Thomas Turtle Opticians

I’ve been coming to Thomas Turtle for the past 2 years (since I’ve had VSP insurance.). I used to go to Lens Crafters and I’m so glad I made the switch to «the Turtle.»
The office personnel is very friendly and helpful/​honest while you’re trying on frames. I was surprised at all of the designer frames they have, which become pretty affordable once the insurance kicks in (at least on my insurance, I was excited to get designer frames for a reasonable cost.)
The eye exams are quick, painless and there’s none of that «blow the air in your eye» glaucoma test at this office, like the old-​fashioned way it’s done at Lens Crafters. The doc is very kind and friendly, and takes great care in making sure you’re comfortable.
I’ll definitely be returning, as long as my insurance still works there.

I have been a Lenscrafters customer for a while now because they are usually pretty cheap. About a year ago, I got a pair of glasses from them that was the greatest pair of glasses that I have ever owned in 30 years of wearing glasses. I lost them recently while on vacation. I tried to get the same pair, but they were discontinued. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted a different pair, so I decided to stick with the broken pair I have with an older prescription, and keep looking.
Today, I went to Thomas Turtle Opticians with a friend to help her look for a pair of glasses. While I was there, I decided to look around. They had some that were similar to my beloved lost pair, but they were children sized and did not fit my face. So, Carrie, the associate who was helping us, showed me some more pairs of glasses. She was extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and did a great job learning what it was I was looking for in a pair of glasses. In the end, she helped me pick out a pair that I was not as fond of as my beloved lost pair, but they did have a lot of features that I liked and seemed to fit me pretty well. Carrie also helped find my insurance despite the fact that I did not have my card with me and did not know my carrier. Thanks to her help, she was able to find that I had excellent coverage, and I was able to get a $ 500 pair of glasses (frames and lenses included) for $ 72. I was quite pleased with the experience, and I will definitely go back to them for my eyeglass and contact lens needs. I am even considering them for my future eye exams, as well.

With my glasses suddenly broken and my curiosity spurring me towards trying one of the newly minted online glasses purveyors, I still needed an eye exam. I needed one quickly, efficiently, and at a reasonable cost. Calling from one place to another, I was told, «Yes, we could squeeze you in at such-​and-​such a time two weeks down the road,» else, «We can see you tomorrow. The cost of the appointment is $ 95.» Woaaaah! Until I called up Thomas Turtle.
So this location presently offers eye exams thrice a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The office boasts two examination rooms, both of which are stocked with up-​to-​date equipment in as orderly and competent a fashion as any ophthalmologist’s office (my parents were really, really worried when I was really little), optician’s office, or et cetera I have ever visited (save this one place in Japan which blew my mind). The gentleman who examined me treated me with the detached civility of someone who spends all days seeing eye after eye full in the knowledge he might never see eye to eye with them ever again. But he certainly was competent and communicated to me the result of every action he took.
So my prescription changed nary a bit in five years, it turns out. And it cost me $ 65 to learn that fact. (Without any insurance to mitigate any of the damage to my wallet. I imagine most others should fare much better.) Necessity aside, the speed and efficiency were worth it. Should I need an eye exam again in the Buffalo area, I wouldn’t hesitate to board the 25 north to this Thomas Turtle.
Per my review, I did not buy glasses here, but I did take some time to peruse their selections. Given that Thomas Turtle is still something of a small business despite now occupying multiple locations, I expected a quaint selection of slightly out-​of-​date frame offerings. But the frames match well the offerings of places like LensCrafters. Sufficiently stylish, else sufficiently bland. Inconspicuous in a positive way, I guess. None of the frames they offer say anything about the people wearing them.
5 stars for the eye exams
3 stars for frame selection
4 stars for service