America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses

«America“s Best»! Ha, I say America’s Worst!
Only thing good about this place is the optometrist. She was perfect!
Thing else was a mess and everyone else was disorganized. After a very long wait, I got my breathable xw contact, this is their store brand contact. 4 out of 4 of my right side only has ripped. All 4 out of 4 ripped with 1 – 5 days.
AWFUL!

This update is about the company, rather than this particular location. I recommend visiting the Center City location instead of the one in South Philly.
After seeing my earlier review, the District Manager contacted me asking to talk to me about my experience. She offered me a free pair of glasses with lightweight lenses and the option to choose them at one of their other locations if I preferred not to return to the South Philly one. Because I did not have a copy of my prescription, she spoke with the General Manager at the Center City location and scheduled an appointment for me for a new exam, and assured me they would be prompt. I was in and out of the exam quickly, and everyone was very friendly and helpful. The General Manager, Dina, helped me pick a very nice pair of glasses and seemed genuinely apologetic and interested in making up for what happened, rather than just saving their reputation. Because the doctor gave me a slightly different prescription than the one they pulled off my other glasses, she also offered to replace the lenses in the two pairs I bought in South Philly so the prescriptions would be uniform. All in all, it was a very pleasant experience.

We scheduled a contact lens exam. They ran fairly late — about 30 minutes after our scheduled appointments. There were flies in the exam room and the pretest room, buzzing around. The optometrist was terribly unprofessional — spending the entire exam talking about how it’s her best friend’s wedding and she’s upset that she had to work and miss it.
When we had scheduled the appointment online, the webpage had said to be sure to leave 55 minutes for contact lens teaching, which we did; however, not until after we had gotten our exams, did they tell us that we had to come back on a different day for a contact lens class — I definitely would not have come out, nor paid for the expensive exam had I known that they were not planning on offering teaching as part of our appointment as the webpage implied.
Lesson learned: if you want things done quickly and efficiently, it’s worth staying in the city and spending a little more money.

I, too, am surprised at the negative reviews. I went in on the look out for this Kalief character that some of you mentioned. I was approached by Ryan and he told me about the $ 99 membership and some of the other options I had. I was a little rude to him because I was expecting him to try and rip me off (per some of your reviews) and I told him I would decide later. I met with the doctor who was an absolute peach. She was quick, but I did not feel rushed. She answered all my questions, gave advice and prescribed eye drops for my brand new allergies. I was put back in touch with Ryan, who respected my final decision to get the 2 pairs + exam for $ 70 + my contact lens exam and then helped me to pick out new frames. I was told my glasses would be ready in a week. Three days later I received a phone call that my glasses were ready to be picked up. I rushed over to pick them up and now I can see clearly again. End of story. I am glad I went and will go again in the future.

TV ads state, get 2 pairs of glasses for $ 69.99, so I went there. Had an 11:15 appt on a Sunday (Sundays they open at 11) got there a few minutes early to do the paperwork. Finished it within 5 minutes. The tech did the tests that techs can do. Then, I was advised the doctor was running late, he didn’t get there until Noon. The appointment time meant nothing as I sat and watched customer after customer, who came in after me, being called. Finally, pulled an employee aside and asked what was going on, she made sure I was the next patient called. Since I picked out the frames while waiting for the doctor. The girl measured the glasses and my eyes for the bifocals. Then showed me the price card. $ 69.99 includes ONLY the frames (AND the eye exam if you buy 2 sets of lenses) The lenses themselves were really expensive. It was at this time I found out, I have to wait 5 to 10 business days to get the glasses. I got the basic of everything and it still cost well over $ 200. Next time I’m going back to Lenscrafters.

DO NOT GO HERE! I know the medical industry can be corrupt; not focused on costumer service, but on making money. But, I’ve never had such a horrible experience at a doctors office in my entire life. My husband and I choose this place because the location is convenient and covered by our insurance, little did we know how appalling the staff and the experience would be.
I was due for an eye exam, and also my eyes had been irritating me whenever I wore my contacts, so I knew it was time to head into the doctors. I went into Americas Best and the dude with long dreads was «helping me». He had an attitude with me the second he opened his mouth (and he is like that with every costumer in the store). He said that he would check to see if my insurance covered both glasses and contacts. I told him when he found out to let me know, because I only wanted both if they were covered by my insurance. He sent me to wait for the doctor and told me that he would let me know.
I went through the eye exam and assumed that, because he never got back to me, both contacts and glasses would be covered. Yet, when I went to pay the whole thing cost me $ 160 bucks, which was way more than they had stated!
Also, when I explained the irritation I had been having with my contacts, the doctor said she there was nothing that she could observe as being wrong. She gave me a trial pair of lenses. They continued to bother me, so when I went back I told them I would like to try a different pair of lenses. I started another trial, but those contacts bothered me too. I eventually ended up in urgent care because I was unable to open my eyes one morning! I was sent to an ophthalmologist, and it turns out I had corneal ulcers on both my eyes. The «doctors» at Americas best failed to see these despite my complaints, and continued to give me trial pairs.
To top it all off, I went back in after I finished my treatment for the ulcers to get another trial (since I had already paid for my annual visit there), and they told me that they needed to charge me again! These people are really just horrible. Especially the guy with the dreads (I think his name was Kalief), he has an attitude problem with EVERYONE that comes into the store and he straight up lies to people. My husband complained of the same guy when he went he. I’m reporting this store to their corporate headquarters.
PS– I never write Unilocal reviews, especially not this long, but I really feel like people need to BE WARNED OF THIS PLACE!

Huh. Kind of surprised at the negative reviews for this place; I moved to Philly from Upstate NY, where I’d frequented another America’s Best for 5+ years because of the the cheap prescriptions and quick in-​and-​out nature of their eye exams. (I’m honestly not sure how things go if you have some kind of awful problem like glaucoma or macular degeneration, but for someone who’s simply nearsighted like Yours Truly, it’s an easy appointment.) The staff I met here were very nice, and I went in knowing that I just wanted a new contact lens prescription — and no other products. I was asked if I wanted contacts as I checked out, which I politely refused, and the refusal was politely accepted — no hard sells. There are a number of places that you can get your glasses or contacts WAY cheaper for online — such as
and
, but if you or your kids have a really bad visual deficiency that needs to be corrected ASAP, this is a pretty good deal for a couple pairs of glasses/​lenses and the eye exam alike on the spot. And of course, if you just need a new Rx like I do, it’s only something like $ 99 for three years of bi-​annual eye exams. I highly recommend this place to anyone who doesn’t have vision insurance.

Kalief, an African American with long hair, lied and told me I had no choice but to upgrade to anti glare lenses for $ 69 more because I have an astigmatism and I couldn’t get the regular two for $ 69 because they wouldn’t work. This of coarse isn’t true. I told him I would ask the doctor myself and suddenly his story changed. Do yourself a favor and avoid this scammer.

If someone goes out of their way to request that you have their info faxed over, and your office agrees, why are you suprised when said customer shows up expecting that to be the case? Insanity. There is a certain trade off when dealing with discount chain stores, no doubt, but both Philly locations have been nothing but trouble. On walnut street I asked to make an appointment for a follow up, was told twice that was not nessecary and upon arriving was admonished for not making an appointment. I don’t understand how any business can operate so ineffectively, yet Americas Best continues to amaze.