The Optical Center of Bay Ridge

I don’t know why this place has bad reviews. I went and had zero problems. The receptionist was nice. The wait was short. The girl who does the intake before you see the dr was nice. Most important, the dr was VERY nice. I’m always willing to wait for a good dr and even though I didn’t have to wait I wouldn’t mind if I had because she was good. I also bought glasses there and the man who helped me was very nice. Ignore the bad reviews, this is a good place and I will continue to go here.

2÷18÷16 update: Spoke with Ms. Sofiya regarding the bill and she said that it was an error and would take care of it.
New management seems to be responding well to customer complaints. I really hope this can be taken care of. Would really rather not have my credit affected by something like this.
2÷16÷16 update:
This place is a scam even under the new management. They actually called me about my previous bad review. To «make it up» they offered to give me a free contacts eye exam and said I would only have to pay for the contacts. So I agree to return there since I did indeed need a contacts exam.
Now, months later I receive a bill for the eye exam after they tried to charge it to my insurance and were declined.
I plan to call them and contest this bill.
DO NOT GO HERE
The employees are bullying salesman and try their best to rip you off and swindle you even if they take your insurance. They are also slow and don’t take you at your appointment time.
Also, if you want a copy of your rx they won’t give you the full rx in order to prevent you from getting glasses made at another establishment.
The only reason I went here was because they took my insurance but I definitely won’t be back. They also initially lied to me, telling me my insurance only covers glasses. I find out later that I could’ve gotten contacts which is what I wear majority of the time. And now I can’t use my insurance again for another two years.

I did not know that Dr. Ganz sold the practice. And I did not check the Unilocal reviews before I made appointments for my two kids (because I only had good experiences here).
We had appointments at 1:00pm. I was told when I walked in that they were running a little behind — It was Veteran’s Day and a lot of people made appointments. Little did I know that we’d be there till almost 4:00 pm, hence the 4 star instead of 5 star rating. While we were waiting, I happened to check the Unilocal reviews and I was like OH CRAP. Half the reviews said DO NOT GO HERE. I was nervous… but really, except for the exceptionally long wait, we had a pretty good experience!
First off, everyone that works there was very nice. From the receptionist to the young ladies who run the pre-​testing, to the optometrist, to the eye glass fitter… very nice.
The Optometrist was very sweet and very good with my kids. Especially my little one who needed glasses and wouldn’t stop crying. She comforted him, hugged him and gave him a little kiss and made him feel better.
Steve, who helped my son pick out his glasses was a big life saver. He kept giving my sons candy while we were waiting to keep them quiet (because boy, were they complaining about the wait… and I was going to lose my mind). Also, again, my little one didn’t want glasses and he got him to look at some and pick two out.
Yes, the glasses are expensive… but not any more expensive than any other eye glass place I’ve ever been to. I usually walk out spending AT LEAST $ 400 wherever I go, so none of the prices were shocking here. I have Davis vision, and they did have a decent selection, but nothing that I liked.
The first pair of glasses we got were expensive when the smoke cleared, I will admit, but he gave me a GREAT deal on a second pair, so it evened out the price. I left very happy. One pair of the glasses I got in 2 days and the other pair were done the following week. Not bad.
All in all, I definitely would return.

I decided to stop in the optical center and to my suprise it was sold again on november 3^rd. I went up to the front desk where i was greeted by carry. I then visited dr awad and also had a pleasant experience she sent me over to the salesmen steven. He gave me several options on correcting my vision, i was very impressed and decided to go with progressives I picked up my glasses 5 days later and everything was perfect I had a great and professional experience and would recommend this place to my friends

Not loving that I have waited 6 weeks already for an $ 800 contact order. I have received only one call during that time period, despite my numerous calls and even an email. When I call no one even answers despite it being during business hours per the website’s listed hours. And it’s not possible to leave a message.

DO NOT GO HERE!!! i had been an extremely satisfied customer for years. Then Dr. Ganz retired and the place has completely fallen to shambles. Not only are they incompetent, they are dishonest. They screwed up my glasses TWICE (leaving me vision-​impaired or with excruciating headaches due to botched lenses). They lied about equipment being available (several different lies over the course of 6 weeks, giving me the runaround form day one). No one ever so much as apologized for the situation or went out of their way to rectify it. Very sheisty operation. Also, whenever the business changed hands, they stopped taking my insurance and did not notify me of this when i came in. Its truly a shame what has happened to this practice; i have never in my many decades of wearing glasses experienced such awful care.

Just got off the phone and told them I would be writing this review.
Went in almost three weeks ago. Aside from the comedy of errors not being able to look up insurance until I got my partner’s insurance, this has been an epic story of horrible customer service.
At appointment: desk woman, while appearing nice, tries to get me to get glasses. I say, not today. Now, you have no idea what people are dealing with-​when I say, I would like to go and not today, DO NOT keep pushing. They are GLASSES. I have glasses. I wear contacts. Me not getting glasses TODAY won’t kill me. So the pushing? No.
‘You’ll get your contacts in 7 – 10 days.‘
Two weeks pass. I call, thinking maybe they came in and no one called. ‘Not here yet.’ I then ask about when they are coming because I’m moving out of state. ‘End of the week.’ I ask about a refund. No mention that they don’t give refunds.
Now, we are going on THREE weeks. I call today. ‘Not here yet, they are back ordered. Next week.’ AND finally an offer for trial lenses. Oh well thank you for this pittance! Also, I’m allowed store credit if I want to cancel the order. Yay!
No call, no sorry we didn’t call. Customer service doesn’t mean you have to chase down the store that you spend $ 400 at that KNOWS what’s happening… ugh don’t go here. A strip mall optical center is better than this bs.

HORRIBLE SERVICE! I ordered glasses on July 1^st (I brought my prescription in with me due to severe eye issues and have to have an ophthalmologist examine my eyes.) After two weeks of not hearing from Optical Ctr I called them and was told «Oh because of the July 4^th holiday maybe the order wasn’t put through“ok. Another few days go by, I call again, «oh the place that does the lenses doesn’t work on weekends» ok. A few days later «Oh I am very sorry I will call the place now and get right back to you» that was on a Thursday. No call back Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Monday or Tuesday. I called American Express on Tuesday morning and told them not to put the charge through since I still do not have my glasses. Guess what, Tuesday afternoon 3:00 pm I get a call from Optical Ctr, my glasses are in! I guess getting a call from AmEx telling them they are not getting paid speeded up the process. NEVER AGAIN! Run don’t walk away from The Optical Center of Bay Ridge.

Agree with Tina C & Rita J below.
I was bait and switched during my last visit there. I was not aware that they no longer accept my insurance (VSP) and was duped into purchasing new glasses for both me and my wife. After confirming with my insurance, I found out that I was charged out-​of-​network pricing for my eye exams and lens.
Since it’s under new management, I would double check before making an appointment there.

The staff is friendly, attentive, competent… all of the above… and more. Giving it only a three star rating may seem odd with all of the nice things mentioned about this establishment but pricing is off the charts. Some may say, you get what you pay for, especially if it’s a cheaper pair of glasses but folks, we’re talking glasses. More than a dozen of my spectical wearing cohorts have all expressed dismay and laughter, on my part, for spending sooo much money on something that could have been purchased at CostCo, for instance, at ¹⁄₅^th the price… Yes, ¹⁄₅^th. Granted, all the nice things I said about the business is all true but, wow, the price threw me… and it was already too late for me to refuse the glasses. I guess this is one of these learning experience I read about that I will always remember. My advice is shop around, like I didn’t.

They used to be wonderful until they changed owners and apparently their way of engaging their customers. They DO NOT fully accept Davis vision as they claim they do. After going there for a routine eye exam (after they claimed I had not been there in over two years, but was there exactly one year ago, which they then realized after actually looking for my records) I was informed that I would have to pay out of pocket. First I was told I had to pay out of pocket for contact lenses then was told it was for the eye exam, anywhere from $ 125-​$ 180. After arguing with them for over 20 minutes they claim that Davis Vision does not cover contact lenses. THEY DO!!! The manager refused to contact Davis Vision to confirm, stating that she knows for a fact that no type of insurance pays for contacts. She could have gotten off her a** and called Davis Vision, because they cover everything. Needless to say myself, my family, and friends will not be using this place ever again!

The Optical Center of Bay Ridge is the best place in Brooklyn to buy glasses or just to browse the latest trends. Their selection is extensive and the customer service is beyond exceptional! I actually had fun while I looked around. The staff is very friendly, diverse, and knowledgeable. I was also impressed by the doctor. At the end of my visit, I chose a stylish pair of sunglasses that I am sure I am going to enjoy.
Over all it was a blast Dr Steeeeeve was funny and just the entire team was just wow!

We are a local business next to their office, had a very pleasant experience at their store with our eye care issues. they gave us a great price on a very good pair of tom ford glasses and we are very happy with the quality and the service we received.

Had eye care emergency, my girlfriends glasses got stolen and she needed a emergency replacement, came into their office everybody was very friendly purchased 2 pairs of reading glasses after a very professional eye exam from a doctor Awad and received the pair of glasses 3 later exactly as ordered.
Would recommend them again and again for anybody that wants good service at a reasonable price. Very nice looking office and modern testing equipment.
Staff followed up with a call to make sure glasses fitted correctly nice touch.

Beware! Doctor Ganz sold the practice. It has taken a nosedive since then. It’s dirty, smelly, weird staff, and the new doctor is rude and unprofessional. I took my son for his yearly checkup and only after being asked to complete extensive «new paperwork» did I learn that Dr. Ganz and his wife are no longer running the practice. Hmm? No notice to existing patients? But ok, I was prepared to give the new doctor a try. Rude does not even begin to describe her behavior. She was downright surly and even angry! She reprimanded my son for not wearing his glasses to the appointment even though I told the front desk that they were in the car and I was happy to go get them. The staff person told me it wasn’t necessary because they could «dial in» his prescription on the machine. My son was upset to be yelled at. I told her that it was my fault that we left them in the car and she turned her back on me and said under her breath «nice move, mommy». I had a few questions and she responded with one word answers with her back turned to me. I finally said «Please look at me when I speak to you.» She also argued with me when I told her that Dr Ganz advised my son to wear his glasses only when necessary and not all the time. She also was unfriendly with my son and roughly pushed the machine against his face and rushed him through the exam. On top of a rushed and unpleasant exam, the place smelled like urine and garbage. It turned out there was dog pee in the hallway. There is also a very strange woman who seems to be some sort of assistant. She flopped down next to us in the waiting room and asking my son all sorts of personal questions without introducing herself as a member of the staff. She looked like a hooker or a drug addict wearing wild over the top makeup and inappropriate clothing. I said «do you work here?» She laughed loudly and said «Of course, darling!» Then she grabbed my son’s card and announced to the entire waiting room that he definitely needs sports googles! It was so bizarre that the lady next to me started laughing and said «can you believe she actually works here?» Who knows maybe she’s the rude doctor’s sister? Anyway, after years of great experiences at the Optical Center with Dr. Ganz, I am now taking my business elsewhere. I’m re-​doing my son’s exam at another provider because I have zero confidence that he was prescribed the correct Rx by this place. I’m disappointed that Dr. Ganz would sell to such a disreputable provider.

HORRIBLE PLACE!!! Very unprofessional, not like it was before Dr. Ganz was there. If I wouldn’t know about insurance me and my husband would have to pay $ 1500.00 for new pair of glasses and 1 year of contact supply which they said that insurance didn’t cover. (Not true). This was like an auction with the prices. My mother in law went there a month ago and had the same experience, they didn’t give her the prescription that she needed and they wanted to charge her $ 800 for new frames that were cover by the insurance company. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE!!! DO NOT GO THERE!

Been seeing Dr Ganz for over twenty years. Would recommend his office to anyone. There eyeglass selection is spectacular. The staff is always extremely helpful.

This is a great place to find that perfect pair if glasses. The staff is very friendly, helpful, and patient (I took quite a while to choose frames. The selection here is excellent!) The doctor that examined my eyes was very thorough and took her time to explain each step carefully so I was comfortable and relaxed. There were no problems. The process was smooth and enjoyable and now I have a beautiful new pair of glasses that I receive compliments on frequently.

Dr. Ganz is one of the kindest, most knowledgeable, and patient optometrists I’ve ever been to in 60 years of wearing glasses and contacts and having many eye problems. His whole office staff is helpful and organized. The wait is minimal. They pay attention to what you say. If you are not happy with something, instead of writing it on Unilocal,go back and tell them. They will try to address it. I switched to Dr. Ganz when my previous optometrist retired. I wanted an experienced and knowledgeable optometrist, and that’s what I got. Their friendly, cute dog Zipper is an added plus.
Also, his office is wheelchair accessible with no steps.

Dr. Ganz just keeps on getting better and better. He called me himself to see how the daily lens samples he’d generously given me were working out, to see how my transition to glasses was going and to check in on how I was doing overall.
He also took the time to kindly thank me for my review, which I think says a lot about him as a provider: he takes the time to see what his patients think and wants to continually improve his business, although I don’t know how you can improve on what I consider to be optical perfection. Yes, I am swoony for the Optical Center of Bay Ridge. It’s official.