Southdale Optical Co

I recently had cataract surgery. Dr. Nathan Reader is the best. He's not only an excellent surgeon, he took time to explain the procedure in detail, told me what to expect and made me feel very secure and comfortable during the surgeries. I can't believe how nervous I was --perfect in every way. Thank you, Dr. Reader. Bonita Erickson

Dishonest product representation. Sold me expensive Maui Jim sunglasses with progressive bifocal. They said they were expensive because they curved both ways and only Maui Jim makes them. They had a cheaper lens made elsewhere and did not tell me or reduce the price. After 10 years I went to a different optical business to get new lenses. They were cracked and I had a newer prescription. Maui Jim was great. They said my frames were discontinued but would help me on some new ones. So my old glasses were sent to them with the new order. After they looked at them is when I found out they were not a Maui Jim lens. Therefore they could not back them up and help me with the new glasses. I visited with Southdale Opitical at the Southdale Eye Clinic. Explained the situation, and told them my whole ordeal had cost me time any money. They just blew me off and said there is nothing they can do for me. "Maui Jim just tries to control the lens market." "Anyway it has been too long". I asked why too long was the reason they said it was because of warranties. Again they said, "sorry there is nothing we can do". If you get glasses there, you might not get what you are paying for. Or the product they say you getting. They were very dishonest with me.

Bad experience. I bought two pairs of glasses from Southdale Optical at one of their big sales events at the Southdale Mall. The frames and lenses were offered at a big discount. I wanted new glasses because my old frames were damaged and falling apart. I also wanted to get a new prescription for my lenses to improve reading and detail vision for my work. I would avoid buying glasses from this store for a variety of reasons: 1. The opticians do the lens measurements by hand, which is not as accurate as using the binocular electronic devices that most stores use today. 2. The store does not provide itemized receipts that identify the lens options, including special coatings, materials, and lens type. If there were to be any formal complaints about the lenses, the customer would have no proof of what was purchased. 3. There was no record of different coatings for the glasses, even on the order sheet from the store itself. I was told a comprehensive coating is used for anti-reflection, scratch-resistance, and UV. However, only the anti-reflection box was checked on their work sheet. 4. I was told the glasses would be ready to pick up in about two weeks. After two weeks, I called the store to check on the status of my order. The sales person said the glasses would be coming in “any day now”. In reality, I did not receive them until four weeks after placing the order. I would call this false advertising. I would add that the lenses may not have been made locally—which could account for the slow delivery. When I had the lenses examined by a different optician, the manufacturing symbol for the lenses could not be traced to a company in the United States. 5. The lenses in both pairs of glasses appear to have narrow channels of vision for the progressive lenses. This feature can vary from one manufacturer to the next. With the glasses I bought from Southdale Optical, the peripheral vision on either side was poor. When reading, I found I could not read an entire line of text (five inches wide) in a paperback book. I did not have this difficulty with my earlier pair of glasses. 6. The right and left progressive lenses in both pairs of glasses did not appear to match each other. I noticed this immediately when I picked up the glasses at the store. After isolating the usable part of each lens for reading with masking tape, I discovered the right lens in each pair of glasses had half as much area for reading as the left lens. I had to lift the glasses up to read through the bottom edge of the right lens. 7. The store claimed their lenses were of the highest quality. At the same time, the manager admitted that teachers and lawyers, both of whom read a lot of material in their professions, often made complaints. He seemed to think people in these professions were the source of the problem—not the glasses. 8. The store staff suggested there might be a problem with the glasses prescription. This was certainly possible. However, that would not explain the kind of problems described above. Glasses prescriptions concern refractive corrections for visual acuity—not the placement and range of the progressive lens, which is determined by the manufacturer. The store did not offer a refund of any kind for the lenses. Even if I could have documented the problems with the lenses through a professional agency (which, by the way, is not offered or done by optometrists), there are no laws or regulations concerning progressive lenses. Buyer beware! There is an old saying, “You get what you pay for.” In this case, I didn’t get much. I had to throw away the lenses and buy new ones at a different store.