Albany-Berkeley Optometry

One of the best experiences I’ve had with a practice! Dr. Cheung and every single person I connected with — whether it was on the phone, at the front desk, or in the patient room — was nice, efficient, super helpful, and had it together. Everyone. I really felt they were looking out for me, whether it was from a medical perspective or an insurance perspective. Few doctors’ offices meet the mark across the board (expertise, demeanor, service, etc.). I wish all medical offices operated this way.

My 3 year old was seen by Dr Angela and she was so nice that my daugther was willing to cooperate fully for a full hour of visit.

Bought some cheap plastic frames online that were too loose for my face. These ladies adjusted my frames to fit my face for free and in 5 minutes. Friendly AND helpful

I think I’ve only written one other Unilocal review in my life, but the people at Albany-​Berkeley Optometry have really gone above and beyond so I wanted to thank them. If you don’t have time to read the details below, I would sum it up by saying they are smart, thorough, generous, and above all kind – my whole family loves going there! Several years ago my daughter’s glasses were quite loose but I didn’t have time to go all the way over to Kaiser Richmond so we popped into Albany-​Berkeley optometry and they fixed them with a smile and refused payment, even though we weren’t their customers. Fast forward a few years when I was looking for a new optometrist and I decided to give them a try. When I made an appointment for my daughter the receptionist thought to ask if I had any other children, and thankfully she did as my son ended up needing glasses, too! (He had had an optometry exam about 2 years prior and all was fine at that time so I wasn’t thinking he would need another check up so soon.) Then my 9 year old daughter decided to try contacts and one of the staff, Shirley, spent at least 3 hours during 3 separate appointments teaching her. And when grandma drove over my son’s glasses, Lisa was miraculously able to put them back together again! Everyone there, from Betty at the front desk to Dr Cheung, has been exceptionally kind and helpful. Give them a try! :)

The sales associate was more interested in telling her colleague about her real estate license than she was selling us glasses. It was clear that working with us was an imposition, and that she wasn’t particularly interested in doing so. No worries – we took our business elsewhere.

This afternoon I received wonderful service from Trixie! I had my frames repaired and was given some great advice. I will be back.

This office deserves much better reviews! I’ve been going to Dr. Goldberg for
years and she is great – thorough, patient, willing to explain things.
The frames are a little expensive for me and I sometimes buy the actual
glasses elsewhere but no one has ever made me feel embarrassed about
this – in fact they’ve helped me when a lens fell out of the frame.
In short, this is a really good place – I would definitely recommend it!
Maggie

I love these people. I’ve been going here for ten years, and they’ve always done a great job for me: accurate, speedy, and really helpful, both the doctors and the staff. How anybody could give them low scores is lost on me.

I’m not sure why the reviews are so terrible. The optometrists are wonderful and I’ve never found the staff to be anything but friendly and helpful. No upselling or rudeness and they’ve always been accurate in ordering, etc. They’re quick to call me once my glasses are available and always get back with me.
I’m not sure what the person’s issue was with the hours; they’re open Thursdays till 7 and on Saturday’s. It’s a small office, not Costco.

I had bought two pairs of glasses somewhere else and needed them slightly adjusted. I was in the neighborhood and wandered in here to see if they could help.
The nice people behind the counter adjusted both frames for free! I was surprised and impressed by how helpful they were.

My prescription for contacts was close to expiring (ca 4 weeks) I called then to order contacts. They had trouble finding my information but said they’d order them or call me back if they could not locate my info.
They did not call back. I was busy for a while and never was able to check back with them due to their hours.
Today u call back and find out that they never placed my order and that my prescription expired 14 days ago. No apology. No offer to resolve the issue. Instead in told I need a new exam (at full price). Their screw up cost me the fee of a contact exam or contacts since I may not be able to do the exam.
I always wondered why their reviews were so poor. Now I know why.

I have been a patient of Berkeley Albany Optometry for many years. Teresa Goldberg is amazing. She is extremely knowledgeable, attentive and easy going! I love the office and the staff are always helpful.

I’ve been going to this office since the 1980’s but things have sure changed. I’ve seen a number of great optometrists here, including Lisa Verdin and Jessie Lui, who have both left the practice.
I used to find cool frames here but now I buy my frames somewhere else. My most recent experience here put me over the edge and prompted me to write this review.
I was in-​between frames on my insurance policy and bought, out of pocket a beautiful French frame. The store that sold me the frame told me to be sure to purchase a digital progressive lens. Out of loyalty, I brought my frame to Albany-​Berkeley Optometry for the lenses, thinking it would be good to stick with a place that had my history on file.
First, I was told that they do not sell digital lenses (in 2011). Then I was told to consult with one of their lens fitters who knew a bit more. He told me that he was the only one trained in digital lenses and that he does not recommend them at all (in 2011). He talked me into what I’ve recently learned is a very behind the times non-​digital lens, and it performs very poorly — blurry on all sides with a very narrow field of vision — and, I paid only a small amount less for it than I would have paid for a state of the art digital lens.
I’ve recently learned that in all the recent times I ventured away from Albany Berkeley Optometry to purchase my glasses elsewhere, starting in 2009, I’ve been fitted successfully with amazing state of the art digital lenses from, for example, Hoya and Fizio. I just didn’t realize they were digital because I was told the brand name of the lens, but not that it was digital.
My impression is that Albany Berkeley Optometry is far behind the times in terms of staffing and expertise. I really regret paying $ 350+ for outdated lenses in a fabulous frame, when I could have been offered fabulous lenses for maybe $ 75 more — over a lifetime of wear, this is a big deal to have missed the boat. Who wants to throw away $ 350 lenses — I am stuck with them, even though the performance is marginal, until my prescription changes enough to justify replacing them.

My review is based solely on the service I received from the receptionist working there. I came in to purchase a pair of frames. For some reason the lady said I did not have coverage. However, every other place I went to had no problem pulling up my coverage and I even called my insurance to verify. I came in a second time to ask the lady to double check and she spoke to me as if I was a child and said I clearly did not understand what she had told me earlier. I had her call my insurance and what do you know this time around they did accept my coverage. By then I just decided to take my money elsewhere and found the same frame for $ 50 cheaper. Please improve upon your customer service.

Readers’ Digest version: Optometrists fine, office staff terrible. Avoid this place.
Long rant version:
Back in 2001 had my eyes examined here because it was close to home Exam was fine, office staff rude and inexperienced – wound up getting frames and lenses elsewhere. Fast forward…11 years later… thinking things must have changed, and it is so conveniently located, I scheduled an appointment for a Saturday afternoon. When scheduling the appointment, I gave them my insurance information and asked them to verify, as it had been less than a year since my previous exam (elsewhere), but I was having problems with my vision. At 4PM the Friday before my appointment they called my cell to see if I could come in at 9AM Saturday, as the Doctor had an emergency and would not be in Saturday afternoon. Right. So I said OK, and confirmed with them that they had verified my insurance. Go in at 9 AM the next day for my appointment. They tell me they left a message Friday afternoon that the insurance would not cover the exam and that they had cancelled the appointment. I did not receive the VM. Turns out they left it on my home phone, not my cell. The message was from 4:30 Friday afternoon – why didn’t they call my cell, when I had spoken to them on that number a half hour previous? No idea. Message on home phone explained that the insurance did not OK the visit, and it would be out of pocket for the exam, but I would still get a 20% discount on frames. They still had me scheduled for 9 AM, please call if I needed to cancel. Even if I had gotten the message, it said to call if I needed to cancel, not that they cancelled the appointment. Never again.

I happened to drop in here a few days ago hoping that they might have cases for sale that would fit my Solar Shield fit-​over sunglasses. Not only did they have cases in two sizes, they GAVE ME ONE FOR FREE!
HOORAY!

POOR SERVICE. BAD COMMUNICATION. NO ACCOUNTABILITY. OVERPRICED.
The one star goes for the frames I picked out. There is one person who seems to know what he is talking about. I got him 2 years ago for my last prescription (Philip). Too bad Philip is so popular or the other customers know to steer clear of the others. Other than that, this place was devoid of customer service, knowledge about frame options and pretty unprofessional.
I brought in my prescription from my optometrist down the street. I picked out my frames in less than 10 minutes. But waited an additional 10 – 15 minutes to get someone’s attention so I could complete the order. Almost 2 weeks after the order was placed, I got a call that the glasses had arrived. When I went to pick them up, i noticed that there was something off about the new prescription and brought it up twice to the woman helping me. She never said, Oh let me check the prescription for you. Both times she brushed it off as «Oh, give it a week to get used to them» when I said it. Well, I tried walking home in them and nearly tripped on the sidewalk because the optical distortion.
So I had my eye doctor’s office down the street check the prescription of the ordered glasses and they had been ordered incorrectly. I believe that everyone is human and capable of making mistakes. But the overall unprofessional way my situation was handled was a bit unsettling. I went back to discuss what had happened and was met with a very defensive response and barely an apology for the mistake made and no offer of recourse or extra assurance that the replacement order would be expedited until I suggested it wasn’t fair that I pay for a product that I have not had use of in 3 weeks time. When I suggested that I should get a refund until the replacements were ready, I was met with more defensive behavior and response of I can’t do anything without my manager and he won’t be in until Thursday. After I left the store, I was then called by the same woman who basically threatened that she would not order the corrected prescription if I tried to get a refund.
1÷30÷11
Then, after being told that a rush order was placed (which I didn’t believe), I called a week after and was told that the order would be ready the following day. I actually couldn’t go until the weekend, (4 days later) because of work. When I arrived, I was met with blank stares from the staff. When asked why I would be told they were ready when they were not, nobody had an answer. SUPER RIDICULOUS AND UNPROFESSIONAL. Alas, I am still without glasses 30 days after placing the original order.
Sadly, I am left with no confidence in this place and will NOT be returning here for any future orders.

I took my 3−½ year old to have her eyes checked today and Dr. Ashlock was just fantastic! My daughter was very nervous about going to get her eyes checked and Dr. Ashlock made the experience so much better for her. She has a young child herself so she knows how to relate. I would not hesitate to make an appointment for myself with her.
I do agree with some of the other reviews– I think the selection of glasses is low and a past order of mine did have a couple of snafus, but they were immediately fixed.
So maybe you go elsewhere to get your actual glasses, maybe not. But for the exam itself, these guys were just great. And if anyone has ever taken a toddler to any doctor, you know how much of an ordeal this can be. 5 stars for Dr. Ashlock!

This is a small place that pretty much serves the Albany neighborhood. I have gotten glasses through them several times over the past years. I have never had an eye exam there.
They used to have a really good kids frames selection, however, when I went recently to get glasses for my son, the selection was so-​so. The service by a young woman was friendly, though adding up the price for the lenses + frame was an ordeal: $ 130 + $ 120 = $ 150. I didn’t complain but she figured it out later.
You can ask to pay half now and half when the order comes in, which puts a little pressure on them to get the glasses ordered and done. My order came in very quickly (5 days).

I’ve been putting off getting an eye exam and new glasses even though I’ve had scratches on my lens for over a year. Yep, I lagged big time. I knew my eyes were getting worse because I was using my reading glasses a lot more.
It’s a cute, tiny office on Solano Ave. Dr. Watson checked my eyes and confirmed that my prescription had changed, not drastically but enough to give me a stronger one. She dispelled a lot of misconceptions that I had about my eyes and glasses. I even got some complimentary eye drops.
The eyeglass selection is a bit limited in my opinion. I tried on several glasses with the help of Trixie who works in the office. I guess the style is small frames and lenses. Well, I look terrible in that type of style. I tried on these purple brown plastic frames and red frames. Terrible, terrible. I actually went with a frame that was similar to the one I have now — black plastic frames.
Overall, service was great. Selection, not so varied.