The Consumer Complaints Blog

Is IRIS more concerned about profit margin than customer satisfaction? It certainly appears so to me. I am a single mom and have very little to spend on myself.

I finally spend the time and money to purchase much needed glasses from IRIS store at Tillicum Mall inVictoria, BC.

My budget was $400 but by time they finished razzle dazzling me with promises I spent over $1000. I was told there was a no risk guarantee and that my satisfaction was first priority.

Instead, I now have a pair of glasses I cannot see out of and the store has no intention of fixing them or refunding my money. Why? Because they have a policy that says they don’t have to if they don’t want to. I have been called names, ridiculed for complaining, and made to cry.

I highly recommend and urge consumers to think carefully before giving any money to IRIS in their community. We need to stop unfair business practices!!!

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When you and I spoke last week I confirmed for the final time that I am completely unsatisfied with the glasses I have purchased from your store.
I have requested several times that the glasses be sent back and the lenses corrected. You have not permitted this to be done therefore I am now asking that you provide me with a full refund. Please let me know, in writing, the dates and times you are available to meet so I can make arrangements to have the glasses returned to you. I have attempted to bring them in but staff informed me that they are not permitted to assist me, only you can. I am now on a project that has me traveling the province and providing training sessions. My time and availability is limited.

A recap of my experience to date:
v In June I had my eyes examined and paid for a prescription. I have asked several times for an official copy of the prescription and have been denied without adequate reasons provided.
v I explained that my primary purpose for glasses is to reduce the eye strain experienced during working on the computer and while reading/writing. I explained the nature of my work and the need to have full peripheral vision and the ability to toggle back and forth between computer and written documents for the purpose of research and data analysis. I came prepared to purchase reading glasses but was hopeful that a prescription could be made to permit both reading and computer work to be done. My last set of glasses, (purchased from IRIS), were worn all the time, whether I was reading, driving or working on the computer. They were one lens with one view that met all three needs.
v It was explained to me in June and again recently by you that my prescription had changed so significantly that I could no longer function with one view and required 3 separate views or 3 separate pairs of glasses – I could not understand this and asked for technical clarification – instead I received a pep talk and told that my eyes had aged and ‘we all get older eventually’ and that the sooner I embrace the need for progressive lenses the better – I questioned this again because I function well in most activities other than reading fine print like you see on pill bottles. You told me that ‘the sooner I embrace the need for progressive lenses the better because my eyes are able to adjust quicker now than later on with a stronger lens’. This rationale made a bit of sense to me.
v I was recommended to purchase progressive lenses and told they were a huge convenience and that all your clients are amazed at how well they work because IRIS produces only the highest quality. I was told that it could take a couple weeks (a short time) to adjust to and that IRIS staff would work with me to ensure satisfaction. It was sold to me as a No Risk Guarantee – prior to making my purchase, my daughter and I were told on 3 separate occasions by 3 separate people at IRIS that if I was not successful in adjusting to progressives or did not like them for any reason, I could have the lenses changed to something that worked. I trusted what I was told and made the purchase, even though it was $600 more than I originally intended to spend.
v July 16th I picked up my new glasses with excitement and after a few quick adjustments and some general usage information I was off to enjoy my amazing purchase that was promised to meet all and every need. Within a few days I was back at the store asking for assistance to understand how they work as I was experiencing major dizziness when walking or moving about and having difficulty judging distances for stepping up or down curbs or walking down any stairs. The staff member was encouraging and helpful and off I went in good faith that things would continue to improve on a daily basis and that very soon my brain and eyes would suddenly ‘click’ and my entire vision would ‘open up’.
v As you know, I have come to the store for adjustments and have called in with questions weekly because I cannot see with these glasses. I cannot read with them and I cannot see my computer with them. My naked eye can perform both tasks better. Wearing the glasses to perform either task creates a lot of eye strain, I get headaches, I still experience vision waves, I cannot use my peripheral vision, I still cannot judge distances and cannot park my car without risking an accident.
v I requested to see the Optometrist to review the prescription and discuss alternative solutions and confirm the prescription is accurate – this was denied and instead I was encouraged to bring in my old set of glasses so you could get the prescription information from them and give us both a fuller understanding. I complied with this request and returned to your store for another meeting with you. After examining both sets of glasses you declared that the prescription provided me by the optometrist accurate and then did some more adjustments to the frame of my new glasses. I left the store puzzled and unsatisfied as I had not received answers to my technical questions. I wanted to know what was different between the two prescriptions.
v I telephoned and left a message for you to call and provide me with the technical details of each prescription. I received no call back. I telephoned again and left a message for you and specifically asked for the prescription information. I received a voice message from you saying you called, butno information was provided on the message. I came to the store to seek you out but you were not in and the sales person told me that no one was permitted to assist me other than you. I asked for a copy of the prescription document from my file and was told the file could not be located.
v You and I have talked on phone and in person about the transitions not functioning well. I have been squinting all the time as the lenses do not get dark enough to provide adequate protection from bright sun. It was my understanding that I spent the extra dollars to get the best quality of transition possible. It was my expectation that they would do all the things the sales person told me and my daughter – that the transition lens I was purchasing was superior quality and would replace the need to ever wear sun glasses. This of course has proven to be a very inaccurate claim. Each time you and I talk about them you give me another reason that the glasses didn’t work that day. Some of the examples I can recall are ‘the weather changes can affect them so some days they will not work at all’ – ‘in some places like Arizona, transitions work poorly’ – ‘some of my friends must have stronger lenses than me which could account for them being much darker’. If I had been told at the time of purchase that transitions do not work all the time and sometimes not at all well or that it was dependant on stronger prescriptions ………. I would never have chosen to purchase them, and I certainly would not have spent the additional dollars involved to ensure I had the highest quality of the transition choices! On my last visit to you to discuss this, you showed me my next option to consider which is to have a set of clip on sun glass lenses designed specially to fit my frame and the cost would only be $200 more. Oh my goodness!! Why should I pay more? I was sold something that does not work correctly. I have made several comparisons with several people with transition lenses. In every single case, their lenses are working better than mine. When I tell you this your response is that I need to stop talking to negative people. You have to know that such a response isoffensive and unkind.
v You made me cry on the phone at work one day in front of several coworkers when you suggested that I was being uncooperative and resistant to conforming to progressives. This cannot be further from the truth. I have had my glasses on constantly. I go on my dog walks to the park with them on, I drive with them on, I try as often as possible to work with them on. I have gone online trying to find positive, encouraging, how to use information. I have complied with every thing you have instructed me to do and have kept a positive outlook, expecting them to work.
v Recently you suggested it might take me several more weeks if not months before my vision ‘suddenly opens up’ and I can see correctly. This new information has made me very sad to hear. I came to your store in good faith, expecting to have glasses for business purposes well before my business travel started in September. Tomorrow it will be the start of September and my glasses do not function for the purposes they were purchased.
v Last week, in a final attempt to seek out a solution, I called you to ask another technical question, this time I wanted to explore whether I needed to upgrade to a lens that offered a larger corridor and the maximum mm drop. I asked you to confirm the specifications on my particular set of glasses. Your immediate response was to curtly say ‘I don’t know who you have been talking to ……we use only the best quality of lenses……’. I assured you my call was not intended to put you on the defense. You did not provide me the answers to my questions, you never do. It always ends up the same, I’m left feeling bullied.

Bottom Line is this – I want my money back so I can go to a small local optometrist who will take a positive approach to ensuring I get what I pay for – which is improved vision for working on my computer and reading volumes of data. He won’t sell me on features that cost extra and don’t do what is claimed.

Please email me back with your available dates to receive the glasses back. Please do not call me. I feel it is in both our interests that we communicate in writing from now on.

I look forward to a speedy reply.

Name and address withheld by editor

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.