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Common Mistakes People Make With Their Eyewear

Author: Diane Vaneck | | Categories: Custom Eyewear , Licensed Optician , Optical Store

Common Mistakes People Make With Their Eyewear

Eyecare cannot be neglected, and if you wear spectacles, you need to be extra careful about your eyewear. People make several mistakes concerning eyewear that can harm their eyes in the long run.

Trust only the advice of professionals when it comes to eye care. Go for regular check-ups and keep your eye doctor in the loop about anything that might be bothering your eyes. Similarly, let the Optician know if the eyewear is uncomfortable or if its use gives you a headache. They will modify it according to your requirements immediately.

To help you avoid some basic errors that could prove to be costly, Penticton Optical has put together a list of the most common mistakes people make with their eyewear.

1. Self adjusting personal eyewear

Just don’t do it! As licensed opticians, we know how to apply the right pressure at the correct place where the glasses need to be adjusted. We know how much heat to use and when. If we see the frames are compromised, we will let you know your options before attempting to adjust, and we can save you costly repairs by assessing your eyewear first. Also, if you adjust your eyewear and break, you void any warranty you may have. 

2. Considering glue as your best friend

Metal frames will not hold, so don’t even try them. Plastic frames may hold, but you risk compromising your lenses if you get glue on them. Gluing a plastic frame is rarely effective and can create challenges for the Optician attempting to repair your eyewear.

3. Failing to disclose the problem in your eyewear when asking for a repair

All Opticians should disclose that any adjustments are at your own risk when presented with a product purchased elsewhere or if your frame is older. You accept the risk, and the Optician proceeds with the repair/adjustment. In this first scenario, you purchase a wooden frame online and go into an optical to have the frame fit your face. It has a wood grain look, and you need to have them tightened up. You fail to disclose that your frame is actually made of wood, so the Optician proceeds to try to adjust the frame. The frame breaks like a twig, and then they learn the frame is made of wood. Now you have a broken frame. In the second scenario, your very old frame needs repair. You have updated your prescription a few times into this frame, but it needs to be tightened as one side is out more than the other, and one of your nose pads is askew. You have had these frames soldered at the joints that need to be adjusted; however, you failed to disclose this to the Optician, who cannot see the welds due to a build-up of oils and dirt in the areas of interest. They make adjustments only to have the welds give upon the slightest pressure. This creates two issues. First, the Optician feels terrible for breaking your frames as we only want you to be able to see with comfort and two, you now have a broken product to which the Optician has no choice but to either attempt to solder your parts again or try to fit the lenses into a frame that you had no intention of purchasing.

4. Failing to address issues right away

As with any product, there are limited warranties that can be offered if you disclose your dissatisfaction with your eyewear. Here are a few examples of how we can assist you when given a heads-up:

a. Progressives:

Not everyone can wear progressive lenses (no-line bifocals, not to be confused with Transitions, which change color when exposed to UV light). Companies offer a non-adapt policy that ranges anywhere from thirty to ninety days. If you cannot get used to a progressive lens after the Optician has adjusted the frame and verified all measurements are correct, we can offer alternative solutions to give you the vision you deserve. Again, keep in mind the thirty to a ninety-day window. Please do not throw them into a drawer as a lost cause without giving us a chance to help you. This is a waste of your money and time.

b. Defective coatings:

Most companies offer a two-year warranty on coatings that are defective. Once you notice things like wavy lines or ‘thumbprint’ impressions in the lens when driving at night, or the lenses just don’t seem to be as clear as they were when they were new, take them in if it’s within the two years. PLEASE DO NOT WAIT! My heart sinks when someone comes in at year three, frustrated and angry, and says they were like that within the year, yet they never came in to have it addressed. We are in the business of helping you see to the best of our ability. Please give us the opportunity to fix these issues within the timelines outlined by your Optician before it’s too late.

c. Broken or twisted frames you deem unrepairable:

Give us a chance to see if we can salvage your perceived loss. We had a customer say their eyewear were beyond repair. She gave us a chance to assess her eyewear and we were able to repair the damage. This prevented her from spending money she did not have at the time. Another customer's child ripped the temples off, and fortunately, we were able to salvage the frame to its original style using spare parts we had in stock. These repairs are often at no charge or a small fee compared to the expense of a completely new pair.

d. Dissatisfied with prescription:

Once you pick up your eyewear, you have thirty to ninety days (depending on the company’s policies) to have your eyes rechecked at no charge if you are not happy with your prescription. The optical that filled your prescription will redo your lenses, typically at no charge within the same window of time. If you wait six months to a year, you have missed the window with which we can help you.

5. Waiting too long to update your prescription

We get it. It’s a pain to have to update your prescription when it’s only four years old, and you can see fine. Here are the issues that can arise when you don’t follow the Optician’s advice to update the prescription.

a. Expired prescriptions have NO warranty. If we filled the NEW prescription and you weren’t happy with it, the Optometrist will typically recheck your vision at no charge, and the optical will redo the lenses at no charge (within thirty to ninety days, depending on their policy). If you choose to proceed with the expired prescription despite the Optician’s warning, the shop is not obligated to redo your lenses at no charge should you be dissatisfied with your vision. The Optician will advise you of this risk and document the conversation in your file. Do yourself a favor and work with current prescriptions. 

b. You are at the age of forty-three, and you haven’t updated your prescription for five years. You get your new prescription and decide, against the advice of the Optician, to stay with single vision instead of upgrading to a multifocal option. You get your new eyewear, and suddenly your up-close vision is strained. The issue here is that if you had updated the prescription two or three years ago, you would have noticed that you would have to hold your near tasks a little further away, but you could still function with the single-vision lenses. But at years four and five, the difference was too great for your now-aged eyes to adjust to the new prescription. We can get away with extending the prescription date in our 20's and 30's but not when we hit our 40's.

To avoid these and other mistakes, reach out to the experts at Penticton Optical. We have been providing eye care needs to the people of South Okanagan since 1954. We deal in eye care, contact lenses, sunglasses, eyeglasses, and designer frames. We have customers visiting our optical store from Penticton, Peachland, Summerland, Merritt, Princeton, Rock Creek, Beaverdell, Oliver, Greenwood, Grand Forks, and the surrounding areas.

Get in touch with us today!

For a complete list of our services, please click here. If you have any questions about refracting opticians, we’d love to hear from you. For more information, please call us at (250) 492-4392 or email us at pentictonoptical@shaw.ca

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