Allen Chin and Associates – Lifetime Eyecare

Wow, this review is way over due!
Dr. Chin (the father) has been my optometrist since I was in high school and that has been a long time. Even though I don’t live in Houston anymore, I still drive 3 hours once a year to get my eyes checked. Some people may think that’s crazy, but I don’t trust anyone else. I’ve seen other optometrist in town and they have messed up eyeglasses prescription, even misdiagnosed me. I wouldn’t go anywhere else. My mother and my brother are patients of his too.
His office staff is very professional and very polite. Lifetime has a great selection of frames to
choose from, and once you receive your frames, they adjust them so they fit properly.
Yes, he may be a bit pricey, but hey so is the value of eyesight.

My review is long overdue. I’ve been seeing Dr. Chin Sr. since last year and I highly recommend him and his staff. My previous optometrist in the heights was moving to California so she recommended Dr. Chin. I planned on getting lasik and I ended up doing PRK instead. Dr. Chin informed and educated me about the differences of both and although PRK has a longer recovery time vs lasik, I weighed out the risks and found PRK to be less risky. However I ended up being that 1% where there was a hiccup in my recovery period and I had to go back and restart my recovery period for one eye.
The reason I bring this up is that Dr. Chin made himself available during this time and he would check on me via text and answer any questions I had or squeeze me in at any time for appointments and check ups. He made sure I was comfortable with going with PRK and was even there with me for the surgery (another doctor performed it) but knowing that he was there was very comforting vs other optometrists who just send you right away without being involved or part of the procedure.
The night I experienced the hiccup, he called me the next morning and referred me to see his son Dr. Chin Jr. first thing in the morning when he had the heights office since his office was not open yet in Bellaire.
Both doctors are very personable, warm and fantastic! Their staff is also great to work with. Office is very clean and they’re also open on Saturdays by appointment only.

After many years of wearing glasses and disliking it, I decided to get contacts. And I was warned: it’s not going to be easy; you have to touch your eye; stick with the glasses. But warnings are for people who listen to others.
So I chose Lifetime Eyecare and went for it. First, the office is great. Very welcoming environment and very comfortable. Second, the office staff are fantastic. Checked in quickly and got me right back into the room. Everything is very clean and cared for.
Nina walked me through my exam and contact fitting. She was amazing. Despite my really terrible attempts at putting a contact in and taking it out, she was patient and encouraging. Dr was very thorough and explained everything.
I’ll definitely be back and highly recommend this practice!

I see Dr. Chin senior and am very happy that I found his practice. He is very experienced, knowledgeable, passionate about what he does, patient, and listens to his patients (a quality that is sometimes hard to find). I am seeing him for a special type of contacts which essentially requires visits at least twice a month or so. The place is very well staffed and all of the assistants have been super accommodating, knowledgeable, and just great people. The go the extra mile and alcohol wipe the equipment before each use — yay for not sharing chin and forehead germs with other people =P.

I have been using Lifetime Eyecare for many years. On my 2^nd visit, the staff asked who was my doctor, the father or son. I replied, «He looked young. I was never introduced properly.» The reply was always, «oh, yeah. They both looked young.» I could tell that they enjoy working there. Over the years, I’ve never seen staff changes.
When I come here, I always use vision insurance for eye exams and prescription glasses. I took a year off from having vision insurance and I regretted. I couldn’t find anyone that is attentive as this father-​son team. This year, I decided to go back. Then, I finally met the father. They both have extensive knowledge in vision care and talk with common sense.
Make sure you let the staff know if you want them to use a text messaging system to keep you informed with appointments and annual reminder.

I’ve been having vision problems in my right eye for almost four years now, and have been going to a local chain of eye doctors offices during that time. The result has always been the same — a new prescription, some drops that are supposed to clear everything up, no follow-​up, and no change to my blurry vision. They actually gave me a hard time when I called back insisting to come in again because I still couldn’t see! My vision recently got much worse after working a lot of late nights, and at my husband’s insistence, I decided to try a new doctor. I found Dr Chin (the son) online and have had several visits with him over the last few months. And for the first time in a very long time, I can actually see clearly! Unlike the other guys, he took the time to address the problem, recommend follow-​up actions when the first treatment only cleared up part of the problem, and ultimately fitted me into a different type of lens that fixed my unique issue. I’m completely thrilled with the result, and appreciate his willingness to see the problem through and not just pass me off with more eye drops. He’s also been very nice throughout the process, and his office staff is always friendly. My husband’s now definitely going to see Dr. Chin also, and I definitely recommend!

Dr. Chin (the father) has been my eye doctor since 1988 and my father’s eye doctor since the 1970’s. We love Dr. Chin and Lifetime Eyecare staff. His son, Dr. Allen now practices with him. They can be a little pricey if you don’t have vision insurance, but they take many plans. They have frames onsite or can special order frames. They also make lens onsite. I would trust them over those big chains any day. They also fit and order contact lens and stand behind the things they sell.