Tesco Opticians

woofercooker · 21 Sep 2014 at 20:16

Has anybody used tesco opticians specifically for contacts? Currently wear glasses and ive had the same pair for years,but i would like to try contact lenses a friend of mine orders his on the internet but you need to know the type and specification for your eyes etc, If i get tested at tesco will they give me the information to order my own online without having to buy their own contacts?

Pho · 21 Sep 2014 at 20:43

I used them when I first switched to contacts.

They were great I have to say. They gave me some contacts and free solution to test to make sure my eyes were OK with them and then I went back a week later and they decided to adjust my prescription and give me some different lenses to try. We went through a few iterations of adjusting my prescription until they were happy. When I went back 6 months later I switched to astigmatism lenses and had a similar experience: they were very helpful and adjusted my prescription a couple of times giving me free solutions until they were happy. All these lenses were free, and I didn't have to pay anything bar the £12 (or whatever it is) contact assessment thing!

They're very competitive on the lens prices to within pennies of on-line stores, and their lens solution sold instore is pretty cheap too (£3.85/250ml - lasts for a couple of months)

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To answer your question: yes they give you your prescription, for both your glasses and contact lenses. You can order lenses in-store or go online and do it by just inputting in the numbers off the sheet they give you. It's all very simple.

Oh and for the record, the lenses they suggested I wear were one of the cheapest ones too

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woofercooker · 21 Sep 2014 at 20:51

Sounds good, haven't looked at the prices yet but for some reason assumed they would be significantly more than on line places, if its that close ill just get em from tesco then. Did they give you some lenses to try after your first appointment or did they have to be ordered? going to book an appointment for contacts next week, I tried wearing my glasses outside today and it was like looking though binoculars :eek:

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woofercooker · 21 Sep 2014 at 20:52

Sounds good, haven't looked at the prices yet but for some reason assumed they would be significantly more than on line places, if its that close ill just get em from tesco then. Did they give you some lenses to try after your first appointment or did they have to be ordered? going to book an appointment for contacts next week, I tried wearing my glasses outside today and it was like looking though binoculars it was like a new world in HD :eek:

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AshD93 · 21 Sep 2014 at 20:53

I'm using them. Got a free trial for contacts. Ordered both a hard lens and a pair of monthly soft lenses.

Excellent service even when their provider let them down. Going to finally buy a pair of hard lenses from them at my next appointment.

Pho · 21 Sep 2014 at 23:28

woofercooker said:
Sounds good, haven't looked at the prices yet but for some reason assumed they would be significantly more than on line places, if its that close ill just get em from tesco then. Did they give you some lenses to try after your first appointment or did they have to be ordered? going to book an appointment for contacts next week, I tried wearing my glasses outside today and it was like looking though binoculars it was like a new world in HD .

Contacts are even better because no matter where you look it's HD all-round because there's no blurry bit outside your frames as the contacts move with your pupils

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With my initial appointment they didn't have any lenses that were very close to my prescription in, but they gave me some anyway just to try and get a feel of them (putting them in, taking them out etc). The store ordered some though and they turned up a few days later I seem to remember.

pitchfork · 22 Sep 2014 at 09:35

Wouldn't touch them, I would avoid going to tesco for a joint of beef let alone for someone to look at my eyes.

platypus · 22 Sep 2014 at 10:48

pitchfork said:
Wouldn't touch them, I would avoid going to tesco for a joint of beef let alone for someone to look at my eyes.

Why? Tesco do not employ any opticians. They contract out to a locum optician company who hire qualified opticians.

And they pay a bloody fortune as well. The boss gets £6-800/day.

Casdawer · 22 Sep 2014 at 13:24

What you really want to do is go to somewhere like Specsavers where they provide proper after care to help you if you have any problems with your Contact Lenses no matter how long you've had them or what the problem is.

Plus with the free glasses if you set-up a C/L Scheme it makes logical sense. I also know they're getting in a new set of C/Lenses which shape themselves to your eye instead of being a set size which should make them a lot more comfier then the standard ones.

nutcase · 22 Sep 2014 at 14:26

I had a free eyetest there. They got my prescription so wrong I was tempted to demand a refund on the petrol to get there for it!

pitchfork · 22 Sep 2014 at 14:29

platypus said:
Why? Tesco do not employ any opticians. They contract out to a locum optician company who hire qualified opticians.

And they pay a bloody fortune as well. The boss gets £6-800/day.

I just can't imagine the kind of optician who'd work in Tescos is as good as the one who set up their own practise or at least works for a proper opticians.

platypus · 22 Sep 2014 at 14:32

Define "proper" opticians?

You either have the few and far between private practices where they actually can trade on providing an exclusive service or the high street multiples, which have driven optics to a world of the lowest possible cost, and completely devalued the profession. You only have to look through a few of the eye related threads on here to see how little people value eyesight tests, or complain about having to pay for good service, expensive frames, lenses and contacts.

tom_e · 22 Sep 2014 at 14:48

pitchfork said:
I just can't imagine the kind of optician who'd work in Tescos is as good as the one who set up their own practise or at least works for a proper opticians.

You can't understand why someone would be happy to earn those sort of wages without the hassle of setting up their own practise?

Haggisman · 22 Sep 2014 at 14:54

pitchfork said:
I just can't imagine the kind of optician who'd work in Tescos is as good as the one who set up their own practise or at least works for a proper opticians.

Surely you could say the same about any profession though?

Why would someone join the police instead of starting their own private security service?

Why would a software developer work for a software house rather than set up their own?

Why would a teacher work in someone else's school instead of opening up their own?

Just because someone is good at their job, doesn't necessarily mean they also have a) the capital, b) the business sense, and c) the motivation/patience to deal with the hassle of starting their own business.

I'd rather have my eyes done by someone who is an amazing optician working for someone else than a businessman who also happens to be an optician.

platypus · 22 Sep 2014 at 15:15

tom_e said:
You can't understand why someone would be happy to earn those sort of wages without the hassle of setting up their own practise?

Yeah quite lol, besides for my wife she now works ~15 weeks a year and pulls in higher than the average salary. So yeah, makes perfect sense for her.

pitchfork · 22 Sep 2014 at 15:20

platypus said:
Define "proper" opticians?

You either have the few and far between private practices where they actually can trade on providing an exclusive service or the high street multiples, which have driven optics to a world of the lowest possible cost, and completely devalued the profession. You only have to look through a few of the eye related threads on here to see how little people value eyesight tests, or complain about having to pay for good service, expensive frames, lenses and contacts.

I wouldn't bother with it all if it wasn't paid for by work to be honest. I still maintain eyecare should be covered by the NHS - not everyone is so lucky as me.

Proper opticians? One which isn't located in the aisles between the baked beans and the dog food.

tom_e said:
You can't understand why someone would be happy to earn those sort of wages without the hassle of setting up their own practise?

If they were the best would they settle for those wages?

Haggisman said:
Surely you could say the same about any profession though?

Why would someone join the police instead of starting their own private security service?

Why would a software developer work for a software house rather than set up their own?

Why would a teacher work in someone else's school instead of opening up their own?

Just because someone is good at their job, doesn't necessarily mean they also have a) the capital, b) the business sense, and c) the motivation/patience to deal with the hassle of starting their own business.

I'd rather have my eyes done by someone who is an amazing optician working for someone else than a businessman who also happens to be an optician.

I'd rather have someone with the raw talent to make a name for themselves and work for a proper firm than end up in a dingy supermarket eyecare place.

platypus · 22 Sep 2014 at 15:20

pitchfork said:
I wouldn't bother with it all if it wasn't paid for by work to be honest.

Proper opticians? One which isn't located in the aisles between the baked beans and the dog food.

If they were the best would they settle for those wages?

I'd rather have someone with the raw talent to make a name for themselves and work for a proper firm than end up in a dingy supermarket eyecare place.

It's ok to just admit you don't have any concept of the world of optics.

tom_e · 22 Sep 2014 at 15:23

You have such a strange outlook on this, by your thinking anyone in any job should be setting up for themselves rather than settle working for someone else because that's magically better and will earn them more money.
Some people are happy to settle with a slightly lower, yet still very good wage and get to spend more time actually enjoying the money they make than trying to run a business.

platypus · 22 Sep 2014 at 18:30

tom_e said:
You have such a strange outlook on this, by your thinking anyone in any job should be setting up for themselves rather than settle working for someone else because that's magically better and will earn them more money.
Some people are happy to settle with a slightly lower, yet still very good wage and get to spend more time actually enjoying the money they make than trying to run a business.

Not to mention the stresses of actually owning the business, and being able to make a living/profit whilst the multiples carry on driving down costs in a race to the bottom.