ST Alpha - "would anyone like to hear my eyeglass saga?" (Reading a Post)

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would anyone like to hear my eyeglass saga?

Posted by kare (aka kare) Feb 15 '09, 20:44

i decide i could use some new eyeglasses.
vision insurance changes, so i need to go to a new doc.
find one. like her. don't love the office manager. try to order glasses anyway with my new health savings account debit card, which should have a several hundred dollar balance. declined. decide to straighten that out and just call in my order at a later time (i want to use my new account. that's what i got it for.)

pay the weird office manager my copay in cash. he gives me change out of his wallet and makes a stink when i ask for a receipt.

FINALLY get my health savings account straightened out (apparently i have a *different* account thru my employer and it took several calls to straighten that out.)

call the eye doctor. get the weird office manager, who can't figure out how to charge my (confusing, crappy) insurance. he starts being a prick to me, because he is completely confusing about my insurance and i feel like he's not being straight with me. i tell him forget it, that his attitude wasn't working for me, and hang up.

i get a copy of my new prescription.

i go to pearle vision. they have a buy one, get one free deal, after all. i can get a new pair of glasses *plus* a pair of sunglasses, woo. i pick out some frames but it's late in the day so she wants to wait to put my order in the next time she's in, several days later. whatever, i say.

but i'm not sure on the eyeglass frames so i go back on saturday, the day she's supposed to be in. i pick out some different glasses. we sit down and she takes a good half hour to figure out what goes on what insurance-wise. come to find out, my insurance is willing to pay a whole $17 toward my lenses and $30 toward my frames. gee. thanks. and this is a preferred provider? apparently this has something to do with the second pair being free. my grand total? $400 freaking dollars. why did i think pearle was a discount eyewear provider and why did i think i'd actually get a pair for free?

so i say forget it and leave. i'd been prepared to pay $200 for one pair at the eye doctor, how is it all the sudden $400?

so now i'm thinking about just ordering from framesdirect.com. do we think that will just continue the comedy of errors?

criminy.

Responses:

If you were in Canada... - Mop Feb 15, 22:18
If you have a J.C. Penney close by you might want to compare their deals. I finished up there mostly because they had some acceptable frames. -- nm - MojaveMeg Feb 15, 21:02
That blows. Sorry. So thankful for Amy's insurance. We actually go to Walmart and pay next to nothing. -- nm - Spawn Feb 15, 21:01 4
- she's a keeper -- nm - pigby Feb 15, 21:04 3
  - This is true but she does not know how to change a flat tire. - Spawn Feb 15, 21:08 2
    - time to teach the boy how to do it. -- nm - Remlik Feb 15, 21:14
    - heh. SheFox had to show me how to do that last year. - TFox Feb 15, 21:13
sorry. :/ sounds like i'm lucky - mine is via vsp and is pretty straightforward. -- nm - b! Feb 15, 20:56 2
- mine was vsp before! i miss it!! -- nm - kare Feb 15, 20:58 1
  - I have VSP and since I live in a small town, my eye doctor is competative with Walmart. - Trish Feb 15, 21:23
vision insurance is crazy. really confusing. I work in health insurance, and there is no way I could explain the practical application of my benefit - TFox Feb 15, 20:48 4
- plus there's the first pair and the second pair and even though it's new insurance, the lenses aren't covered on the first pair because i got contact - kare Feb 15, 20:50 2
  - honestly, other than the optometrist part (which might be a medical benefit for all I know), I pretend I don't even have coverage. - TFox Feb 15, 20:52
  - in odd years I can have glasses or contacts, so I get glasses and pay for the contacts. In even years I get contacts. -- nm - loosilu Feb 15, 20:51
- My friends tell me how my vision coverage works. They tell me what to buy every year (glasses, contacts, which optometrist, etc.) -- nm - loosilu Feb 15, 20:49
try costco, no bs, they even fixed for free some Revo's I bought off ebay even though I was expecting some kind of fee -- nm - zeitgeist Feb 15, 20:48 13
- i have been wondering if i can get costco if i use a friend's membership. i've been assuming no. :\ -- nm - kare Feb 15, 20:48 12
  - does anyone in your family have a membership? - b! Feb 15, 20:53 2
    - hmm, yeah, but not with the same last name. thanks for the info. :) -- nm - kare Feb 15, 20:53 1
      - the membership dealio says something like member of household... - b! Feb 15, 21:07
  - yes, you can, all they want is the card and maybe the friend to be there. -- nm - tRuMaN Feb 15, 20:51
  - At the prices you're talking, the membership might pay for itself. -- nm - TFox Feb 15, 20:49 7
    - well. because i signed up for the wrong health savings account, i have to spend $1800 by the end of the year or i lose it - kare Feb 15, 20:51 6
      - I had $1000 last year in flex, so I had my remaining silver fillings replaced with white. -- nm - loosilu Feb 15, 20:53
      - Or you could have a qualifying life event and change your benefits. - TFox Feb 15, 20:53 4
        
        adoption - get the paperwork started now - :) -- nm - Epiphany Feb 15, 20:56
        
        well, not that that is an option (!!!) but we work for the same employer and thus have the same crappy benefits ;) -- nm - kare Feb 15, 20:54 2
        
        Just to explain my joke thinking, usually regardless of that, if you have a kid or get married or something at that level, you can change all your ben - TFox Feb 15, 20:56 1
        
        ah, i see. (no! no! no!!!) - kare Feb 15, 20:58
this reminds me I need a new pair. Did I ever mention that my troublemaking cow orker got the same exact frames as me? down to the color. - loosilu Feb 15, 20:47 5
- Does she call herself loosi? 'Cause this is getting totally Single White Female. -- nm - Mop Feb 15, 21:45
- i'm a redhead now, did i tell you that? - kare Feb 15, 20:49 3
  - you did!! do you have pics? I'm all for red hair, it's just that this chick is bad news. -- nm - loosilu Feb 15, 20:50 2
    - it's "light golden brown" but it's pretty reddish. i do have some pics but haven't posted them or anything - kare Feb 15, 20:53 1
      - yeah, she knew. she told me. she's bad news. - loosilu Feb 15, 20:54

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would anyone like to hear my eyeglass saga?

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