Grove Avenue Eye Center

Great experience, start to finish. This is a busy optometry group, but they were able to fit me in same-​day. The location has a parking lot, which is a bonus in the area. The office is clean and organized, with coffee, water and cookies in the waiting room. The staff were friendly but efficient in getting me into the system. I was called into the examination room 5 minutes BEFORE my appointment, which was right in the middle of the day. The doctor was equally friendly and professional, and spoke to me at a level I could understand. She answered all my questions, and never pushed additional services. Check out was a breeze, and I was on my way all in under an hour. I absolutely recommend Grove Avenue Eye Center to anyone in need of a quality optometrist.

Dr. Tira was great but I waited 30 minutes for service to get new lens and the 2 ladies running the frames and lense section were in the back gabbing while customers came and left. Going elsewhere for my lenses. Terrible service.

The doctor and assistant were really thorough, understanding and deserve 5 stars. But the scheduling, phone system, and front desk communication seemed disorganized and inefficient.

I’ve been to a Pearl Vision and Hour Eyes in the Tyson’s Corner area since I first started glasses/​contacts 11 years ago. I finally got around to finding a place in Richmond, VA. Maybe it’s from going from a chain eye place to what seems to be a privately owned practice comprising of 3 doctors. Everyone from the receptionists, technician, to Dr. Tira, were extremely professional and helpful. When I walked out, I was surprised how easy the entire process went. Also, I usually buy my contacts online because I find the stores are pricey. Not only did the price for my contacts match the online prices but they shipped to my apartment free of charge. I will definitely continue seeing Dr. Tari at Grove Avenue Eye Center.

I must say that the Doctors are GREAT!
The Optic center however leaves A LOT to be desired. I tried to do the right thing by «going local» but it came back to bite me.
The selection is slim, and the service is just as slim as the selection. It took over 5 weeks for me to get the «correct» pair of glasses. I was first told that it would take about 2 weeks for me to get my glasses and it ended up taking closer to 3 weeks. When i finally did get the call that my glasses had arrived, the order was completely wrong. Oval lenses instead of rectangle, charcoal frames instead of black, and grey tips instead of silver. After being told that it «wont her fault» by one of the ladies, another lady (i assume a manager) got involved. She assured me that she would take it from here and I would have my glasses by the start of next week. Sure enough I got a call that they were ready! BUT STILL WRONG. She then explained to me that what I had been sold on wasn’t available in the USA. and that what she had ordered was the closest thing… One would think, Maybe I should call him and let him know that i cant get exactly what he wants. NO? Mean while she tells me that I should expect a call from the office manager. So, back to the drawing board. I finally got my glasses today… not exactly what I wanted but in the spirit of DONE, i’ll move on. I still have yet to get a phone call from the office manager and at NO point was there ever an attempt at recovery. I’M DONE! I would highly recommend going elsewhere for your specks. It is by no means worth your time or money.
***UPDATE***
Back to the shop… the glasses are crooked and the lens post that hold the lens to the frame is popping out…

These guys are really outstanding, I’ve never had a bad experience.
I go in for routine eye exams and to get my contact lenses, etc. Everyone is polite, friendly, and competent. An annual check up will take about an hour, which is reasonable, and I really feel like I’m getting quality service. And I love the automated appointment reminders, every office should use those.
All in all, these guys are highly recommended.

As with most people I have been going to see an eye doctor since I was young. Having been in glasses and contacts since the age of 10 I have seen my fair share of doctors. I have to say that 2 years ago I was lucky enough to go to Grove Avenue Eye Center as recommended by my sister.
Dr. Tira is honestly the best doctor I have EVER been to. She is helpful, intelligent and actually seems to care about her patients. For the most part every doctor I have ever been with seems to hate their job and their life and would love nothing more than to be anywhere but working with patients. One of the BEST things about her is she still wears contacts and hasn’t gone through vision correction surgery as all of the other doctors there have. She understands exactly what it is like and can really relate to her patients and give useful advice and suggestions. Every product she recommends is because she personally has used them and tried them out. Not like other doctors that are getting a kickback and have no idea what it is actually like to use. If she ever leaves this practice I will follow her wherever she decides to go. She is phenomenal!

I agree with a previous comment already posted here. The eye exam portion of my visit was wonderful. Professional staff, addressed my concerns, and allowed for a quick follow up visit with no additional charge. I didn’t feel rushed like I have in the past at the «doc in a box» offices associated with Lens Crafters. They seem to accept most major eye insurance plans as well. I will continue to go here for future eye exams.
The «optics» portion of the business needs some work. I ordered glasses over 3 weeks ago and they have yet to arrive. The first time I was told the glasses «failed inspection», which makes me wonder about the competency of the lab. True, I ordered Hi Index, but i’m confident Lens Crafters could have completed the order much faster. When you pay $ 300 for glasses, you don’t anticipate having to wait three weeks. The department isn’t easy to reach by phone either. I had to actually make an additional trip to the optics department to check on the «status» — returning phone calls don’t seem to be on their top 10 list.
In summary: Go here for a great eye exam, but take your prescription elsewhere if you intend on ordering glasses. I’ve only been to the Grove Avenue location, so I can’t speak as to whether or not the Midlo location has a better optics dept.
**UPDATE*** 4÷27÷14
It has now been 4 weeks, and I have yet to receive my glasses. I did, however, receive a call on Tuesday of last week from the optical department. They agreed the delay was excessive and offered me a free pair of prescription sunglasses if I bring in a suitable frame. This is a nice compromise. However, if they glasses aren’t here by the end of this upcoming week I’m canceling the order altogether.

Do NOT go to this office. Dr. Neidig is great but the office staff really put a damper on the practice. My family of eight has had to go elsewhere.

Dr. Kiraley was fabulous. I have never had such a detailed eye exam before and Dr. Kiraley was great to talk to about all of my eye issues. Great selection of glasses too.

First eye exam ever on Friday. Got glasses the following Wednesday. Unreal.
Also what’s unreal is that the sensation of depth perception has changed, so much so that it’s no wonder I always sucked at baseball. This will take getting used to, seeing individual pixels on a screen again is a surprise…

I was impressed with Grove Avenue’s professionalism and welcoming attitude. Dr. Neidigh explained everything clearly, and the office staff was very quick to mail me my glasses prescription after I called to ask for it.

I became a patient with Grove in 2012. The eye exam was great and thorough, although the wait was over an hour. However, the billing department is just awful. They don’t check with insurance. My husband and I work for the same company and as a result have the same insurance and yet both of our bills were wrong. We got less money taken off than we should have. Overall, in filling two contact orders we are out about $ 30 bucks. Will be taking our business elsewhere.

The eye exam was the only good part of my experience, and even that was a little iffy. Despite scheduling my exam early in the morning, and arriving early, I still had to wait over a half an hour to be seen. The optometrist I saw was very thorough and knowledgable, and friendly enough.
Dealing with the optical department left much to be desired. Their selection of frames is small and expensive. On the day I visited the show room, the staff were visibly flustered and panicky. Placing a special order also turned out to be a headache, as the frames I wanted to try on took over a month to arrive. They did not update me on the status of the frames, and I had to call them for information and was frequently put on hold. My calls often only reached an answering machine. I ultimately decided to purchase glasses elsewhere.
Communication between the receptionist office staff and the optical department was also lackluster. Receptionists would say one thing when I called, only to find out the opposite was true from optical workers. Just getting a copy of my prescription was a hassle that I had to initiate and follow-​up on every step of the way. Overall, the exam was okay, but everything else was not worth it. I guess hindsight really is ²⁰⁄₂₀!

Dr. Kiraly is really great. The eye exam was probably the most thorough one I’ve gotten. He really tells you about what he’s seeing any WHY everything looks good, not just the pat on the back and you’re out the door. Very knowlegable and friendly.

The team at Grove Avenue Eye Center is top notch and incredibly helpful. The imagining they do is not necessarily covered by vision plans, but having them read the imaging does enhance the quality of care you receive.
I’ve been going to this Center since 2003, and I highly recommend them. The doctors are all very interested in you as a patient, not as a cash source. And the staff have been nothing but friendly and knowledgeable about benefits. My only beef is that I made an early morning appointment to get in and out and it still took a little while to get back and in the examine room.

I had gone to another eye doctor when I first moved to Richmond, and just felt like they didn’t listen to me. I picked this place because it’s close to where I live, and man I couldn’t have gotten luckier.
The eye exam is great — the doctor and staff really listen and spend time with you. I’ve only bought contacts, so I can’t speak to the glasses part of the eye center, but they did clean my glasses once, and were absolutely nice.

Update: I still think the medical exam portion of this business is 5 star. However, they told me that my glasses would be ready in 5 — 7 business days and now it is looking like it is going to be closer to 2 weeks. This was unexpected due to staff illness, but I had to call and ask for someone to call me back to give me an update on why I hadn’t been contacted to pick them up. So bottom line, maybe consider taking your rx to a different place to actually get the lenses made, but I’d still recommend them for the eye exam itself.