University Optometric Center

Great eye docs and great service. What more could you want from an optometrist? The staff is very polite and helpful. They know that if you’re a student you don’t have much to pay for lenses so they make sure to point out the ones covered by insurance first and they don’t make you feel like you need to buy something more expensive. I’ve always had a positive experience here and I’ve been coming for the past 3 years.

Great doctors, super efficient place. I had Dr. Occhipinti and I really liked his approach. Good deals too with UCI insurance!

bad experience. The doctor wrote wrong prescription. Waste my time. Waste waste waste waste waste waste waste waste waste

UCI students really lucked out with this one (they take GSHIP). I’ve been seeing Dr. Ghodsi for many years now and have recommended her to others. She is kind and professional and cares about your eye problems! She’s helped me with issues such as poor contact fit (my eyes would get blurry, but not with the new size she changed me to) and dry eyes (she gave me samples of this fantastic gel). Everyone else is in this office is also attentive and competent. I’ve never been pushed to get unnecessary procedures or to buy extra contacts or glasses. They make it really easy to make an appointment and pick up your contacts, etc. Definitely recommend!

Don’t let some of these reviews fool you.
GREAT service with receptionists and GREAT doctor!
GREAT deal with UCSHIP insurance.
Eye & Contact Exam with doctor: very simple and informative. I’m not sure what the doctor’s name was (whoops), but he was very professional and thorough. He gave my contacts that suit my eyes and tested my eyes with those contacts (fitting). Also gave me a weeks worth of contacts to trial!
Receptionists: They paid attention to me as soon as I was finished. Very kind and informative. When I came back to order the contacts, they sat me down and explained the entire process and benefits.
LOVED it here. Way better than other places I have gone to. Kind staff and doctor!

Dr. O was so nice and helpful. He had a lot of patients the day I came in but he didn’t rush through our appointment and spent the time to talk to me and address all my concerns. The staff was also very nice and attentive.

It sucks. It is the worst experience I never had. The screw of my new glass was missing and I went to the store to ask if they could fix it. They put the screw in but the screw is not fit in my glass. They said they could cut the screw to shorter. I was waiting for 20 min and I asked them how long I should wait for. I saw my frame was broken and they are discussing how to tell me. They told me that it is not their responsibility. I need to pay from my own pocket. The person told me is the manger in the store. She said that is their policy. If they fix the eye glass and broke by them, they will not take any responsibility. She told that everyone knows that policy. The staff did not tell me when I ask if they could fix it. How wonderful it is!!! You broke it and you did not need to take any responsibility. All is customer’s responsibility. They only said I am sorry and I understand what you feel. But, our policy is when we repair, it broken, it is customer’s responsibility. None of our business~~~~~How nice store it is~~~No responsibility for anything!

Dr. O was very helpful and I would recommend him and any other doctors there. They are thorough and thoughtful and will actually have a conversation with you regarding your eyes’ health and answer any questions you have. 5-​STARS
The service from the student staff though could use a lot of improvement. They are slow, not well trained, and need to practice more professionalism. It’s not that hard to read an insurance report, but they don’t seem to know what they’re doing. I recommend getting them better trained. If they are to become educated and prepared for professional work, it should start with their job now. 2-​STARS
While doctors provide professional and high level of service, the overall experience is affected by their staff. Staff are the ones who takes up most of your time with purchases, insurance, and appointments, so it really dampens the experience when they don’t know what they’re doing.
Will I be coming back? Probably, since I really like the doctors and have been going here for two years now. But train these staff better, and this place would be 5 stars!

Dr. Ghodsi is seriously a great optometrist. She is quick, reliable, and trustworthy.

Dr. Ghodsi was great. She was quick, professional, and very friendly. When I had questions, she would respond in a manner I could understand. You can tell she loves her job and really cares about her clients. I would highly recommend her to anybody.

Disclaimer– I would give them an additional half star for good doctors if I could.
I would definitely say that the, «meh, I’ve experienced better» description of the two star rating is on point. I wouldn’t say that the doctors themselves are bad but I would definitely say I’ve had better general experiences elsewhere.
CON– The receptionists are terrible. They are generally student volunteers (I know because at one point I attempted to volunteer there). Being that they are mostly volunteers with little to no actual work experience you can expect to never get a call back when receiving contacts or frames, have an appointment improperly scheduled, or in my case wait almost two hours in the lobby because a receptionist forgot to check me in and thought I was «just hanging out,» who by the way was supposed to be one of the more experienced receptionists.
PRO– The Doctors are knowledgeable and friendly. On the rare occasion that you get the office manager on the floor he also makes for a more favorable impression (he’s a younger gentleman, so I was a little surprised by his professionalism based on my previous experiences with their other young employees.)
They’re ok… definitely not amazing.

Best in optometry! If you want a thorough exam this is this place to go. They have a wide selection in frames. The doctors and staff are very nice and helpful! They book up pretty quick so make sure to call ahead of time.

Only went in just to adjust my glasses but received friendly and helpful service. He adjusted my glasses, my sun glasses, and my friend’s glasses. Thanks!

Just had the the most thorough exam that I’ve had in a very long time. my first time here and I’ll definitely return. I was really impressed with Dr. O, his knowledge as well as his manner… and his really nice staff.

I have GSHIP and went there to get a new pair of glasses.
Kim helped me. She is really nice and patient in explaining and demonstrating everything to me.
She really thinks from a customer’s angle. Thank you!

They accept GSHIP here for some good deals (I think it’s $ 120 off frames???). Anyway, I came here for a regular eye appt and got Dr. Fisher. This place is pretty thorough with the pre-​appt screening and the staff seems to know what they’re doing. Dr. Fisher is amazing though. He’s not as energetic as the rest of the staff, but he sure knows his stuff. Thorough testing and scans showed that my vision hasn’t changed in three years… LASIK? Who knows — but I got a referral.
The only slight downside is the range of frames available. This is my fourth optometry center and I found the selection quite smaller than what I’m used to. Other than that, I’ll be happy to go back!

Wonderful business, huge improvement from the last optometry center that occupied the space. Very timely delivery with glasses and contacts, and very friendly and relatable staff.

Don’t be fooled by the reviews: this place has changed its name recently, so you’re not seeing the whole picture. They used to be called Insight Optometric Center. Red Flag #1: Why are they always changing their name?
Let’s get one thing straight first of all: this place has no affiliation whatsoever with UC Irvine. It calls itself «University Optometric Center» because it’s trying to capitalize on the student market. It’s true that they used to be in the Student Health Center at UCI, where they called themselves the «UCI Eye Clinic.» But even then, the name was false advertising, since they were only a private company that UCI subcontracted (no different from Wendy’s in the Student Center, for example). They don’t have any special credentials or any professional ties to the university’s medical center. Red Flag #2: Why were they kicked out of the student health center in the first place? And why are they so desperate to pretend like they have some association with UC Irvine when they don’t?
These people played a key role in injuring my eyes. They referred me to a Lasik company in the area, pocketed a kickback for the referral, never told me they were getting a kickback for referring me to the Lasik company, and then called the Lasik surgeon the day before the surgery to tell them that they had concerns about whether or not I was a good candidate for the surgery. Funny thing was: they didn’t call me to tell me about their concerns, so I had the surgery done anyway. After I had the surgery done and came to them with concerns (my eyes hurt like hell everyday), the head optometrist here, Dr. Joseph Occhipinti, told me that I should get an MRI and that I might have a brain tumor. Seriously! I don’t use this term lightly, but I think the man is evil. Others have had problems with him too. I quote from this company’s old Unilocal page: «Dr. Joseph Occhipinti, that guy is retarded.» Another reviewer hit the nail on the head: «Not a honest business. Stay away!»
Occasionally, I run into people who have had the misfortune of going to this place. And they always tell me about this or that new thing that the doctors here told them that they supposedly need: prescription sunglasses, reading glasses, etc. And then I tell them my story, and they realize that they’ve been conned. The sad truth is, this isn’t an honest business, and these people just want your insurance money. They’ll do whatever they can to sell glasses to you, even if you don’t need them.
I really hope that someday this place goes out of business, and these sad excuses for doctors will no longer have a chance to prey on the students of UC Irvine. They’ve already been taken out of the Student Health Center. I hope they’ll be gone from the University Center sometime soon.
I also hope that the public will be properly informed about the risks of Lasik surgery, so that fewer eyes will be injured. If you’re considering Lasik surgery, visit the anti-​Lasik websites online and take the people’s stories there seriously. We’re telling the truth, which is more than people like Dr. Occhipinti can say.

Been coming here ever since I found out the health plan at UCI covers it and the copay is only $ 5! It’s gone up to $ 10 but that’s still dirt cheap for the quality of service they provide. The staff is very friendly and I always request an appointment with Dr. O. He’s very easy going and loves to joke around during the exam and just makes you feel really comfortable. Also hooks it up with lots of trial pairs of contacts too! They offer comprehensive vision services and they’re the only place I know of that has an optomap machine that enables the doctor to get a crystal clear look of your eyes to see of any potential problems that can be missed by a normal exam. They also strive to get you the max amount of rebates possible to make the cost of contacts easier to swallow. It’s been 2 years since I’ve graduated, but since they take all forms of insurance, I will be coming back every year for my check-​up and any and all my vision needs!

Amazing!
With UCSHIP/​GSHIP you’ll get a great deal on contacts and glasses!
Staff and doctors are extremely helpful and professional.