Eyemart express

**tx11** · 10-01-2014, 09:43 AM

Does anybody have experience with this company?

**nokato** · 10-01-2014, 09:58 AM

Our local Eyemart Express went out of business several years ago. they are very similar to Americas Best.

**Hayde** · 10-01-2014, 12:18 PM

Use to live in the city with their top grossing store (at the time.) What are you looking to find out?

**ziggy** · 10-01-2014, 12:31 PM

They advertise 2 pair for $49.63...... that should tell all you will ever need to know.

**Browman** · 10-01-2014, 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by ziggy

They advertise 2 pair for $49.63...... that should tell all you will ever need to know.

They were the go-to place for trendy frames in the town where I grew up; one of only two opticians you could reach without going into the next metropolitan area. Once I got my first job I went there and finally got the "cool" frames I'd always wanted and not the double bars that were the only option at my parents' place. Nothing spectacular, but they're a lifesafer for small towns and poor kids. Just sorry I had to wait until after high school.

**becc971** · 10-01-2014, 01:37 PM

the good old bait 'em in with the 2 fer then upgrade the crap out of the lenses and charge as much as the B & M stores ... *sigh* it just warms my little heart

The frames aren't awful, but by the time the patient gets what they actually want/need it costs a bunch of cash so they really aren't saving anything. plus I think the company who owns them owns davis vision ... or at least has a viva affiliation. so who wants that??!! they fill a niche though.

**Freebird** · 10-01-2014, 04:57 PM

I used to be a lab manager for one of the stores, but haven't worked there since 2012. It definitely fills a niche for those who have the opinion that glasses shouldn't ever cost more than $60, or those who need a backup pair on the cheap. But at least in my area, even after upgrades and whatnot, the whole sale still may not exceed $250 for two pairs. But the highest end lens that we had by the time I left was the Essilor Natural. Nowadays I guess they use some old Hoya lenses that they've renamed to something else. They do offer an "HD" lens, which I think I heard is a Hoyalux Summit. They had contracts with a lot of trade insurances (Operating Engineers, Wisconsin Carpenters, and the like), as well as Spectera/VIPA/Davis, and an out of network option for VSP. Not good, not terrible. Better than Stanton, anyway.

**Browman** · 10-02-2014, 09:21 AM

Originally Posted by becc971

the good old bait 'em in with the 2 fer then upgrade the crap out of the lenses and charge as much as the B & M stores ... *sigh* it just warms my little heart

The frames aren't awful, but by the time the patient gets what they actually want/need it costs a bunch of cash so they really aren't saving anything. plus I think the company who owns them owns davis vision ... or at least has a viva affiliation. so who wants that??!! they fill a niche though.

YMMV. They were happy to sell me a SV CR-39 and budget frames for $40 back in the bad old days of the early 2000s, with no pressure for upgrades. Hell, I didn't even know what an AR coating was, since our family doc didn't believe in them and EyeMart never tried to upsell me.

**becc971** · 10-02-2014, 10:12 AM

I started working with someone at my other job who said there was an equal amount of pressure to sell the turn and burn stuff, but then they were constantly crabbed at for selling AR, but when they sold AR they were crabbed at for not selling stock stuff.

consistency is key.

**jonathan barber** · 10-06-2014, 12:47 PM

I'm just leaving this company after just over 5 years with them. Based on my experience, they treat their employees very well. If you work hard you move up through the ranks fairly quickly. I started at the bottom and after 4 years was given a General Manager position. If you want to know anything specific, PM me.

**pseudonym** · 10-08-2014, 08:07 PM

I've been at the Durham, NC location for a few months. Very happy. To the person who said we are like America's Best- NOT. We've had two of their employees who say the atmosphere is chaotic and there was favoritism. Not like that at our store. We have very experienced lab people and nearly 100% lenses made in under an hour. Our prices are the best I've ever seen in this business. The only negative is all the TV commercials saying 2 pair SV for $59.71. For some people, that's all they want (or more likely can afford) So we sell them. But you can make great bonuses on a fully loaded pair. Maybe our store is an exception but there's none of the shenanigans that go on with other retail places I've heard about. Opticians looking at the Rx and if it isn't going to be a high dollar sale, handing it off to some other optician and that sort of thing. There is no bait and switch. The frames are arranged from lowest to highest price. The higher price ones are obviously more stylish and better made, so many who came in for the "special" naturally gravitate there on their own. Also what Jonathan said is quite true. If you're a worker and separate yourself from the pack, advancements will come your way.