctor is very kind and gentle mannered. However, to get to her, you have to work with her husband first and submit insurance and he is extremely rude. I scheduled a visit during COVID, and had to coordinate insurance with him over the phone. He emailed me asking for insurance and my social security number, but I told him I wasn't comfortable sending it online and could he call me instead. He was very combative over the phone and kept talking over me. read more

Only went here because I did not have a car at the time and it was within walking distance. After the fact would have rather walked around blind until I had my car fixed. Extremely overpriced though that was expected, the main problem was that they refused to give me a copy of my prescription so that I could go elsewhere - so that was $129 in the toilet. Charged me just under $400 for what Costco could give me for $150. Woman behind counter where you place your order - not the optometrist - talked to me like a child and a fool, telling me it would be "easier just to leave my prescription with them". Realized the only way they were going to give me a copy of my prescription was if I made a scene so I quietly left and later filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Avoid this place like the plague. read more

I just moved into the area about a year ago, and was running out of contact lenses, so I looked up an optometrist office from my insurance's listing and found this place. Everyone here is very friendly, and Dr. Yili Young is very down-to-earth and knowledgeable. She took the time to do a thorough exam and answer all my questions. I had a great experience here and for once, going to an optometrist office is not a dread anymore. Looking forward to my follow-up in 2 weeks. read more

I'm writing a review on Dr. Yili Young. A very excellent and compete experience. As an optometrist, Dr. Young is friendly, very knowledgeable, talks in laymen's terms, and answered any questions I had completely. My feeling was that looking out for the patient is her number one priority and I appreciate that a lot. Will continue to see her for yearly check-ups. Thanks. read more

I've had two eye exams here, purchased a pair of frames, and purchased two years' worth of contacts. As stated in other reviews, the doctors here are very good, as has been said. I had originally been seen by Helen but I was placed with another optometrist this year and she did a good job. They price their contacts the same as 1-800-contacts, so there isn't much sense in trying to place the order not through them. Yes, there are shadier online retailers that might save you a few dollars over 1-800-contacts and consequently over this place, but I don't see why you would take that risk for a few dollars. The contacts come in quickly and are priced fairly, so I was happy. As far as their frames go....yes, they are expensive. I have VSP, so I am paying heavily discounted prices for frames and lenses, and so I don't mind it, but as other reviewers state, this place is pricey. All of the frames they showed me were at or higher than $300; I ended up having to buy frames elsewhere this year because their selection is very limited and is confined solely to upmarket, expensive frames. Given that I wear contacts full time, I don't need glasses that cost $400 for frames and lenses even discounted with VSP, and unfortunately this place was unable to accommodate me in this regard. Still, one of the better optometrists that i've gone to, and I recommend that you do the same. (PS, as the reviewer said, yes....yes they do know how to hire girls). read more

Just came from an eye exam today. I really, really like this place. Not only did they help me find my perfect frames in December, but they were very friendly with everything. From the exam, to the discussion about prices...etc. etc. Everyone's awfully nice and polite. Seriously, I felt very special, especially since I asked for a wipe cloth for my glasses...they gave me three! But then the man went to storage and gave me my glasses' designer cloth thing. Totally wasn't expecting that...since well, I thought it cost money or something. Throughout the exam she would explain things to me-- why they were having me do this one machine test, or that freaking darn awful air-puff-into-eye machine [[To check your eye pressure! But seriously, I hate that test.]... very informative. Definately wouldn't mind coming here for a long time. read more

DO NOT GO HERE. The manager is extremely rude to customers and his own staff. My dad moved us over last year and I followed despite bad reviews regarding high turnover of staff and terrible service. My dad seemed to be convinced it would be worth it because we would save a few bucks. Man was he wrong and he paid for it . Not only did they try to extort us, but they were EXTREMELY rude to him, yelling and treating him and the staff unacceptably. They obviously lost all of our accounts-- and I hope this review helps others STAY away as well. Good luck all read more

I've been coming here for over 6 years. While I've moved further away and it takes me 40 minutes to get there, I still come. Dr. Nguyen and Dr. Doan are great at explaining conditions and very thorough with the comprehensive examination. I am a worrier when it comes to my health and they're pretty patient with me, which I appreciate. The staff are polite and helpful as well. read more

Staff is so nice and professional. I had an urgent need to meet with Dr. Nguyen and they were able accommodate me with no notice. I realize I was lucky there was time on the schedule but the level of care and help was notable and truly appreciated. Thank you! read more

This is the place next to Pho Hoa... worse pho place ever!!! anyways I'm here to rate this place I've gone to this doctor for probably 5 years by now, All i have to say is they know how to hire there girls. Some of the are FOBS though i got to admit but they know how to look like HOOCHIES. Anyways good friendly environment, but not that many selections on glasses that my health insurance would cover for me. Lets just say be prepared to spend a lot of cash if you want some nice gucci or channel glasses... Or use your health insurance to get some lame I don't know the brand glasses that might break in 2 years. read more

I have been to this place more than a yr ago for an eye exam. Yesterday I went to another optometry since I moved to Mountain View. What a difference. I felt i was cheated here. The eye exam was not thorough. I found parts of the eye exam which i took yesterday missing at this place. These people were in a rush to finish the exam and move to the next person waiting. After the exam, i wanted to choose a frame for which they started showing me some Japanese brands for $500+ even though my insurance covers much less than that. They did not have any good frames in that range. So I chose to use my existing frame for the new lenses and there too they pretty reluctant. In all I would not recommend this place to anyone else. read more

Shout out to Dr. Tina Doan! I just saw her for the second time and she is just awesome! Dr. Doan is personable, patient and good at what she does. She'll take the time to talk to you, listen and answer any questions or concerns you have. She is so sweet and I always feel comfortable. All of the staff are also very friendly and helpful. If you wear contacts, order here tax-free! I've been ordering from Costco for the past year thinking, "Well... it's Costco. How could it get any better?!" It can. In addition, it seems like they have most prescriptions ready and in stock so no panic in waiting when you're running low. read more

Doctor is good and friendly. Went for total eye check-up and they performed eye dillusion and did through analysis. Will recommend to friends and family. read more

Made several mistakes scheduling my initial appointment that I ended up having to go somewhere else for my eye exam. Couldn't even own up to it and were lying about what they "did" to the optometry provider. Glad I didn't go here. read more

Last time I visited an optometrist was 2 years ago in San Diego. Before that, it was 2000. Fourteen years later, I decided to come back to Optima Optometry. Surprisingly, they still had all my records on file from when I was a little 10 year old. After my eye turning red and not getting better for 2 weeks, I scheduled an appointment and paid them a visit. Janine at the front desk made everything seamless. Quick appointment scheduling, a few questions regarding my eye history, and I was set. She is very friendly, efficient, and professional. Dr. Doan started off by doing all the necessary tests to make sure my eyes were in good condition. Then the typical letter reading, lens choosing, etc. Eventually, she determined that it was an inflammation of the outer layer of my eye, but everything else was fine. She prescribed Naphcon, which alleviated the problem within 2 weeks, but only after I stopped taking it. Strange, but it worked! Very knowledgeable, professional, and caring. She even checked up with me 2 weeks after the appointment to make sure everything is ok. That's rare to come by these days. read more

Dr. Nguyen is wonderful and I would recommend her to anyone. So surprised to see negative reviews as I have never had a truly bad experience and I have gone there nearly 20 years. The frames are a bit expensive, but the cost for procedures and tests is competitive, or so I was told by someone I recommended who is very satisfied (and that person didn't have vision insurance). I do have vision insurance and have always been able to get a detailed explanation before the order and an itemization after that I can use for a claim. They have also been responsive communicating with my retinologist. read more

So thankful Optima could see me as a new patient in an urgent situation on a Saturday! All the staff was kind and helpful. Thank you so much for help with my corneal abrasion. I just found my annual eye dr! read more

My family and I have been going to Dr Nguyen for more than 25 years. Great staff, frames are a bit expensive but good quality. I see a lot of new administrative staff and it looks like they are intern's or college kids - it's great that they are given the opportunity to work and learn how to act with customers. Dr Nguyen is a great person and she really takes care of her patients. read more

The doctors and staff here are always nice and helpful. I've received advice regarding my contacts, glasses and lasik, all of which has been very helpful in making my decisions. The office is also very clean and I've never been delayed for an appointment. read more

This place is the worst! I started going here since I was 10, I'm now 24 so I've been a " regular" there. I use to recommend friends and family there but over the past five years I've come to realize they are passive aggressive. On my last 2 visits I had the horrible opportunity of being in the office when Dr. Helena's husband was there. He is rude, money driven, and a duchebag. I've been going there for over a decade and since he has been in the office the service is horrible, the staff is always on edge and he is very annoying. When I was picking out overpriced frames he came over and started showing me the really overpriced frames speaking in broken English, I'm Vietnamese. After about 5 minutes he left to go stand over one of the office girls while they where writing up and order and said in Vietnamese to make sure to sell the high end frames and lenses to the patient. Later he came back to me with my file and said I had a cheap plan and that u should stick with the cheap frames so he took me to the kids section. And again he turns to the office girls and tells them in Vietnamese that my insurance is cheap and that they should not deal with me cause I won't buy anything and it was a waste of time. I was livid with anger that he would say that but I wasn't surprised That was the straw that broke my back. I was done listening to him. Never again will I go into that place. read more

Dr. Helena Nguyen is the most competent, friendly, caring Optometrist you can find! I've been going to her for 20 years. I tried the eye doc at Kaiser, and ran right back to Dr. Nguyen. I would rather pay her than go to someone else for free! Also, the staff is always friendly and helpful, then place is spotless, and there is a huge selection of stylish frames. LOVE THIS PLACE! read more

Unfortunately I have been going here for about 5 years. Only because it is conveniently close to home and I just have not had the time to research other places. Everytime I go in here, I promise not to go to them again. The Dr is friendly, the young girls are not rude, but very blah. Their prices are way over priced. They quote you one thing and charge something else. They also did not give me my prescription until I asked for it, and then acted like it was a burden to get it. My insurance covered the contact exam and they pressured me to have it done. I did not order the contacts at the time, so they kept calling me asking me to order them. At some point they called me and said they were going to bill my insurance and when I was ready I could come pick up contacts. Basically its all about insurance and the money with them. read more

We just moved to Santa Clara and went to Optima Optometry. Both my husband and my experience was bad. I have never had glasses in the past and I was asked to get one. The frames were very expensive. My husband and my frame did not fit well, it was loose, we took it back to get tightened but it was still loose. We were asked to get some other tests done, which did not make sense. read more

I would say the technicians are helpful and that's about it. I give them 1 star for that. Everything is way overpriced here, nothing is marked up reasonably. It's all ridiculously priced, but that's not the main problem. I was told this is the only one in my area that still did the lenses for the Oakley sunglasses. So I went here to get some lenses made for my sunglasses. My vision isn't that bad either, it's less than a 1.0. The lenses came back and the the focal point was way off. They told me try it, but I scanned the glasses and moved them until my eyes didn't hurt anymore. I found the spot. They were helpful enough to redo it at least. A few weeks later, again I received the sunglasses, the left eye was fixed, but the right eye was still way off. The focal point was off again. At this point, they didn't offer to fix it anymore. They said no matter, how many times they tried, it was not going to get any better because my eyes were the problem and not the lenses. What a load a BS that was... The reason they didn't get it right because the lab that makes their lenses isn't the real authentic Oakley lab. I paid over $140 just for the lenses too and I can't even use them. How do I know they were lying? Because I actually went to another place that agreed to send it to the lab that actually makes the lenses for Oakley. After a few weeks, lo and behold!!! They frames came back and they were perfect!! The lenses fit perfectly and it didn't pop out like when Optima sent it out. Everything could've been avoided if they didn't cheap out and send it to the right lab in the first place. I don't understand the reason for all the excuses they gave me. Actually, it's just the older gentlemen who's the owner. I totally agree with don and his previous review years ago. Seems like nothing has changed over the years. read more

This was the review from my wife---HORRIBLE experiences ---SHOULD AVOID AT ALL COST. THEY ONLY WANT YOUR MONEY AND BILL YOUR INSURANCE ***WHAT A RIPOFF*** 1 Star for the Dr Helena - She is very nice dr., her voice was soft and explained to me very detail throughout the exam. The receptionist girls weren't very friendly or rude, just BLAH.... I only found out the negative experiences when i picked up my eyeglass. ***NEGATIVE- for the consultant eyeglass*** They quote you one thing and charge something else and it was not very cleared of what you are getting. Keep in mind, your customer doesn't know the medical term "ITS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO EXPLAIN TO CUSTOMER". Once you get the glass, it wasn't full of what you wanted; then they only wanted to charge $$$ more and didn't agree to their fault but fight back with the customer. HORRIBLE Also, its clearly that my insurance card show $0 copay for eye exam; but the consultant was saying that my insurance only covered $60; and their eye exam costs $120; they would have charged me for the difference, but no they waived. WHAT A B.S. "PLEASE READ CAREFULLY ON MY INSURANCE CARD - $0 COPAY FOR EYE EXAM". I dared you to charge me for the difference. I would have disputed these charges with my insurance. Secondly, the dr.'s HUSBAND, such an annoying guy and doesn't know how to treat a customer nicely. YOU should have ask your employee of what they did to customer before confront the customer. FIRST RULE of CUSTOMER SERVICE. SHOULD HAVE BELIEVED YELP VIEWERS--the negative review was truth at least to me for now. NEVER COME BACK!.!.!.!. read more

It's been 3 years since my original review, and the service here hasn't changed during my last visit. I just found out that they price match 1-800-contacts so you know they don't nickel and dime you. Even when I had Kaiser for my health & optometry insurance, I still came here because I feel more comfortable going here. The optometrist is very thorough, and they take really good care of me here. read more

They have a pretty big array of glasses/sunglasses here. Also, most of the front desk/pretesting girls are awesome, especially Caroline T. She is super nice, helpful and easy on the eyes. They are taking their Chanel line off the floor because Chanel will only allow them in boutique stores; so hurry over and get your Chanels before they're taken away! read more

I don't even want to give them 1 Star! I wouldn't recommend this office if they were the last optometrist around! I called on 3 different occasions to see if there was anyway they could help me...my mother who isn't well and in the hospital had broken her frames and told me this is where she goes to get her prescription filled. When I called they told me they could create a new pair of glasses with her prescription and they couldn't just put her lenses into new frames. They said she had to come in and have a check-up and get a new prescription. Because she is in the hospital, that is not an option at this time. My third phone call to this office, I left a message pleading for the manager to consider my dilemma. The manager never called me back! It would have taken a simple call back to let me know it's not possible to create a new pair of glasses for her or put her lenses in new frames, but they obviously don't pride themselves on customer service here. I took the lenses to Berryessa Optometry and they ordered new frames and put the lenses in within 2 days with great customer service! read more

Just had my 2nd visit here. Both the optometrist and office staff are friendly and efficient. I got thorough exams and the optometrist was great at explaining everything and very patient with any questions I had. read more

These guys take every type of insurance, Davis, VIS, everything. But even so, it's expensive. Even with full vision insurance, my eye exam and glasses co-pay came to $120, and I didn't get the super expensive lenses. I can buy the glasses much cheaper online. Still, the optometrist is nice, and competent, and they do handle the insurance hassles. read more