I'm a physician in Kona. Went to Hilo to have Drs Carpenter and Siapco do my cataract surgery. Great Choice! Both their surgical/medical skills and their art of medicine are superb. I am VERY HAPPY with both my experience and outcomes. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED read more

Over 1.5 hour wait time to be seen & nothing really was done to diagnose my eye problem. Yet they wanted to schedule a follow-up. For what? To waste more of my time & to do nothing. Very poor experience! read more

He's very patient and through. Accommodates people with disabilities and the door frames are wide enough for big wheelchairs. Also has AC and if you don't want to wait inside then there's chairs outside too. There is a lady who rents an office space for facials if you're interested. read more

I went to this office in Hilo to have cataract surgery. This was a mistake I encourage you not to make because of the following: Way too many appts for the surgery, before and after--very unnecessary All appts were never on time, always a long wait. The waiting room was small and packed, so some people had to sit outside. Inadequate parking available. You only meet the actual surgeon, Dr Siapco on the day of surgery, and he is in a rush because there is a line up of people having the surgery. The surgery is at a separate facility and is an assembly line experience. The staff at the surgery center were not properly attentive to me so not aware that I was experiencing atrial fibrillation as it seems no one was watching the monitors. When asked by the anesthesiologist 10 minutes before having my R eye surgery how I was doing, I mentioned I was OK but having wonky heartbeats. Then all of a sudden I'm having a ECG, my surgery cancelled and made to go directly to my PCP while everyone talked stroke stroke stroke creating fear in me. My experience with using this office for cataract surgery was a very traumatic experience. read more

I left my appointment today after waiting over an hour. I wouldn't have done that except I have waited 1hour to 1 1\2 hours for every appointment! I think that is just unprofessional and rude. I had cataract surgery on one eye and it didn't turn out as perfectly as I was expecting. So Dr Carpenter had me come back over and over for a 5 minute recheck. He used a laser once but his surgery didn't improve. I understand surgery isn't always perfect but an office visit shouldn't be so uncaring and rude. All his patients just waiting and waiting . Nobody is worth that. I did make an appointment with another specialist and look forward to improving my eye sight. His staff was professional and kind. No problems there. read more

appointment time is meaningless. Be prepared to wait in a very small crowded waiting room. be sure to take a mask if you're Covid anxious. he also does plastic surgery and that is a little too sketchy for me. he may be a very wonderful doctor but I didn't stay to find out. I left when my personal waiting clock ran out. He also removes tattoos and has a lovely informercial running on his waiting room tv to help keep you in a never ending waiting coma read more

I went to Dr. Carpenters for my eye exam, and all I have to say is summed up by those reviews before me. Terrible service! The fee for the actual eye exam was way to expensive, and this is after they rescheduled my appointment. No way in hell does this practice deserve 5 stars! I think it was Jesus who healed the blind so they could see again, not Dr. Carpenter. Allan H., don't you work for Work there? Warning: If you want a chance to see again beware of this place! read more

Dr. Carpenter is the best! Best eye doctor on the island! This guy knows his stuff and seriously cares about his patients. He has made many people see again who have been almost blind and is the kindest person you will ever meet as well. He is the only eye doctor I will ever let do surgery on me. What an amazing and vast knowledge of expertise this man brings to the table. Ignore those crybaby idiotic reviews! read more

Been wearing glasses 57 yrs and never before had to go in 4 times to get finished up! A couple of times I went in twice. I wouldn't even recognize this guy if I saw him since I rarely actually DID see him. Then they messed up my Medicare billing and are now saying I owe them $270! Interesting since it paid initially, and I was with the same coverage the 4 times I went into that office. Don't recommend to anyone. read more

My husband got his eye exam here. He has bad eyes and we pay through the nose for premium eye care insurance, but they billed incorrectly so only 1/4 of the exam was covered. They gave him a list of participating optical shops under his plan. That also was incorrect! With the insurance that we have, the exam and glasses should have been around $70 total, but due to these amateur mistakes we are out over $500. Unacceptable! read more

Very helpful with diabetic eye care. Been seeing them for several years. Good people work here.

I experienced horrible customer service here. The staff is very unprofessional and rude. I was scheduled for a eye exam and they kept having to reschedule me due to the fact that they were overbooked. They also will charge you a lot more than other places around. I would never recommend Dr. Carpenters to anyone ever. read more

I was having double vision. My P.C.P sent me to Rick Carpenter...the appointment I had to see and an ESL wanna-be optometrist who said there was nothing wrong with my prescription. I insisted on seeing the real doctor...took another month for an appointment with Carpenter. He confirmed what the optometrist said: nothing wrong with my eye glasses. He, reluctantly, referred me to an ophthalmologist in Honolulu. Within 10 minutes, he'd diagnosed something he sees often. He applied a plastic prism to one lens of my eyeglasses and I'm good as gold. The Honolulu doctor sent a letter with the diagnosis to Dr. Carpenter, which Carpenter faxed to my P.C.P. So, after a year, I decided the plastic prism was a pain in the neck and went to an optical shop to have them grind the prism into the lens. They called Dr. Carpenter's office and were told they had no record of me visiting any other doctor and didn't know anything about the prism. Needless to say, I'm not impressed. read more

I have only had the best customer service from the staff. With any busy practice and new staff members things may fall through the cracks, but the staff is always helpful, answers the phone promptly, shows professionalism and genuinely care about their patients. You can tell there is a good vibe and people work as a team there and seem to thoroughly enjoy doing what they do. I have had multiple issues with my eyes and every part has been operated on in the past. Dr. Carpenter is very well versed in dealing with complex cases and if there is an area that someone would be better at dealing with he lets you know right up front without fooling around. Appointments are efficient and the other staff very competent in what they do. They have my utmost trust and I use them as our family ophthalmologist. Not sure what happened to the other people but the negative comments seemed out of place from what I experienced. Just saying.... read more

I have been going to Dr. Carpenter yearly for over a decade and he and his staff are the best! He was recommended to me by nurses at HMC hospital who work assisting him in eye surgeries. He did my husband's cataract surgery for both eyes and he could see perfectly the day after. He & his staff are very busy but are always courteous and professional. They have always fit me in when I have had an emergency situations. I wouldn't consider going to anyone else. I highly recommend Dr. Carpenter and all of his staff. read more

I take my parents here once or twice a year. In Hawaii there are lack of good Ophthalmologist. There is so many patients so I know Dr. Carpenter is truly over loaded. We are lucky to have him in Hilo since he could move to the mainland (or Honolulu) and make triple the monies. He has to keep each patients time short but he diagnosis them pretty quickly and has very professional office workers and assistants that assist him. Although, his time with my parents is short, its sweet. He makes them feel important, chats a bit then gets to business in solving their problems and giving advice in less than a minute. He is pretty sharp. My husband is a PHD so I can understand how detail oriented doctors think and Dr. Carpenter can pinpoint your problem. My Dad had his cataract surgery done over 5 years ago and he did an outstanding job. His fees are reasonable in Hawaii. My Mom had medicare and tricare insurance and my Dad is covered under the VA. They treat my parents professional and handle their insurance claims expertly (not like my Dad experience with this particular hearing aid center in Hilo.) They don't hold back his doctor visits due to the VA slow process of their claims. THEY are truly professional. The Idiot that gave them a poor rating should not just shoot off untrue facts. How do you know they charge you more? Why don't you quote facts. read more