I always thought I might eventually sit down and write about my disappointing experience at…read moreClearview--and here we are. To be fair, my first visit was pleasant. The staff seemed friendly, efficient, and professional. Unfortunately, my second visit for a contact lens fitting was a completely different story.
After my initial appointment, I waited over a month to be scheduled for the fitting. In fact, I had to reach out myself to find out what the delay was. By the time they got back to me, it was a new calendar year and my insurance deductible had reset--an expensive inconvenience.
When I finally received the lenses, it was immediately clear they were not my prescription. I couldn't see at all with them in. I kept the packaging to examine it later, but the associate became visibly upset and demanded I return it without giving me a chance to look. When I asked for a copy of my updated prescription, they simply provided me the same one I had brought in from my previous doctor. No changes, no explanation. So what exactly had I been fitted with? I still don't know.
Dr. Salley then informed me that if I wanted to try multifocal lenses that might actually work, I'd need to pay an additional $80. This was after already paying $130 for a "premium" fitting and follow-up. At that point, it felt like I was being strung along with no real plan to improve my vision. I've worn contact lenses for over 40 years--I don't need to pay for a fitting just to be handed the same prescription I walked in with, especially when the trial lenses were clearly not that prescription.
Despite having vision insurance, I still paid around $300 out of pocket. Without insurance, it would've been over $400--and that's before the multifocal upgrade. On top of that, they pushed pairs of glasses that cost nearly $1,000. The frames were uninspired and overpriced, and I couldn't justify the cost, especially given the lack of confidence I had in their recommendations.
To make matters worse, Dr. Salley's demeanor had completely changed between visits. On the first visit, he was pleasant and friendly, though he refused to even glance at a small bump on my eyelid, instead offering a referral to a surgeon. (Thankfully, the accommodating Dr. Google suggested it was likely a harmless milia, something I would think an optometrist could have just told me.) On the second visit, he acted like we'd never met. He sent in an intern to do the exam, and when he arrived he simply refused to believe anything I said. He contradicted everything we had previously discussed--on the first visit saying multifocal lenses weren't effective and he didn't recommend them, now insisting they were the only option. It was confusing and frustrating.
And while this may seem minor, Buster the office dog--cute as he was--clearly needed more frequent bathroom breaks. The smell of old urine warmed by the afternoon sunlight streaming through the waiting room window was unpleasant and unprofessional.
In the end, I left Clearview with no usable prescription, no glasses, and a significantly lighter wallet. I had hoped for clarity--literally and figuratively--but instead, I got confusion, inconsistency, and a disappointing lack of care. Could I have pushed it and made myself a nuisance and annoyed them until they did more? Yes. I could have. But I no longer care to guide a business on the provision of quality customer service when there are dozens of other options available. Yelp lists 240 optometrists in Memphis TN. There are practices at Costco and the mall that treat their patients with more care than this boutique practice- and the local college of optometry is graduating new practitioners every year.
