This place is really hard to work with, and I think it's mainly due to one woman who works there…read moreand isn't nice. But in general, I wouldn't recommend this place. We have used this place twice.
The good thing about this place is they have a good selection of children's frames, which most places don't have. Also, they did a good job making the glasses (or their lab did). They also take the Covered California medical insurance for children's exam and glasses, and most places don't. These are the reasons for 2 stars instead of 1 star.
The bad things:
The eye exam appointments need to be booked 3 months in advance or more. It is very hard to get an exam slot. I've been to many places and it has never been this hard. Even at an ophthalmologist, where they are also doing surgeries and such, it is easier to get an appointment for an eye exam.
You need an appointment to look at glasses, and it also takes a while to get an appointment. At other places, you can often get a same day appointment, or at least within the next day or two. But at Eyewise, you have to wait 2-3 weeks. Even the second time we came, as repeat customers, we had an urgent issue (broken glasses) and had to wait a long time for an appointment.
We finally got an appointment, and then the woman who works here didn't even help us. Why do you need an appointment if they are just going to ignore you the whole time anyway? She never even got up from her desk. We had to go over to her and ask specific questions. When we were ready to order the glasses and went to tell her, she finally came over but didn't explain options or say anything or make eye contact or act nice at all. I felt like we were really putting her out or something. The only reason we got glasses here was because of the good selection of children's frames. The other time we went here it was because we had only a couple places we could use insurance, and the same woman was there, and very unfriendly. The whole time, I felt like I'd done something wrong just by being there. It was not a welcoming experience. That time it was for both exam and glasses. The exam was fine. The glasses are fine. But the experience is bad. I don't need much help, but being completely ignored even when I first arrive feels bad. If it had happened only once, I'd think maybe she was just having a bad day, but nope, not 4 times total.
When the glasses were ready, they called to let us know and schedule a time for us to pick them up. I said I could come now or anytime the next day, and they said their first available time was a week later. A week later! Just to get the glasses? So we took the first available appt, and when we went, they just handed us the glasses and asked are they fine, and we were gone. I don't know why you need an appt for that and why we couldn't have just gotten them earlier. Also, every time we've been here, it's never been busy, we're usually the only ones there and it's a very quiet place.
This place moved from the Nob Hill shopping area to near Marina Village, in an office building. You ring a doorbell to get buzzed into the building.
I've been to many optometry shops in my life, and the experience here pales in comparison with all the others.