Mainline Optical

Mainline Optical is a fabulous business. Excellent customer care and service. Beyond belief. Richard is incredibly friendly as is his staff and they go way out of their way to help you find what you need. They spend as much time with you as it takes. Richard is always there to offer support and creative solutions when something goes awry so that you are not stuck without vision. What a wonderful business in Ardmore.

Today I got pink eye, for the first time in like eons. Of course, being a die-​hard contact lens wearer (I suffer from Post Traumatic Sears Eye Bell Telephone Employee Collection Frame Syndrome), I cannot find my ‘spare’ glasses that are 4 prescriptions out of date. Crap. So, off to call my regular optometrist to get a copy of my prescription because I know they can’t get me glasses in an hour, day, whatever. They’re strictly 2 week folks. I figure I’ve got to go to Mr. Len Scrafter and pay their premium fee. Right? Wrong.
It’s an impressive thing when one optometrist refers to another RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD for help. As it turns out, Main Line Optical keeps some lenses in stock and can cut to their frames same day. Not every RX, and no bifocals or anything, and SWEET JESUS they have my «Wow, you are blind» lens in stock. So, my prescription gets walked 1 block down, I go in, pick a fabulous purple pair, get shot down, pick another pair, then just let Rich, the owner pick out frames that actually look good.
Was it super cheap? No, it was around the same price I’d pay to Mr. Len Scrafter. However, Mr. Crafter doesn’t care particularly if I look like a dweeb and Mr. Crafter’s dollars I spend don’t stay local. The dollars I spend with Rich stay local, supporting my community and one heckuva nice guy to boot.

I visited main line optical this morning with a pair of eye glasses I purchased at another optician. My glasses have not fit properly since purchasing them in January of this year, even after several attempts to fix the problem at the other optician. Richard made every effort to adjust the glasses to my face and said if they still do not fit properly, to come back. He could not have been nicer or more helpful. I cannot remember the last time I have been treated so attentively. Based on his expertise and service, I will be back — not only to adjust my current glasses, but to purchase my next pair.

I got my first pair of glasses at another eyeglass store, and when I came to Mainline Optical for my second pair, I haven’t gone anywhere else since. The owner is extremely kind and generous. My experiences have been nothing but easy and successful.
I wanted a pair of Marc Jacobs «trendy» style glasses that I found at another place with a price above what I could pay, and the owner of Mainline Optical ordered the exact pair for a greatly reduced price. All I had to do was give him the model number. He fitted the glasses to my face and gave me a Marc Jacobs case to go with the frames! I LOVE them and get so many compliments on them.
I also came in the other day to get a pair of old Ray Bans cleaned and tightened, and he was happy to help me with this for no cost. THANK YOU!

I’ve been going to Main Line Optical since my first pair of glasses, back in 4^th grade. 2 decades later, I basically refuse to go anywhere else. And I don’t even live in the state anymore.
Yes, you can probably get your glasses cheaper elsewhere. Warby Parker will be happy to help you out. Warby Parker, however, doesn’t have Rich Boehm.
Rich, the owner, is some impossible combination of salesman/​stylist/​therapist/​eyeball professional/​smartass. (Is Rich a doctor? I have no idea. You’d think I’d know something like this by now.) (Also, you may only get the smartass version if you’re me, and have been going to see him since you were 8, and were kind of a surly jerkface all throughout high school.)
The selection is smaller than what you might see at (other glasses places around town that I won’t mention because WHY ARE YOU GOING THERE), as is the storefront, but Rich and his lovely assistants (oh god I can’t even remember their names right now I am awful) are going to help you every step of the way, whether that step is trying on a few frames and instantly making a decision, trying something on but realizing that the color/​size is off (if it’s available, they’ll do custom orders for you), or trying on literally every pair of frames in the store for 3 hours while your mother gets angry and bored and you eventually settle on something that you kind of don’t hate, and Rich finally tells you that you can’t have them. Because they make your face look dumb. Try these instead. (And then those are glasses you wear for the next 5 years.) (This may have actually happened.) (Several times.)
I left the state to go to college. I tried other glasses places. I hated them. No one cared about my process in trying on frames, no one bothered to try and help me find frames that would actually work with my facial features. No one made me feel comfortable asking questions about the quality, make, or fit of what I was buying. They were happy to sell me the most expensive frames in the store, regardless of whether or not they were the right frames for ME. (Rich still makes fun of me for those frames.)
Currently, I live in Colorado. When I go back to visit, I’ll be bringing my current frames with me — one pair sits weird on my nose, and I need them to straighten the ear bits out so my head doesn’t look crooked. One pair needs new nose-​y bits, and I can’t find new ones that don’t pinch.
That’s another thing — you buy a pair of glasses here, and then you just keep going back, even just for all the weird, hinky, glasses related repairs and fixups that you never knew you needed, pretty much forever. I don’t know if that’s a warranty thing, or just a good customer service thing.
In addition to normal glasses, I’ve also gotten several pairs of prescription sunglasses here, and they’re amazing. MLO will turn ANY pair of glasses in to a pair of sunglasses, if that’s what you want. Unless the glasses literally won’t work as sunglasses b/​c of the size of the frames, and then Rich will tell you to Go Fish. He won’t sell you something that’s going to work like crap just because you think it’ll look cute.
The sunglasses thing also warrants mentioning because most sunglasses have curved frames, which requires (more) curved lenses. Apparently make the curves of the sunglasses fit with the curves of your scrip is tricky — bc of this, there are some sunglasses frames that won’t work w/​your prescription. They’ll be honest about that. That said, Main Line Optical has nailed every pair (4) that they’ve ever made for me. They’ll also customize the tint on the lenses, if you like them darker or lighter or amber-​er or redder or wherever your preferences fall on the color spectrum. I’ve never met another glasses place that will do that. Want polarized lenses that don’t come stock with the frames? Cool, they can do that too.
They also do sports glasses. I don’t own a pair, yet, but I’m going to need some for roller derby pretty soon. Guess where I’ll be going.
Other perks: free glasses case! Pick the case you like, even if it isn’t the one that is supposed to be paired with your frames. Go ahead, ask how many times I’ve emptied out those drawers looking for the «perfect» case. (It has 1990’s Mario Mario on it and was wedged in the very back and STOP JUDGING ME.)
— If you’re a parent, MLO is AMAZING with kids. They not only actually carry kids frames, but they carry a SIGNIFICANT NUMBER of them. Most places I’ve seen, kids get 2 choices, between «ugly» and «awkward.» There’s also a small play area to keep them occupied while you’re doing your thing.
The only cons are really pretty standard problems on the Main Line:
— It’s hella crowded after school and on weekends. You can’t really avoid that, just be prepared for it.
— They close impossibly early. 5pm most days, 7pm on Weds. Closed on Mondays.
— No street parking. Whatever. It’s Ardmore. You know already

My experience with Main Line Optical has always been very pleasant. My requests for fit adjustments, replacement of nose grips or ear guards have always been satisfied in a timely, friendly manner at no cost. I often feel guilty about not paying but that’s Rich’s policy. No wonder he has so many satisfied customers who keep coming back year after year. If Ardmore had more business owners like him, they would need a 5,000 spot parking garage.

I am not a frequent reviewer, however I wanted to spread the word for Main Line Optical. I hesitated to go here at first because of the main line prices, but owner Rich Boehm has been a perfect business person. My son needed glasses and as an 8 year old I was worried that he would not take care of them, and not keep them protected. Rich said if they ever break just bring them back and he would fix them. Well not only does my son not protect them, but he chews on the ear pieces, pulls apart the frames and does not keep them «on his face or in the case» as they tried to teach him. We have been back every few months for parts and adjustments and even frame replacements — all for free with no charges or hassles. Since it is clearly my son’s fault I have asked to be charged recently because we are simply using all of his ear frame parts. Rich simple said «Don’t worry about it».
True customer service and small town business acumen.
Thanks!

Back in the ‘90s, I used to get all my eyeglasses here, and I remembered being fitted for glasses by the very nice opticians.
Fifteen years later, Main Line Optical is still going strong, with the same owners. Even though I live across the country now, I love that they are still here. They totally helped me out with a refitting when my glasses started slipping during a visit home.
It’s good to have an optician around whose name isn’t Len Scrafter.