Brattle Square Optical

I came here to look at new frames with my wife. It’s a nice enough shop inside with some nice frames, but the staff was not very helpful, and the store smelled of one of their takeout lunches. After perusing the selection my wife found a pair of frames that she liked. We asked one of the associates for a price because there are no prices listed on the frames themselves – this should have been the first red flag! We were informed that the glasses were $ 540. That was over twice what we had expected to pay, so we asked if they could write down the model number. They refused and announced that providing model numbers was against their store policy. Needless to say, we left after that. We later found the same model on Amazon for under $ 200.
I would not recommend this place. We ended up going down the street to another shop that had much better service and pricing.

I’ve been going to Brattle Square Optical for over ten years and have followed them through multiple locations in and around Harvard Square. The prices for frames may be higher than at BSO than at some of the chain places, but I’ve gone to several of chains (LensCrafters, See, etc.) to get 2^nd pairs of glasses and I’ve often been disappointed with the glasses. The fit and quality of the frames and lenses has always been great with BSO. During one exam, Dr. Phillips noticed something going on with my eyes and told me I should have it checked by an ophthalmologist. I did that and the ophthalmologist complimented Dr. Phillips for noticing it saying that it was the kind of issue that would be missed by many optometrists.
There was one time I got a set of frames that I liked but over time they pinched my nose in a way other frames hadn’t. I tried living with it thinking that I’d adjust to them, but it never got better. A couple months later I went back to BSO, told them what was going on, and they made me a new pair of glasses with a different frame that felt great.
So, even though I’ve moved further away away and it’s a little bit of a hike to get to them, I’ll be returning to BSO for my glasses and contacts.

A very terrible service. They quoted one price than when we said we have VSP. They doubled price. Totally deceptive.

Dr. Phillips seems very competent which is why I’m giving this review any stars to begin with.
What I cannot excuse is the way business is practiced here. From the moment you walk in, it’s almost like a game of mousetrap in what sort of clever ways the doctor and staff try to divorce you from your money.
I had read that there were problems with insurance claims before my check-​up and I walked in with my insurance rep on the phone. Despite a 15 minute conversation with the front desk about how «XYZ insurance company doesn’t pay for a lense fitting» my insurance adamantly insisted that they did. They handed me a bill for almost $ 200 and said deal with it (great customer service plan).
Concurrently, the Doctor didn’t write the prescription I had paid for. Instead he gave me a «starter kit» of contact lenses and said come back next week at which point he did nothing but look at my eyes and said «buy a 6 month kit». After explaining I had a company discount on lenses and offered him to price match it was almost like I was disowned.
TL:DR the prices are out of control, they try to up-​sell at every step and push all the paperwork onto the people choosing to come here. No thanks.

This place is a rip-​off. I have vision insurance and they handed me a bill for $ 200 for a regular eye exam and contact lens fitting. I paid up and called my insurance company who informed me that I shouldn’t have been charged anything. When I called this place up demanding to know why I had been charged, the Dr. told me he can’t ‘treat me for free.’ I went back in person and he glared at me and said ‘oh, I remember you’ and he and his staff were very hostile. I made my insurance company talk to them and got a refund. Avoid at all costs.

Come prepared to spend a lot– frames I can find for $ 350 online are being sold for $ 425.
But I have to say, they have a gorgeous selection of frames and truly helpful and concerned staff. I felt very much like a well-​taken care of customer.

Just want to let anyone who are coming here for an annual eye exam, ASK IN ADVANCE what tests they’re going to do on you & how much you’ll have to pay. Otherwise, be prepare to be surprised.
I do eye exam almost every year. With VSP insurance, eye exam only costs me $ 10 in copay. They charged me $ 74 for all these other tests that they did without my consent.
$ 74 consists of:
— $ 39 Fundus photo with interpretation (digital dilation)
— $ 25 Visual Field Testing — which is a gimmick for someone with normal sight
— $ 10 Exam
Inputs for Brattle Square Optical:
— Train your employees to disclose all fees /​expectations to customers before rendering any service.
— Do something with the lady in the reception desk (she is the older African American lady), either a class in customer relation or hire someone more suitable for the job.

I have been wearing contact for years!!! And I always buy glasses thinking I’m going to wear them this time and never do because they are so thick. my eyes had been really dry and red so I decided I would try glasses again and I have to say I fianally have a pair I like. The sales associates were so helpful, I have a small face, and they helped me find a pair that fits but wouldn’t look so thick. They did it, I would highly recommend them! I get complements on my glasses all the time now.

I can’t believe some of the negative reviews here. Yes, one of the ladies at the front desk can be a bit brisk and rude, but otherwise this place is great, especially Doctor Phillips. I have moved out of Cambridge but still continue to come here once a year for my exam.
My main source of satisfaction is that he makes sure you get the right contacts or eyeglass lenses. He always has a follow up exam for contact wearers to make sure that the lenses are comfortable and are correcting vision properly. He does a very thorough fitting.
The frames do seem a bit pricey I agree but if you already have your own frames, they can make new lenses on site. They also tend to have a full range of contacts in stock so you don’t always have to wait for them to be ordered and if you do they arrive at your home very quickly.

Started going here 2 years ago after a bad experience with another doctor. I also like the frame selection.
My 3 exams have been the best experience I have ever had with an eye doctor (more than 20 years of exams).
In each exam, Dr. Philips was patient and listened carefully to my vision concerns. The contact fitting was thorough. He tried many different methods to properly correct for my astigmatism. With my lenses and glasses I now have the best vision I’ve had in years. And he was very nice the whole time.
During my last visit this week I picked a couple frames from their great selection — best in town. There is a markup from online pricing, but with insurance and a holiday discount it was essentially equal. And its worth it to try on glasses for fit and look. I bought 2 pairs of glasses with great help from the staff. One pair looks great! The other pair did look as good and I had buyer’s remorse and they let me exchange it for another — even after lenses had been made. They just charged me an extra lens cutting fee. They just wanted me to be happy.
Thanks everyone at Brattle Square optical for the great service!

Yeesh. Shopped there, looking for new frames. Found them and asked for their price: $ 245.
Looked them up online — retail price is $ 180, can be found on Amazon for $ 85.

I have major and constantly changing eye issues. This is the first place to find contacts suitable for my eyes. My corneas are finally happy!
Though they are a bit expensive, they have really wonderful customer service. They help me get contacts as quickly as possible and if ordering is taking a while they provide me with trial lenses. They also were very helpful in finding frames that fit my face and my incredibly high prescription. I came in on a Monday and they had the glasses ready by Thursday. All in all, they are knowledgable and have appreciated my business for the past three years.

I give it 2 stars since the doctor is great but everything else is out of control.
— I was told several times my glasses were ready and every time I went to pick them up, they where NOT ready. After a while they found them in a stack of glasses they didn’t check before.
— When they tried to charge my credit card, I guess they moved the decimal point way too much. My credit card company blocked my card because they tried to charge over 120K. I think this was an honest error, but when I went back to the store and told them the issue, they laughed and didn’t apologize.
— The total cost I was told was different in the end. They also had to get back to the insurance twice, as they made an error (charged too much) with the first invoice.
— They push their most expensive frames and don’t listen to the customer needs.
I could go on with more examples…
Again, the doctor is great and there was one more employee in the store that was very useful but everyone else I met there is just in some kind of a «parallel universe».

Ugh. I was drawn into this shop because they carry Chanel frames and I’m trying to replace some lenses. I went in and found a pair similar to mine, and inquired about ordering replacement lenses, which I’ve spent $ 20 for. When she quoted me $ 80, I tried the new frames on and asked how much they cost, to which she replied «I don’t know, they just came in.» I said, «Oh, well, I’ll take a picture of the style number and look into them online» and she ripped the frame out of my hand, telling me they don’t allow that.
Way to show me:
1) you’re a rude bitch
2) you could care less about helping a customer
3) you disrespect the fragily of the beautiful Chanel brand
Other reviews are right; don’t be lured in by the brand names. You just may find yourself in a catfight.

I have been going to Dr. Phillips for almost 22 years, since he was at For Eyes so many years ago. He is really good at trying out new things to adapt to my changing, and aging, eyes. He explains the different factors he is trying to balance, the trade-​offs, why he thinks one thing is better than another. I went to other optometrists when I live in other cities, but I was happy to come home to Dr Phillips.

Disappointing. While the doctor was nice, he seemed distracted (forgot to give me eye drops, forgot something else once out of the exam room, etc.) and the office staff are not particularly friendly. The assistant was very unprofessional, and tried to insist I didn’t need a dilated eye exam (I’m diabetic, so yes, I do need that). Not sure now if the prescription I got for glasses was even correct.
They gave me contacts to try, and handed me a bottle of saline just sitting on the counter when I was trying on a trial pair of contacts (who else used and touched that?!)
On the other hand, the contact lens fitting was very thorough. The doctor seems most interested in fitting people for contacts.

RUDE rude rude people work in this store! Life is too short to be spoken to in this manner. And their prices are across the board higher than every other store in Central or Harvard Square. Avoid! Don’t let the shiny new set-​up sucker you in.