What does it mean to you when you hear that a company “guarantees” a product? Does it mean, “if this thing breaks, we’ll sell you a new one at half price?” Justin tells Consumerist that’s what means at LensCrafters, and he finds that very disappointing. He now refuses to go back there for his glasses in the future. Would you?

He writes:

A few years ago I bought a pair of glasses In the [redacted] store.

Under the advice of the sales person I opted for the more expensive lenses with the anti glare coating, because of my profession.

Six months passed, and I noticed a flaking on my lenses. The “coating” started to come off. So, I went back to Lens Crafters to have them fix the lenses.

This is where I started to get annoyed. Apparently, the frames are guaranteed for a year, but you must pay 1/2 the cost of the lenses to get them replaced. Notice…I said lenses. I was informed by the sales person that even though only one lens was flaking, they replace both of them. (to the tune of $100)

I was really agitated at this point, but had no choice but to pay and get them fixed.

Flash forward to last year. New set of lenses and a different pair of glasses all together.
I foolishly went to them again, because I thought it was just a fluke. Not the case at all.

My most recent pair had the same issue. (still less than a year old) had the same issue.
So I trotted into the store again, only to find that I would again be responsible for paying 1/2 the cost of TWO lenses (again…only one was flaking) Needless to say, I was fuming.

So, I decided to send an email to customer service.

Describing my troubles. I was not very friendly…

I hit a few points like: “Your name is LENS CRAFTERS”, “you can’t stand behind your product for less than a year” “I am made to buy 2 new lenses”, “You advised me to purchase the most expensive lenses” And the ending…”you have lost me as a customer”

Within a few days I got a response. “Please return to you local LensCrafters for a complete set of new lenses at no cost.”

Luckily, I printed the email response and took it in b/c corporate had not let the store know what was going on. But, the manager did honor the request.

I still feel they have shady replacement practices, and I will no longer go there for my glasses.

Why do I need to have both lenses replaced? Why should I have to pay 1/2 the cost when the glasses are under a year old?

There may a very good optical reason why both lenses must be replaced, even if it’s one that I’ve never run across in twenty-two years of wearing glasses. Do these policies seem fair to you? Why did Justin need to complain to corporate to get fair treatment?

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