Premier Eye Center of Prescott

Her response: "Obviously, this optical business would rather argue with a customer than take care of the situationAlso, have all the social media, and online media, see the way they treat customersNow any one reading this can see what I have, had to deal with."
OUR RESPONSE #2:
We will first reiterate the concluding paragraph from our first response:
"We offered several resolutionsShe has been encouraged to have another doctor develop a prescription for herIf it was different and somehow did result in better than the 20/vision that we achieved with the prescription from our office, then we could (again...) have them remade for herWe also encouraged her to have her insurance company call us to help rectify her issueWe are confident in the work of our doctorsInstead of following through and trying to see better, this patient has resorted to filing baseless claims which are quickly approaching extortion."
(Reminder: we already went above and beyond when we provided the patient a brand new top of the line designer frame at no cost to her as a measure of goodwill). We cannot simply give money to a patient that a third party insurance company paid our office for services renderedThat would be borderline fraudConsider this parallel:
if someone is unsatisfied with a knee replacement surgery, that person cannot simply demand that the doctor give them $30,cash just because that is what the insurance company happened to have reimbursed the surgeon and hospital for the procedureIn this particular situation, we have encouraged the patient to speak to their insurance company about ways to reinstate their benefits --- but she must so this; we have no control over the decisions made by her insurance companyOur office manager has told the patient that she will be happy to speak to the insurance company once she gives said insurance
company permission for us to speak to themOnce again: we originally offered that solution to her over the phone and now we (again) restate it in writing.
As far as the $that this patient paid out of pocket for her glasses, we are happy to refund her the full amount if/when she returns the lenses she claims to be unsatisfied withOr, she can be satisfied with the 20/vision that these new lenses provided her. However, she can't have both: a refund on her $and keep the product that she claims to be unsatisfied withAny reasonable person or organization like the Revdex.com would agree with thisAnything else beyond this would be consistent with the legal definition of extortion

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.Obviously, this optical business would rather argue with a customer than take care of the situation. Also, have all the social media, and online media, see the way they treat customers. Now any one reading this can see what I have, had to deal with.Regards,*** ***

Customer’s Statement of the Problem:
I went to Premier Eye Center, in [redacted]. I went in June.
My eyes were examined; I sent my frames in to have new lenses put in them.
When I got them back, the temple pieces were damaged, It looked like they held the temple pieces...

with a needle nose pliers. The temple pieces are rose colored metal. So the damage was silver and gouged.
This patient is wearing one of our favorite frame lines, Silhouette.  Because these frames use no screws, our staff and lab only use specially designed tools with them.  These tools are coated in soft rubber or soft plastic so it is borderline impossible to scratch the frame or lens with them.
I mentioned this to [redacted] who was helping me. She suggested I could use nail polish to cover the damage. That was real business like and classy.  If I didn't have that color she could take them home and paint them for me.
Our staff member was trying to offer practical solutions to the patient’s problem.  If her frame style had used screws to hold the lenses in, then it would have been possible that a screwdriver could have scratched it despite our staff’s best efforts.  However, this was not the case.  We never use anything remotely sharp on Silhouette frames.  Therefore, it is next-to-impossible for the blemishes on her old/used frame to have resulted from the handling of our office or lab.
I called the office manager [redacted], she said they would be replaced. That I claimed they damaged them (lab). They had them in their hands and saw they were not damaged. I'm told after, that I send  them in at my own risk.
Because it would be impossible to prove who scratched the frame (expert staff with special tools or the likely wear and tear on a used frame), as a courtesy our office manager offered to replace the frame at our cost --- as a measure of goodwill even though it is generally unheard of for an office to replace a frame not that was not purchased from them.  Yes, we really “went the extra mile” in this case.
Mean while the new lenses were not in focus as I told [redacted], when I took them in to have the temple pieces replaced. She asked me to tell her what was wrong, as I explained, she stopped me and said in other words there out of focus. I said yes I guess that's what it boils down to. I made a comment maybe the lab, got the prescription wrong, wow [redacted] didn't like that. She said she wouldn't have called me to pick them up, because she inspects them when they come in. I thought it might be the lab and not the Dr's prescription, (silly me).
Every pair of glasses that comes from our office follows a specific protocol upon receipt from the lab. Frames and lenses are inspected for cosmetic defects (expected with a used frame), the prescription is verified with a lensometer, and then the optician initials the order form indicating the glasses are ready to be picked up.  When the patient picks up the glasses, they are adjusted to the patient’s face and the patient looks out the window to verify good distance vision and reads an up close handheld eye chart to verify good near vision.  And then we again go above and beyond:  every single patient is called two weeks after they pick up their glasses to make sure they love their new eyewear.  Once again, this is initialed by the staff member making the call.  All steps were followed and documented in this case.
She kinda jumped down my throat, probly because they had to replace the temple pieces. So I had to come back for a re-exam.
As a protocol, we had our doctor re-examine the patient, as a courtesy and at no charge to the patient or her insurance.  This also makes sure that the patient has not experienced any changes.
They talked about it, checked a few things on my eyes and made an adjustment. Then they told me I wore my glasses to high, that's why they were out of focus, to try and wear them lower, well that didn't work.
Progressive addition lenses (aka: “no lines” or “no line bifocals”) can be very sensitive to how they are worn.  If the nose pads or temples are out of alignment and/or a frame is otherwise “riding high”, vision will be blurry because the patient is looking out of an incorrect area of the lens.  This indeed was the situation with this patient.  (Anyone reading this while wearing progressives already knows that when they look far away through the bottom of their lenses it is blurry.)  By lowering the lenses on the patient’s face, it gives the patient more room at the top of the lenses to see far away.
I called my previous eye Dr. and asked him what adjustments he made for me to see better, with the prescription he gave me, so I asked [redacted] if they  made an adjustment for the astigmatism, she said yes. So they sent the glasses off to have a new prescription, and to put the replacement temple pieces on. They came back I tried them, still not in focus.
So it's September by now, so I called the office manager, [redacted]. I said this has been going on since June, she said that's way too  long she would check into it. She called me back, and wasn't very nice she said we already replaced your temple pieces that I claimed, they damaged, they re examined my eyes, and she knows I had the same problem two and a half years ago. Now how would they know that, unless they invaded my privacy (privacy letter), and called around town to see who checked my eyes previously. I did not tell them who, examined my eye  before them. So that means the previous Dr. talked to them, and also invaded my privacy, by talking about it, again (privacy letter).
The facts are much less sensational. Our history form asks, “When was your last eye exam?  By whom?”  On the rare occasion that someone has continued problems with glasses, we simply ask them where they got their last pair of glasses so we can check every single detail of what lens material they are wearing, the brand and style of progressive, and the curvature of the lenses.  There are numerous places in Yavapai County where patients can get glasses.  Our office manager does not have the time to call every one of them and ask if they have ever seen a specific patient.
The phone called ended by [redacted] telling me they had me seeing 20/20 when I left there. Thank You and have a nice day.
 
Our office manager called the patient back after reviewing her chart and confirming the amount of time spent with our staff and doctor, the adjustments made to the new frame (once again that we provided at our cost), and noticing the improved vision as documented in the chart.  Putting aside any emotion or opinion, this improved vision was documented in the chart long before we could have anticipated any potential issues.Desired Settlement:
Are they not in the business to make lenses so a person can see thru them, Were not all the same, in and out, some people need a more thorough exam.
I'm glad this patient agrees with us here. Because we care, our staff has spent many hours with her, and the doctor has seen her multiple times at no charge.
They need to put my old lenses back in, I can see better with those than the new prescription.
This is simply not true. Every patient who is seen in our office reads the eye chart with their current prescription. This is before the doctor ever begins diagnosing or treating. This patient's chart shows her seeing noticeably better with both new prescriptions versus the original old prescription.  This was all documented per standard protocol before we ever knew there were going to be issues.
I need my money back plus the insurance part of the payment so I can go somewhere, where they care about peoples eyes.
We offered several resolutions.  She has been encouraged to have another doctor develop a prescription for her.  If it was different and somehow did result in better than the 20/20 vision that we achieved with the prescription from our office, then we could (again…) have them remade for her.  We also encouraged her to have her insurance company call us to help rectify her issue.   We are confident in the work of our doctors.  Instead of following through and trying to see better, this patient has resorted to filing baseless claims which are quickly approaching extortion.
We are not perfect and have weekly staff meetings for continuous improvement as we strive for excellence.   If a patient lets us know that a staff member could have been nicer, it is addressed immediately.  If our lab is slow getting us glasses or makes a pair incorrectly, the opticians, office manager, and occasionally the doctors call them to rectify the situation.
We are proud that every office protocol was followed. A brand new designer frame at no cost to the patient, improved vision from old lenses and seeing better than 20/20 were not enough to satisfy
this patient.

Her response: "Obviously, this optical business would rather argue with a customer than take care of the situation. Also, have all the social media, and online media, see the way they treat customers. Now any one reading this can see what I have, had to deal with."

OUR RESPONSE #2:

We will first reiterate the concluding paragraph from our first response:

"We offered several resolutions. She has been encouraged to have another doctor develop a prescription for her. If it was different and somehow did result in better than the 20/20 vision that we achieved with the prescription from our office, then we could (again...) have them remade for her. We also encouraged her to have her insurance company call us to help rectify her issue. We are confident in the work of our doctors. Instead of following through and trying to see better, this patient has resorted to filing baseless claims which are quickly approaching extortion."

(Reminder: we already went above and beyond when we provided the patient a brand new top of the line designer frame at no cost to her as a measure of goodwill). We cannot simply give money to a patient that a third party insurance company paid our office for services rendered. That would be borderline fraud. Consider this parallel: 

if someone is unsatisfied with a knee replacement surgery, that person cannot simply demand that the doctor give them $30,000 cash just because that is what the insurance company happened to have reimbursed the surgeon and hospital for the procedure. In this particular situation, we have encouraged the patient to speak to their insurance company about ways to reinstate their benefits --- but she must so this; we have no control over the decisions made by her insurance company. Our office manager has told the patient that she will be happy to speak to the insurance company once she gives said insurance 

company permission for us to speak to them. Once again: we originally offered that solution to her over the phone and now we (again) restate it in writing. 

As far as the $98 that this patient paid out of pocket for her glasses, we are happy to refund her the full amount if/when she returns the lenses she claims to be unsatisfied with. Or, she can be satisfied with the 20/20 vision that these new lenses provided her. However, she can't have both: a refund on her $98 and keep the product that she claims to be unsatisfied with. Any reasonable person or organization like the Revdex.com would agree with this. Anything else beyond this would be consistent with the legal definition of extortion.

Customer’s Statement of the Problem:

I went to Premier Eye Center, in [redacted]. I went in June.

My eyes were examined; I sent my frames in to have new lenses put in them.

When I got them back, the temple pieces were damaged, It looked like they held the temple pieces...

with a needle nose pliers. The temple pieces are rose colored metal. So the damage was silver and gouged.

This patient is wearing one of our favorite frame lines, Silhouette.  Because these frames use no screws, our staff and lab only use specially designed tools with them.  These tools are coated in soft rubber or soft plastic so it is borderline impossible to scratch the frame or lens with them.

I mentioned this to [redacted] who was helping me. She suggested I could use nail polish to cover the damage. That was real business like and classy.  If I didn't have that color she could take them home and paint them for me.

Our staff member was trying to offer practical solutions to the patient’s problem.  If her frame style had used screws to hold the lenses in, then it would have been possible that a screwdriver could have scratched it despite our staff’s best efforts.  However, this was not the case.  We never use anything remotely sharp on Silhouette frames.  Therefore, it is next-to-impossible for the blemishes on her old/used frame to have resulted from the handling of our office or lab.

I called the office manager [redacted], she said they would be replaced. That I claimed they damaged them (lab). They had them in their hands and saw they were not damaged. I'm told after, that I send  them in at my own risk.

Because it would be impossible to prove who scratched the frame (expert staff with special tools or the likely wear and tear on a used frame), as a courtesy our office manager offered to replace the frame at our cost --- as a measure of goodwill even though it is generally unheard of for an office to replace a frame not that was not purchased from them.  Yes, we really “went the extra mile” in this case.

Mean while the new lenses were not in focus as I told [redacted], when I took them in to have the temple pieces replaced. She asked me to tell her what was wrong, as I explained, she stopped me and said in other words there out of focus. I said yes I guess that's what it boils down to. I made a comment maybe the lab, got the prescription wrong, wow [redacted] didn't like that. She said she wouldn't have called me to pick them up, because she inspects them when they come in. I thought it might be the lab and not the Dr's prescription, (silly me).

Every pair of glasses that comes from our office follows a specific protocol upon receipt from the lab. Frames and lenses are inspected for cosmetic defects (expected with a used frame), the prescription is verified with a lensometer, and then the optician initials the order form indicating the glasses are ready to be picked up.  When the patient picks up the glasses, they are adjusted to the patient’s face and the patient looks out the window to verify good distance vision and reads an up close handheld eye chart to verify good near vision.  And then we again go above and beyond:  every single patient is called two weeks after they pick up their glasses to make sure they love their new eyewear.  Once again, this is initialed by the staff member making the call.  All steps were followed and documented in this case.

She kinda jumped down my throat, probly because they had to replace the temple pieces. So I had to come back for a re-exam.

As a protocol, we had our doctor re-examine the patient, as a courtesy and at no charge to the patient or her insurance.  This also makes sure that the patient has not experienced any changes.

They talked about it, checked a few things on my eyes and made an adjustment. Then they told me I wore my glasses to high, that's why they were out of focus, to try and wear them lower, well that didn't work.

Progressive addition lenses (aka: “no lines” or “no line bifocals”) can be very sensitive to how they are worn.  If the nose pads or temples are out of alignment and/or a frame is otherwise “riding high”, vision will be blurry because the patient is looking out of an incorrect area of the lens.  This indeed was the situation with this patient.  (Anyone reading this while wearing progressives already knows that when they look far away through the bottom of their lenses it is blurry.)  By lowering the lenses on the patient’s face, it gives the patient more room at the top of the lenses to see far away.

I called my previous eye Dr. and asked him what adjustments he made for me to see better, with the prescription he gave me, so I asked [redacted] if they  made an adjustment for the astigmatism, she said yes. So they sent the glasses off to have a new prescription, and to put the replacement temple pieces on. They came back I tried them, still not in focus.

So it's September by now, so I called the office manager, [redacted]. I said this has been going on since June, she said that's way too  long she would check into it. She called me back, and wasn't very nice she said we already replaced your temple pieces that I claimed, they damaged, they re examined my eyes, and she knows I had the same problem two and a half years ago. Now how would they know that, unless they invaded my privacy (privacy letter), and called around town to see who checked my eyes previously. I did not tell them who, examined my eye  before them. So that means the previous Dr. talked to them, and also invaded my privacy, by talking about it, again (privacy letter).

The facts are much less sensational. Our history form asks, “When was your last eye exam?  By whom?”  On the rare occasion that someone has continued problems with glasses, we simply ask them where they got their last pair of glasses so we can check every single detail of what lens material they are wearing, the brand and style of progressive, and the curvature of the lenses.  There are numerous places in Yavapai County where patients can get glasses.  Our office manager does not have the time to call every one of them and ask if they have ever seen a specific patient.

The phone called ended by [redacted] telling me they had me seeing 20/20 when I left there. Thank You and have a nice day.

 

Our office manager called the patient back after reviewing her chart and confirming the amount of time spent with our staff and doctor, the adjustments made to the new frame (once again that we provided at our cost), and noticing the improved vision as documented in the chart.  Putting aside any emotion or opinion, this improved vision was documented in the chart long before we could have anticipated any potential issues.Desired Settlement:

Are they not in the business to make lenses so a person can see thru them, Were not all the same, in and out, some people need a more thorough exam.

I'm glad this patient agrees with us here. Because we care, our staff has spent many hours with her, and the doctor has seen her multiple times at no charge.

They need to put my old lenses back in, I can see better with those than the new prescription.

This is simply not true. Every patient who is seen in our office reads the eye chart with their current prescription. This is before the doctor ever begins diagnosing or treating. This patient's chart shows her seeing noticeably better with both new prescriptions versus the original old prescription.  This was all documented per standard protocol before we ever knew there were going to be issues.

I need my money back plus the insurance part of the payment so I can go somewhere, where they care about peoples eyes.

We offered several resolutions.  She has been encouraged to have another doctor develop a prescription for her.  If it was different and somehow did result in better than the 20/20 vision that we achieved with the prescription from our office, then we could (again…) have them remade for her.  We also encouraged her to have her insurance company call us to help rectify her issue.   We are confident in the work of our doctors.  Instead of following through and trying to see better, this patient has resorted to filing baseless claims which are quickly approaching extortion.

We are not perfect and have weekly staff meetings for continuous improvement as we strive for excellence.   If a patient lets us know that a staff member could have been nicer, it is addressed immediately.  If our lab is slow getting us glasses or makes a pair incorrectly, the opticians, office manager, and occasionally the doctors call them to rectify the situation.

We are proud that every office protocol was followed. A brand new designer frame at no cost to the patient, improved vision from old lenses and seeing better than 20/20 were not enough to satisfy

this patient.

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.Obviously, this optical business would rather argue with a customer than take care of the situation. Also, have all the social media, and online media, see the way they treat customers. Now any one reading this can see what I have, had to deal with.Regards,[redacted]