Complaint Review: Pearle Vision - Twinsburg Ohio

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On 17 March 2005, I purchased a pair of eyeglasses in the amount of $315.22 from Pearle Vision, 881 N. Central Expressway, Plano, TX, 75075. At issue is Pearle Vision's deceptive advertising and selling practices, misrepresentation of products and services, and unauthorized charges and credits placed on customer credit accounts.

After browsing around in the Pearle Vision store for a couple of minutes, Susan approached me in a friendly manner and offered her assistance. After I selected a suitable frame, Susan sat me down and explained Pearle Vision's Healthy Views discount program. I enrolled, as the program seemed to offer fairly substantial discounts on lenses and frames. Susan went on to explain the benefits of polycarbonate lenses vs. plastic lenses. She recommended to me the Seiko 1.67 lenses, which I found out later on were not polycarbonate lenses; rather, they are high-index lenses, which are the highest-end, most expensive lenses on the market. But Susan failed to present the lenses to me as such; rather, she continued to refer to the Seiko lenses as mid-range polycarbonates. Furthermore, Susan failed to inform me that the high-index Seiko lenses are not as strong as the polycarbonate lenses, are heavier, and could chip and/or shatter more readily. I also noted that there was no mention of the Seiko 1.67 lenses in Pearle Vision's Healthy Views brochure, which provides pricing and discount percentage information.

Susan explained Pearle Vision's Invisilens, an optional anti-glare coating. However, Susan failed to inform me that this coating is very sensitive and rubs off easily, even within a few months (especially if the glasses are not cleaned properly). I noted that Pearle Vision's in-store Invisilens brochure presents what is in reality a lens coating as a special type of lens. In other words, Pearle Vision describes this anti-glare feature as Pearle Vision Invisilens lenses, rather than Pearle Vision Invisilens anti-glare lens coating. This misrepresentation only serves to further confuse the customer into accepting Pearle Vision's Invisilens feature: I don't really understand it, but it sounds good, so I'll take it.

If the three consecutively more expensive lens packages plastic, polycarbonate, and high-index were explained to me clearly and were offered to me as such, I would have selected the mid-grade polycarbonate lenses rather than the vastly more expensive high-index lenses. Even in a higher prescription, the main difference is in the thickness of the lens, not clarity of sight. Furthermore, I noted that Pearle Vision's Vision Guide packet presents the Seiko 1.67 lenses on Page 6. However, it makes no reference to the fact that this lens is made out of high-index lens material and fails to inform the customer that it is the most expensive, highest-end lens on the market today. Also, the diagram on the bottom of the same page in Pearle Vision's Vision Guide is deceptive, since my vision through these lenses appeared to be identical to the Conventional diagram in terms of peripheral distortion. Not knowing these things until later, I went on to apply for a Pearle Vision credit account and purchased the glasses using the new account. What I did not expect was that Pearle Vision would place charges and credits on my newly established line of credit without my authorization.

I noted that Pearle Vision's customer receipts are nearly impossible to decipher without clarification. After I purchased the eyeglasses, I discovered a $30.00 charge on my receipt that read, Pearle Protection + BRK. PLAN. When I called Pearle Vision to ask what this charge was, Susan told me it was simply a line item that contained lens features not specified, such as UV coating. It is a well-known fact that the UV (ultraviolet) protection feature is built into polycarbonate and high-index lenses. It is not an extra coating. In another call, David verified this response. Susan explained to me that it's just the way they break down the charges on the receipt.

Because I was not satisfied with Pearle Vision's response to my inquiry, I contacted the Pearle Vision Customer Relations Department which operates out of Luxottica Retail (formerly Cole Vision Corporation), Pearle Vision's corporate owner. Luxottica Retail also owns Sears Optical and LensCrafters stores. Customer Relations informed me that the line item in question is the Pearle Protection Plan, a 2-year optional in-store warranty. Notwithstanding the fact that Susan failed to inform me that a one-year warranty already exists on the lenses, she never presented the $30.00 warranty to me as an option. So not only did Susan (and David) lie to me about the nature of this warranty, but she also placed what amounts to a $30.00 unauthorized charge on my Pearle Vision credit account. Later, I would find out that Pearle Vision employees get a commission for selling this warranty, selling lens upgrades, and more; and it is highly likely that they have quotas to meet as well.

Because my glasses were uncomfortable to the point of disorientation and dizziness, I went back to Pearle Vision to see what could be done. Chris adjusted the glasses and told me I'd get used to them. No eye measurements were taken, and no heed was given to the fact that the problem may be the very small size or shape of the lenses that was causing me the discomfort. I also noted that, in light of Pearle Vision's 60-Day Total Satisfaction Guarantee, the answer to my discomfort in wearing the glasses was You'll get used to them rather than Let's figure out the problem and see what we can do about it. Since Pearle Vision could not seem to solve the problem, I took the glasses to another eye care specialist for a second opinion.

On 4 April, I spoke by phone with Pearle Vision's manager, Earnie, regarding the lenses. Earnie abruptly instructed me not to go around and ask others regarding my lenses. He told me that other eye care professionals are just not familiar with our lenses. Earnie emphatically claimed that the lenses were high-index. When I asked Earnie about the possibility of a mistake, he retorted, Absolutely not. He told me in no uncertain terms that if I had a problem with the lenses, Your prescription is your problem. This way, Pearle Vision can claim plausible deniability and place the blame directly back to the optometrist.

Not only was I disturbed by Earnie's unprofessional, unsympathetic, unaccommodating demeanor, I was also astonished by his lack of knowledge of the eye care industry. Earnie (and the other Pearle Vision employees as well) could not seem to understand the material differences between polycarbonate lenses and high-index lenses. These lenses are made out of two separate and distinct materials, and yet Pearle Vision employees lump them together as one. Earnie told me I had the option to switch to a non-aspheric lens; however, according to my optometrist, non-aspheric lenses have a greater curvature, and thus, would give me even greater distortion. And as far as my prescription being the problem, a follow-up exam confirmed the veracity of my original prescription.

In the end, Earnie did offer me a refund on the eyeglasses. While the refund was welcome, I noted that Pearle Vision's 60-Day Total Satisfaction Guarantee does not typically include refunds [but should]. When I asked the adjacent optometrist's office about the possibility of ordering conventional daily-wear contact lenses, they called over to Susan at Pearle Vision. Susan said that if the conventional daily-wear contact lenses are ordered, but are a poor fit or are otherwise uncomfortable, the customer is stuck with them and must foot the bill for those and any new lenses that have to be ordered. I found this practice odd, since all other eye care outlets I've spoken with reimburse for the cost of contact lenses that do not fit or are otherwise uncomfortable. Clearly, Pearle Vision's 60-Day Satisfaction Guarantee does not apply to conventional daily-wear contact lenses. On another occasion, I spoke to David, who did not seem to know the difference between conventional daily-wear contact lenses and disposable contact lenses.

On 5 April, I went back to Pearle Vision to return the eyeglasses per Earnie's offer. David told me to have a seat and wait until Earnie was finished with his customer. I asked David if he could handle the return, but he told me that Earnie had to process it, and told me once again [in a rather curt manner] to take a seat. I waited approximately 15 minutes while Earnie helped his customer and took a couple of phone calls. I noted that Earnie did not acknowledge me in any way, even though I stood close to where he was standing. When Earnie finally appeared to be free, I walked up to him and introduced myself. I told Earnie that I'd like to return the eyeglasses.

As we began to walk toward the front register, Earnie abruptly grabbed all of the contents of my hands the glasses, the original receipt, and my Pearle Vision's Vision Guide packet that contained some personal information. Placing these items behind the desk and out of my view, Earnie inspected the eyeglasses and began looking through my Pearle Vision's Vision Guide packet. I took back my Pearle Vision's Vision Guide back and reminded Earnie that he already had the original receipt.

I found the return process very lengthy and cumbersome. I do not recall a time where I had to sign so many receipts for a single refund. One receipt was for the $30.00 refund for the warranty that had been placed on my Pearle Vision credit account without my authorization. I thought this was odd, because a quick call on 4 April to Pearle Vision's credit card customer service center told me the credit was posted to my account on 1 April. So although Pearle Vision had, without my authorization, credited my account for the $30.00 on 1 April, I actually signed for it on 5 April. When I asked Earnie why I need to sign for this, his response was, We talked about this yesterday, remember? In reality, I told Earnie I wasn't sure whether not I want to return the glasses, and thus, I wondered why he had run the credit for the $30.00 warranty four days earlier. After the eight-minute-long return process, I thanked Earnie and left the store. I noted that neither Earnie, nor David, nor Susan ever apologized for Pearle Vision's misgivings in particular, the unauthorized $30 warranty charge; neither was there any effort to restore customer confidence. On 8 April, I closed my Pearle Vision credit account for security purposes.

Before concluding, something must be said about Pearle Vision's lack of truth in advertising. Pearle Vision's advertisements contain copious disclaimers and restrictions, thereby limiting those who actually use these special offers. For example, a coupon for a full pair of eyeglasses (frames and lenses) for $99.00 tells the customer in fine print that the offer is good only on frames $99.00 or less, and only with the least-expensive plastic lenses. The availability of frames actually priced at $99.00 within the store is severely limited. It is not good on sunglasses, and is not good with any insurance or discount plan. Digging deeper, one finds that only a tiny minority of people are able to wear the much thicker plastic lenses, which Pearle Vision employees never offer or recommend in the first place. Also, I noted that these special offers always seem to increase in price after the customer is told that not only are the plastic lenses essentially unwearable, but that we've got a much better package for you. And by the way, you can't use any other savings plan or insurance with that deal anyways. In common terms, this practice is called bait and switch.

My experience at Pearle Vision has proven that Pearle Vision employs unscrupulous, unknowledgeable salespeople masquerading as professional opticians. While it is clear that Pearle Vision must end commission structures for its employees, it must also end its deceptive advertising and selling practices, its misrepresentation of products and services, and its illegal manipulation of customers' credit accounts.

Truly, nobody cares for your pocketbook more than Pearle Vision. I highly suggest purchasing your glasses and contact lenses at an eyecare specialist who does not engage in profiteering at the expense of quality optical care. I highly suggest the large warehouse discount stores, as their employees do not work off commission, are generally more honest, and do not give you the standard sales pitch.

Daniel

Plano, Texas
U.S.A.