GW Eye Associates

So unbelievably rude and unhelpful. Called again with a question about a prescription and the receptionist put me on hold three times, cut me off when speaking, and was unwilling to even answer a question.
Do NOT go here.

Dr. Wong is great at explaining the health of my eye and options for my prescription in easy to understand terms and the implications of my decisions on my eye sight. I like the range of products available and the staff is super friendly.
The only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is because once they messed up on my appointment scheduling. They double booked me with another client so I had to come back later in the day. I live pretty far from La Jolla, so had to kill time in the area. Not a bad place to do so, but what if I had other appointments that day?

My husband refuses to deal with Lenscrafters anymore so he tried this place close to our home and i guess he had a good experience so I called and scheduled for my daughter for an eye exam. She’s been complaining that she can’t see very well with her glasses that she just got a few months ago. I was ready to pay $ 250 for her exam since our insurance only cover one exam per year and she already used it. I called today to reschedule her original appointment for the next day because some unexpected doctor appointments came up the next day with my other children and hubby is on business trip abroad. The woman who answered the phone didn’t sound too happy when I said I need to reschedule my appointment for the next day. She first told me that I was suppose to call 48 hours ahead. I apologized and told her this is our first time there and I am not aware of that. She then told me again that I need to call 48 hours ahead next time if I want to change my appointment and she’s going to «waive the penalty» this time. I went ahead and canceled the appointment. I pass this fancy looking place on my way to facials and workout all the time and was looking forward to some great customer service and they failed over the phone.

I cannot say enough about the wonderful care that my son has received and continues to receive from Dr. Gordon Wong and his staff! My son was diagnosed with an eye condition, Keratoconus, and my concern for finding him the right vision care was and is extremely important to me.
Dr. Gordon Wong — Thank you from the bottom of my heart for ALL that you have done and continue to do in caring for Luke’s vision. Your care, sensitivity and knowledge is invaluable to us and we so appreciate your kind heart, diligence and your research in finding the best available options for him in suitable lenses and the ongoing care of this eye condition. You are always generous with your time with us and answer any questions that we may have with honesty and integrity. Thank you!
Phil — You have taken it upon yourself to be an advocate for us and we cannot thank you enough! The time that you have given us concerning insurance issues, phone calls and billing and payments has been a huge help to us in many ways!
Malorie — Thank you for being a bright spot at the front desk and for working with our schedules and always taking an interest in us — we appreciate you!
Thank you again:)

They’re amazing. I went there to see about getting my glasses fixed. They did at no charge. Plus all the staff is just so sweet. I will be going there for every eye exam.

I came to Dr. Wong as an emergency new patient with an abrasion on my cornea, extremely painful! The front desk lady, Mallory was kind and went above and beyond to get me in. She even texted the doctor as he was on his way in to give him a heads up. Although Dr. Wong had many patients to see, he was very thorough in diagnosis and treatment. I felt I was getting the best care. He immediately called in a prescription to alleviate my pain and even texted me in the afternoon to check in and make sure I was feeling better. The entire staff is friendly and the office itself is beautiful. I am very thankful for Dr. Wong and his team, I definitely will be a regular.

My mom called me from Palm Springs (where she lives) in tears that she thought she was going blind :(Turns out she has what’s called «floaters» this is something that is common with the aging process. My mom and I went to an Eye Dr off Washington St wont say her name but it was AWFUL. Fast food medical care that’s for sure. My mom said «forget this lets go and we walked out.»
Then my mom said «lets go do Dr Wong.»
I said «where is he located?»
«La Jolla» she says.
(Eye roll) of course it is… My mom loves to go the most expensive places lol.
Well let me tell you this, it was worth every penny and more. $ 250 for a FULL comprehensive eye exam, with state of the art (or so it looked!) technology. Dr. Wong despite us doing a same hour/​same day rushed in appointment due to the fear my mom had that something horrific was going on-​took over an hour with us explaining delicately to my mom what was going on. He is so so professional, courteous, kind and intelligent. I cannot say how grateful I am to Dr Wong for caring fro my mom so empathetically, and with such compassion.
I do not think that this was even «forced» behavior I just think Dr Wong is an awesome DR.
My mom has/​had tearing of her vitreous which causes these constant spider webbed floaters in her one eye. It has been over a week now that she has had them but thankfully her retina has no damage. We do have to go back in 4 weeks to make sure it is still ok.
Dr Wong did not even have to dilate my moms eyes (which she was freaked out about) he has this awesome camera that takes a microscopic level photograph of the eyes. Dr Wong explained everything to us and actually showed her eyes on a screen it was incredible.
I really cannot say enough great things about Dr Wong, a true class act– fantastic DR. Highly recommend. I will be going to see him for all my own future eye exams too now.
THANK YOU!

I would not recommend this business for purchasing eye glasses.
They made me «check in» when I walked in the store which meant a disinterested woman asked me if I had insurance and wanted to see my prescription.
I was then allowed to browse their small selection. However, despite having two women sitting at the desk, there was only one gentlemen who apparently could help me. I waited what seemed like FOREVER until he finished with a needy La Jolla Woman™ to ask my questions about a couple of frames, but then he told me he had another woman to help before he could talk to me. He asked if I had an appointment.
I just told him I’d come back and left. I, of course, won’t come back. Who makes an appointment to buy eyeglasses?
For the record, the frames are marked up ABOVE full retail. The SALT frames, for instance, were marked at $ 390. They are available on their own website and every other store for $ 340.

I purchased a very expensive pair of prescription eye glasses about a year ago from this place and have been happy with them. However, the arm that attaches to the lens has a screw that broke and the arm came off. I went in to ask them to repair it and asked if it was a free service. They said only if I had purchased it from them. So I waited awhile for them to double check to make sure I wasn’t lying about it, then she said she had to check with someone. She came back to say it would be $ 50.00 to put in a new screw because it was some special screw they needed. MON DIEU! Seriously?
So today I went to an actual company that advertises eye glass repairs. He fixed it for FREE without the $ 50.00 imaginary specialty screw or one produced in gold. GWEye should have given me a choice (1) offer the expensive fix (2) or the free fix (as that is what worked perfectly well).
Remember I had not purchased the glasses from the professional eye repair shop, but he fixed them for free. I will not return to GW Eyeglass again for my next pair of glasses.

I came into GW Eye Associates for an adjustment to my eyeglasses.
I hadn’t bought the glasses there. Despite that they were helpful and fitted the glasses to my face for no charge. This meant they didn’t fall off my face while I was driving.
All in all it took 10 minutes, a friendly chat with the woman inside who made the adjustment. It was free of charge.
The least I could do was leave a positive review of the service. Thanks!

Wow!
First of all GW Eye Associates have the most advanced machinery and give the most thorough eye exams I’ve personally experienced. I returned for my eye exam and Dr. Wong explained and showed me exactly what the problems are with my eyes, demonstrating the combined and separate effects of astigmatism and farsightedness with lenses and different apertures and angles. Very informative and allowed me to fully understand what is happening with my eyeballs and eyesight.
I very much appreciate the fact that both Drs. here care about their business and customers. Given the opportunity the doctors and staff went above and beyond to make up for a previous inconvenience. This is how a business should be run. I highly recommend GW Eye Associates without reservation.
A++++++

Excellent service. They were able to diagnose an issue that was previously undiagnosable.

My husband and kids were driving from LA to La Jolla. Halfway to La Jolla we realized we forgot the kids contact lenses (we are going snorkeling, kayaking, swimming).
I called optometrists in La Jolla in a panic. The other one in town referred me to GW Eye associates because they said GW Eye carries more contact lenses in stock!
I got my optometrist in L.A. to fax my kid’s prescription. GW Eye gave us a box of the trial contacts for free. They were very kind to help out a non-​customer! Very grateful for their kind help.

I had lost one contact lens and had to drive to Los Angeles — considering my prescription is –7.5 driving even a few blocks made me dizzy. I was recommended to go to Dr. Wong by another optometrist in the village and with my Rx saved on my iPad they were able to give me a sample within 5 minutes. Great service and extremely kind, saved my day! I would highly recommend anyone in the la jolla area to come here.

I was a little concerned when Dr. Wildon Wong met me for my eye examination. He is so young looking, I thought. How can he know enough to help out my old tired eyes. Was I ever pleaantly surprised. He performed the best eye exam I have ever had. He is thorough, patient and very careful in making sure that every test he performed on the state of art equipment was explained to me.
I have already recommended Dr. Wong to my friends and I highly recommend this business. The Unilocal deal that Dr. Wong offered was the reason I tried this place. The Unilocal system is real and G.W. Wong and Associates really deserves the praise they get on Unilocal

If you’re one of those people who likes being fawned over and lied to by people who are offering a commoditized service at about five times its value, you will LOVE this place.
But if you want solid, competent service from people who are not violating the Federal Trade Commission’s Practice Rules («Eyeglass Rule», see
), go elsewhere.
Here is my story: I had left my contact lenses in Chicago and needed new ones, but the woman at the shop told me this was no simple matter. Under California law, I would need a complete exam — at a rate of more than $ 250 — to get new lenses. Now, we all know that contact lens exams these days are usually free if you buy a year’s supply of lenses, but she informed me that this was a very dangerous practice, and that California law required either a new exam or a fax from my Chicago eye doctor. So, I called my Chicago doctor (who is affiliated with Custom Eyes on Southport, if you are looking for good service). He had never heard of such a law (he said an e-​mail usually suffices), but he wrote up a prescription and sent it over. Two days later, GW Eye Associates couldn’t find it, so he sent a new one. This time, GW informed me that it wasn’t properly signed.
«California law is very strict in this matter,» their sales manager explained. «It must be signed and dated and clearly legible. This one has a smudge and no signature.»
When I told her that I was growing skeptical of this law’s existence, she became quite huffy.
«WE always follow the law,» she insisted. «I’m sure you can find some chain store that will cut corners, but they are also endangering your vision!»
I was again advised to come in for an exam, but instead called Custom Eyes. They then sent a signed copy… but GW now told me now it must be reviewed by management… this is oh, so complicated… it’s all for my own good… they have a REPUTATION to uphold… four hours later, they called me back to say that, because this was a special situation, they would honor the signed letter and sell me lenses for $ 10 each.
By then, however, I had done some research and learned of the Eyeglass Rule I allude to above. It’s clearly explained on the California Board of Optometry’s web site (
).
GW Eye Associates doesn’t follow the law — they make the law up.
It’s a shame, because they do seem like the kind of father-​and-​son boutique that I like to support, and they may actually be OK for high-​end glasses. Pity they’re such lying snots.

Almost wrote a review after I got my first set of glasses just over a year ago but life got busy. I had left it late in the year and wanted to get a new set before my VSP benefits expired. They found me an appointment and did a very good job on working out exactly the right prescription for me.
I had never liked wearing glasses but these fit amazingly well, I can actually forget I am wearing them. I don’t mind wearing them at all. The clarity is stunning which has really helped with a lot of screen work this year.
They had lots of nice frames to try and the lenses came back exactly the shape I wanted.
I think the prices are very reasonable. I wear my glasses every day so I don’t want cheap glasses, I want them to look nice and give me better vision. I think I got a great deal on oakley frames and a very nice set of lenses. They were very clear on the pricing, what my insurance would cover.
Suddenly had fuzzy vision in one eye two months ago and that is when I got to see just how good they really are. They got me an appointment straight away and with the very sophisticated equipment could show me exactly what the issue is. Almost resolved now which is a big relief.
I just picked up my new set of glasses today, my prescription had moved a little and again they are just amazing.
Very friendly office, have now seen just about everyone and they have all been very professional and friendly.
I have been to several other opticians (have been wearing glasses for about 15 years now), this is by far my favorite.

Greeting — nicely done but initial exam assistant did not introduce herself or call me by name.
Filling out forms — a few on paper, the rest done with automated touch screen which was mcuh faster.
Exam process — Meeting with Dr. Wong — went well. Explained the new equipment and what its purpose is. After additional test, discussed state of my vision.
Post exam meeting with Tammy — she presents well but did not have a full break down of what my insurance would pay as compared to the glasses, lenses etc available for sale. they had on hand. Had to ask for receipt with list of services.
Post Exam — no written summary of today’s results to take with me or test results only verbal analysis. Something on paper to take with me would have been better. Paid $ 85 out of pocket as that is how much they are over the coverage amount. This information you must find out a head of time.
Post Exam — parking — when I arrived, no one at the parking booth and open to park. When I left, attendant on duty who asked me to go back up to the office and get validation. I was not offered any parking valuation upon entering or leaving the offices. Prices of the lenses and frames are high.
Overall a good experience but just a few adjustments would make the place a top notch professional eye care service.

I was incredibly disappointed with my experience at the practice of Dr. Wong.
As a college student, I felt that it would be much more convenient to stay local with a new optometrist closer to school, rather than travel to LA every time I needed an appointment. I found the practice here on Unilocal,was encouraged by the reviews, and decided to give it a shot. The practice is great-​looking, and the staff was very helpful.
My other optometrist always made sure to outline the costs of procedures, lenses, contacts, etc. before getting to work, which I appreciated. I asked before the exam to make sure it was covered by insurance, which I was informed it was. Because my prescription had changed, however, I was asked to try a new pair of contact lenses. I had no clue that this would cost me just over $ 90, here however. My old optometrist NEVER charged me for trying out lenses, and I was always given a 10% discount on my purchases, even before rebates. I would have at least expected the courtesy of a mention before I was asked to pay, up front. As a college student literally taking out loans of about $ 9,000 per year since I can’t pay it with my own meager paycheck, this threw me under the bus pretty quickly.
I find that as soon as I chose to go back to my old optometrist, the staff at GW was reluctant to send over my new prescription, and had to ask them to do so SEVERAL times each day to get the information. A very nasty way of doing business, in my opinion. I hope others take caution before jumping in on Dr. Wong’s practice. Guard your checkbook carefully!

Thanks to Unilocal I found this place and am so glad I did! I walked in to shop for new glasses and they had quite a few frames to choose from (I had my eye exam elsewhere). If you let them know what your budget is they can really help you narrow it down.
I walk in, the receptionist makes a copy of my perscription, and walks me over to their showcase of glasses. He introduces me to the lady that’ll be helping me and in a few minutes (after she wraps it up with her customer) she comes over asking me what kind of frame I want, yada yada.
We grab about 10 frames and sit to try them on. I go over the first few and notice more girls come over. I couldn’t decide between 3 pairs and I can’t tell you how nice it was to have so many opinions! Everyone was super friendly and they all helped me narrow down my choice (there was absolutely no pressure either).
The price for some of the frames are more than others, but if you have a budget, let them know and they’ll totally work with it.