My customer of 10 years has recently been facing a weird problem, which I've never seen in 22 years of my experience as an optician. He has been using Essilor Crizal brand Transitions lenses for 10 years, which he rebuilds every one or two years as his prescription changes. He has never faced a similar problem like he has been facing since the last time he got his lenses made.
He got a Crizal UV Transitions, which he complained after 1 month that he was facing difficulty seeing at night time due to light sources streaking in a vertical way. He showed me the spectacles, but I didn't find anything unusual. I even told him it was all in his head. But once he took me out of my shop and showed me a distant lamp post with dark sky as the background, I was more than convinced. I even felt bad how inconvenient it must have been for him wearing these lenses while driving. But in the daytime, he says everything looks perfect.
Whenever I approached Essilor about replacement, they said they couldn't find a single problem. Upon my insistence and mild threats, they replaced the lenses 'unconditionally' as they put it. But about a month later, the customer returns with the same problem. He said he used the new replacement lenses only indoors for 7 days, when there was not a single problem and the vision was perfect. But when he started taking the lens outdoors in the sun, the streaking got progressively worse with each day in the sun.
I tried to talk to Essilor again and convince them, but they told me it's all in my head, and they couldn't find anything unusual with their rigorous testing procedures. The customer even approached Essilor, but they gave him the same reply.
My customer threw away the lenses and got a new pair of Zeiss lenses with Photofusion made. These were thrice as expensive as the Crizal. Guess what? Within one week, exactly the same problem happened! He got a new pair of frames (he felt the frames had something to do with it) and Zeiss replaced the lenses. Within another week, the replacement lenses developed the same problem!!
I know he is over-careful with his lenses (his previous lenses never developed a single scratch in 2 years!) and uses certified cleaners and microfibre cloth. Handling is not a problem I'm sure.
Please help. What in the world is happening? I don't want to lose this customer. I can get him another pair made out of my pocket, but I am sure that too wouldn't even last a week!
Details:
The order of damage is: Left first, right next. OD: -0.75DS, -1.75DC. OS: -0.75 DS -2.00 DC. Index: 1.50. Does it have anything to do with the power?
The customer only prefers half rim metal frames. Is it possible that the heat of Indian Summer sun is transmitted by the metal frame onto the lenses, which is crazing some coating like the SHC or AR? Well, I have never seen this happening with any other customer with metal frames.
Please refer to the photos. These were taken by a simple mobile camera and a flashlight pointed at a perfect angle, and the hairline cracks are visible only from the backside. But company says they never see such cracks with their machines. Other opticians say the AR coating is absolutely fine. am totally perplexed and have started to doubt my sanity, and need your kind advise.
Crizal Lens. Notice the top left side.
This is how it looks at night though the affected spectacles:
Zeiss Lens:
Close up views: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_l...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_l...ew?usp=sharing
These cracks are visible from such a stupid angle that I have a hard time convincing anyone.
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