Dr Dickman runs sort of an old school practice, medical aspects of eye health come first, contact preferences are by phone calls and personal contact. When you book your exam, it is first and foremost for the medical health evaluations - this has been my preference as I've aged. My first choice when relocating is finding a specialist in ophthalmology. Optometrists main concern is vision and may include some health tests. Opticians basically are eyewear/contacts providers mostly concerned with selling glasses/contacts. If you do not have a family history of eye health issues or personally have no medical eye needs, then an ophthalmologist such as Dr Dickman may be overkill for you. My family has a history of glaucoma, macular degeneration and many of us will face cataracts as we age. Since my 40s I've sought out experienced professionals with MD/DO degrees. I've been extremely happy with Dr Dickman. He is very professional, no nonsense, down to earth, offering facts about options without pushing the latest, greatest treatments - simply discusses the range of options and personal choices we face. Now, if your need is simply a vision exam, they do those as well, as a separate exam - possibly due to the complexity of insurance coverages these days. But optometrists will only do the vision exam with some basic checks for eye health issues. Entering the Universal practice, you'll find more info about eye health than designer frames covering the walls. The frame section is clearly a secondary addon service with a limited selection on display. Not a big issue for me personally, I use my same frames and just get lens replacement when the change is significant enough, I'm not into changing frames just to keep up with the latest fashion trend. My old silhouette frameless glasses are timeless! Anyway, if eye health is your primary concern, then I highly recommend Dr Dickman. read more

Universal Eye Center is the worst place to go to, I do not suggest anybody to go to that facility. They do not send medical records when you sign a release of medical records they overcharge you they do not check your insurance to see if the medication's are covered underneath your insurance Christina or Kristen is a very horrible woman. She is very rude and you were always on the phone on hold for over 10 minutes. I had to call from one eye doctor to get the medication that Dr. Dickinson had prescribe me at my eye doctors appointment since they did not send over my medical records, I had to wait on the phone for 15 minutes for them to just tell me over the phone what my medication's were. They are a horrible practice to go to. I do not recommend once again for anybody to go there! read more

Staff is accommodating and professional. The convenient location makes it easily assessable.

I told these people I just had a heart attack in December & the kept calling me all a.m. to get my insurance information which they had in October. The person taking care of me wasn't up at 8 a.m. when they called. I told them that. After hanging up on two rude & racist women. I called in later & gave my insurance information. Only to get a call four hours later with them canceling my appointment & saying I was rude to their ppl. Im so sorry I had a heart attack & couldn't get my insurance information & asked you all to wait til my care giver was awake! read more

My husband & I both are pleased with Dr. Dickman's care. We have been his patients for more than 10 years & feel very comfortable knowing that his office will quickly schedule an appointment should a problem arise. Recently, my husband had discomfort, & was promptly diagnosed. Within a week, following the doctor's directions he was much better! P & C Wrublewski read more

I cannot say enough about this practice. Not only was the staff courteous and friendly, they were knowledgeable as well. Dr Dickman thoroughly explained the tests to be performed and discussed the results in detail. Picking out my new glasses was easy with the help of sweet Melissa and they came in in no time. (PS prices were great too) read more

This place was terrible. The doctor was so rude. He gave me 'free' samples and then charged me for them. On the next visit, he tried to give me more 'free' samples, and when I asked how much it would cost he rolled his eyes and said "They're free, obviously!" When I explained that last time he had charged me for the samples, he got all huffy and told me I clearly didn't understand that he had to bill me for his time and expertise. I responded that I felt like his tone was disrespectful, and I thought he'd want to know when a customer felt upset by his behavior, he told me I was a patient, not a customer (uh, isn't this a business??) and then said childishly, "Do you think YOUR tone is respectful?" I couldn't believe that when I said that I felt he was being disrespectful, rather than an apology he became irate and started yelling at ME. This doctor has a LOT to learn about how to treat patients. read more

My wife and I both see Dr. Dickman. I see him for dry eye syndrome and for my eye exams. My wife has seen him twice for urgent eye problems (foreign body and retinal detachment). He is an excellent clinician who went to some very good schools, he is thorough, and he is very personable and he has always been friendly. He is an ophthalmologist which means that he is an M.D. who is trained to identify and treat eye problems as well as perform certain eye surgeries (depending on specialty). Note that there is a difference between an ophthalmologist, an optometrist, and an optician. His staff are helpful and I have found that are knowledgeable in what insurance does and does not cover and they handle insurance filing efficiently. In addition, Dr. Dickman's staff were able to prioritize my wife and get her in quickly when she had acute and urgent eye problems. We have both been very happy with Dr. Dickman and we recommend him if you have any sort of eye issues or even if you just need an eye exam for glasses (refraction test). read more

I took my Nephew (from out of state) to see this clinic for an eye exam in June of 2017. An appointment was made for a following yearly checkup on June 18, 2019. I went and picked up my Nephew (800 miles) and called to verify the appointment date. The appointment was ascertained on Friday, June 14, 2019 as being Tuesday, 9 AM, June 18. I repeated the time, date to the receptionist: June 18th, 2019 @ 9 AM. She said yes, that is correct. When we arrived at 8:40 AM on June 18th, 2019 she said there was no appointment scheduled: it was for next year 2020. Again I had called days before to verify. IT WAS THE SAME PERSON EACH TIME! June 18th, 2020 is on a Thursday, not Tuesday. Bottom line: there was a lot of time and expense lost because of HER ERROR. The Doctors might be O.K., but the front office (?) receptionist is terrible plus has an arrogant personality! read more

I saw Dr. Dickman when I had an eye issue while visiting Raleigh. He actually opened the office to see me on a weekend due to urgency. I found him to be kind, caring, compassionate and thorough. He even made sure to take down all of my insurance information so that his staff could process it that Monday. I find that people who post on sites like Yelp are either extremely satisfied, or extremely disgruntled. Having multiple health conditions, I know that not every physician is right for every patient. Perhaps that's what the individuals who posted negative reviews experienced. The physician they're talking about sounds like a completely different person from the doctor I met. Dr. Dickman, thank you for taking the time to see me, and for treating me with such excellent care and compassion. The eye doctor I saw back home for follow-up agreed with your diagnosis and treatment, and the problem is resolved. I recommend Dr. Dickman without hesitation. read more

Just stay away from the Laser Spa at Universal Eye Center! I bought a Groupon (that should have been my tipoff to stay away) and scheduled my 1st appointment for laser hair removal in early January. After checking in and waiting 30 minutes for my 1st appointment, it turned out that the Laser was broken. Thanks for the advance notice and allowing me to sit in the waiting room for 30 minutes before telling me! The next available appointment was in early February as the Laser Spa is only open on Fridays and is a one woman operation. Two days before my February appointment I received a voicemail saying that Tanya had had a death in the family and my appointment had been rescheduled for early March at a time I could not make. I called the next day to tell them that time did not work and to see if we could find another date/time that did work. They told me they didn't have anything available and would call me back if something opened up before March. 2 days before my March appointment that I had called to cancel anyway, I received a call saying that Tanya had pnemonia and had to cancel my next session. I told them I had cancelled the appointment a month ago, so it wasn't a big deal, but I had been waiting 3 months to be seen for my 1st appointment. A week passed and no one called to get anything on the books, so I contacted Groupon to get a refund before it expired. That turned into a big headache because The Laser Spa had marked my Groupon as used on the date of my 1st appointment that didn't happen. Yes, I was physically there on that date in January and wasted 30 minutes waiting on an appointment that had been cancelled without prior notification, but I received no treatment. While Groupon sorted things out with the merchant, I also sent an email with my experience and received no response. I have given them two weeks to respond and avoid a poor internet review, but have heard nothing. So I feel obligated to warn anyone thinking of purchasing a Groupon or any other service from The Laser Spa of my experience. Just stay away! It's a scam. read more

Took my 7 year old daughter here. Purchased a pair of Ray Ban and OP from here according to her new prescription. My daughter started getting headaches from both pair of glasses vs her old prescription. I called after a couple months and the doctor told me to just drop by to check prescription. When I arrived, the receptionist said I needed to schedule an appointment?! After telling her that the eye doctor told me to drop by she tells me I would have to pay for the doctor to check her again as well as any frames or lens replacement needed because it was past 60 days (about 75 days) . So basically, I wasted over $500. Unimpressed, unsatisfied to say the least. The lady that takes you to the back and does the preliminary eye check was always pleasant. read more

This individual, Mr. David DICKman, calling himself an MD, has an absolute horrible disposition and bed side manner! I have never been to a Dr's office where the treatment was so disrespectful, condescending, unprofessional, and frankly ignorant. I took my 80 y/o mother for an eye exam and he spoke to my mother like she was a child..."I said look over here you are looking over there!...look here at my ear! You know, that big floppy thing on the side of my head". He never introduced himself when he walked abruptly into the room; just rude for no reason. I also took exception to his micro-aggressions referring to diabetes as "da suga's" and cataracts as "cadillacs". Some cultural sensitivity training would probably be in order. I told him his bed side manner was horrible and that he was being very disrespectful and unprofessional to my mother. Just as Diane P. Stated in her review, he reacted like a petulant little child throwing a tantrum by spinning his chair around saying "excuse me? I conduct all my exams this way and how am I suppose to refer to my ears?". I believe him and that is why the waiting room was empty when we arrived and remained so as we left. I am going to obtain his license # and report him to the Board. He is being paid to conduct himself in a professional, respectful, ethical manner. He has a lot to learn about how to treat people. If you want a professional respectful environment, steer clear of Universal Eyecare! read more