I have never written a negative review for a business because I do believe in supporting small businesses and giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, but I had by far the worst experience at Tropical Eye Associates of any place I have given my money to. This is a saga that spans over a year, and now that I have finally been "allowed" a copy of my prescription from them (which is illegal to withhold, by the way) I'm hoping to save other people the trouble I went through. It all started when I was picking out frames, which I didn't ask for input on, one of the ladies was following me around and kept telling me they looked bad or too big-- if I want big glasses, I don't need anyones judgement or opinion if I'm the one spending my money. After my exam, I was inquiring about contact lenses and when I was unsure (I needed to see the price after insurance) he got visibly upset and was trying to bully me into ordering them even though I simply couldn't afford it. He threatened that I would have to pay him $60 if I wanted the prescription to order them online or I couldn't order contacts on my own again... this is ridiculous because I was considering quitting contacts all together as I get eye inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis and my flare ups only allow me to use them occasionally. He blamed the inflammation on the brand of contacts I was using, saying "come back to me when you go blind" but I had that problem long before I used that brand and still get inflammation even wearing glasses everyday. Really weird thing for a doctor to say to a patient. When I went to check out, the numbers did not add up to me. I never saw an itemized list and I never got a statement from my insurance company, leading me to believe they never ran it through my insurance for a discount which was the only reason I chose this place to start with. He kept going on about the contacts. Over the next month my lenses began showing visible scratches, which is odd considering I spent $80 on protective coating to avoid this and own glasses from up to 5 years ago with no visible scratching. A year later I can no longer wear them because the scratches make them impossible to thoroughly clean and they always look foggy. Fast forward, they call me for an "annual checkup" which I have never had an optometrist do, as prescriptions should be checked every two years and are legally valid for 5. When I explained my confusion, and said I would not be returning because I had a bad experience, the woman on the phone didn't even ask what happened, leading me to believe this is a common occurrence. When I asked if she wanted to know why, she semi-patiently waited for me to be done and hung up in a rush without any apology or concern. I don't know if this man has a big family and that is how he stays in business, or it's a front business for something else, but any of the positive reviews are probably his friends he asked to boost his google reviews as when I made my original appointment they had 3.5 stars. I don't know if business is struggling and they're feeling frustrated or it's that I am a 24 year old that looks 15 so they though they could take advantage of the situation, but I felt threatened, uncomfortable, and disrespected. This isn't the way to sell more glasses and Contact Lenses (his favorite, apparently) and the vibe in this place is off. Be warned, and if you somehow decide this is the place to go I'm at least hoping they read this review and consider an attitude readjustment or to close the place down entirely so they can be grumpy somewhere else. 0/10 would recommend. read more
