some days it's the little things
Jun. 12th, 2003 11:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
topazLike my glasses.
I got these frames at LensCrafters three and a half years ago. They're the second pair I've ever owned. They've held up pretty well under a fair amount of abuse, but they've been wobbly for a while.
Last Friday night the left earpiece broke off. A local optometrist has adjusted and repaired these frames a couple of times, and made it clear to me that there was only so much more abuse that they could take. I knew that this was the death knell. That earpiece was kaput, and I knew I wouldn't be able to find a replacement frame to fit the lenses. I'd have to get new lenses and new frames.
This would be a bummer in any event, but it is doubly so now that I no longer have a steady paycheck coming in. We recently crunched the numbers and determined that we can choose three out of four: (a) paying rent and utilities; (b) preschool for Morgan; (c) health insurance; (d) eating. "New glasses because Tim's a klutz" isn't even on the menu.
Still, what are you gonna do? I called LensCrafters and explained the problem. They keep sales records for only two years (as I suspected) and frames older than three years have almost certainly been discontinued (as I suspected). But, they said, if I wanted, I could come in anyway and they'd see what they could do.
We went in the next day and I showed the glasses to a technician, who made appropriately sympathetic noises. No, they probably didn't have any replacements in stock, but it's a slow afternoon anyway, so why don't we send someone in back to see what's there?
I stood around for a few minutes looking at replacement frames, trying to figure out what I could afford to wear without looking like Mortimer Snerd, and let me tell you, I could not have been more surprised when they reappeared with a repaired frame. The tech was actually apologizing because the replacement earpiece was the wrong color! "Are you kidding?" I said.
So, instead of spending $100-$300 on a new pair of glasses, I walked out of there with a repaired set that didn't cost me a cent. This is the part that amuses me most of all: the faceless, anonymous corporate megachain beat out the local mom-and-pop optometrist for customer service. Oof!
I got these frames at LensCrafters three and a half years ago. They're the second pair I've ever owned. They've held up pretty well under a fair amount of abuse, but they've been wobbly for a while.
Last Friday night the left earpiece broke off. A local optometrist has adjusted and repaired these frames a couple of times, and made it clear to me that there was only so much more abuse that they could take. I knew that this was the death knell. That earpiece was kaput, and I knew I wouldn't be able to find a replacement frame to fit the lenses. I'd have to get new lenses and new frames.
This would be a bummer in any event, but it is doubly so now that I no longer have a steady paycheck coming in. We recently crunched the numbers and determined that we can choose three out of four: (a) paying rent and utilities; (b) preschool for Morgan; (c) health insurance; (d) eating. "New glasses because Tim's a klutz" isn't even on the menu.
Still, what are you gonna do? I called LensCrafters and explained the problem. They keep sales records for only two years (as I suspected) and frames older than three years have almost certainly been discontinued (as I suspected). But, they said, if I wanted, I could come in anyway and they'd see what they could do.
We went in the next day and I showed the glasses to a technician, who made appropriately sympathetic noises. No, they probably didn't have any replacements in stock, but it's a slow afternoon anyway, so why don't we send someone in back to see what's there?
I stood around for a few minutes looking at replacement frames, trying to figure out what I could afford to wear without looking like Mortimer Snerd, and let me tell you, I could not have been more surprised when they reappeared with a repaired frame. The tech was actually apologizing because the replacement earpiece was the wrong color! "Are you kidding?" I said.
So, instead of spending $100-$300 on a new pair of glasses, I walked out of there with a repaired set that didn't cost me a cent. This is the part that amuses me most of all: the faceless, anonymous corporate megachain beat out the local mom-and-pop optometrist for customer service. Oof!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(Let's try this again because I can't spell)
Date: 2003-06-12 08:43 pm (UTC)It sucks Tim, I am sorry to hear this.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-12 10:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-12 10:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-13 08:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-13 09:15 pm (UTC)Wait. I didn't mean to say that.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-14 05:48 am (UTC)The one tradeoff is that all their lenses are ground in Florida. So there's a 4-day turnaround for new glasses, unlike the (IME more expensive) 1-hour places.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-13 05:46 am (UTC)ug
Date: 2003-06-13 05:55 am (UTC)I need new glasses, too. Mine are somewhat covered by insurance; maybe we can find one of those two-for-one dealies?
no subject
Date: 2003-06-13 09:56 am (UTC)Should the glasses spontaneously combust any time in the near future, here's the closest thing to a helpful hint I have: old-style daily wear (ie: take 'em out and let 'em soak overnight) soft contact lenses can often be found for less than $50 a pair with some shopping, and easily last for 2-3 years with careful handling. Optometrists hate admitting this, because they'd much rather sell you "disposable" contacts that are essentially selling you a subscription to your own damn eyes at $40/month, but if you twist their arms, they'll usually admit it.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-13 10:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-13 10:07 am (UTC)Those can be pretty well minimized though: buy store-brand saline solution and cleaner instead of the (insanely overpriced) Bausch & Lomb stuff, and buy a thermal disinfector unit ($15ish) so you can skip buying the chemical disinfectant solutions.
FWIW, I've never had a contact-related eye infection. YMMV.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-14 06:37 pm (UTC)And they had to special order them. That, for me, was cheaper than the non-disposable contacts.
And I'm gonna have to get new lenses soon. Damn, I miss the days I had a vision service plan.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 10:47 pm (UTC)Something I noticed when I got a replacement earpiece of the wrong color - if you can see one earpiece, you can't see the other, and from the front, you can't see either. So they don't actually need to match.e