Carmel Mountain Vision Care

I’ve been coming here for a few years. The past few visits have been extremely unpleasant and I will be permanently switching to a new optometry after this last visit that left me disappointed and incredibly unhappy. My dad has had a horrible experience here as well and switched long before me.
I came to my appointment early so I can check out some glasses given that I’m indecisive. I went straight to Ray Bans because they’re all I ever want. One of the ladies helped me as I couldn’t reach a pair. I told her exactly what I was looking for: I wanted Ray Bans that are round or a chunky square shape. Next thing you know, I’m called up for my initial eye check up with one of the techs. The eye tech was incredibly sweet. I sat back out in the waiting room until the doctor called me up. I declined to the opto map test which is an extra $ 30. Why would I pay for that when there’s a copay and an exam fee in it of itself?! I’ve only gone to Doctor Cook and you can tell he gets annoyed when you don’t do the opto map because he voices it in a passive aggressive manner every time. Other than that, he’s nice and very personable – he makes an effort to get to know you. However, he goes through the exam extremely quickly. His manner makes me feel rushed nervous, where there have been times that I had to come back since it was the wrong prescription and I felt nauseous from it.
Anyway back to the customer service ladies presenting you with glasses. One lady brought out a tray of glasses: «all of the ones I was looking at and my type.» They were all high end brands and not the specific Ray Ban brand I had let her know I wanted. It was a nice gesture but it seems like many of them just try to get you to purchase the high end brands. A lot of the glasses in the tray definitely did not fit my face well and weren’t my type at all.
The new lady that was working with me settled down in our station and I let her know that I wanted a pair of Ray Ban’s my mom ordered in the past, and asked if she could look up which pair my mom bought in her most recent visit. She wasn’t too pleased to hear that I wanted to order a pair of glasses, and looked annoyed that I wanted to see what the website they shopped on had. She aggressively asked why I didn’t try any on in the tray, and that’s because I tried on all of the ones I wanted from it and didn’t touch the ones I knew didn’t fit my face. After posing that question, she responded with «Ok sounds like you know what you want so go for it» very rudely. After that statement, she proceeded to talk about me to one of her coworkers. The front desk ladies that check you in and bill you are rude as well. I simply asked to see my receipt so she called over the lady helping me and told her «sorry it’s her she wanted you» even though I didn’t ask for her I simply asked what I was paying for. The office is very small and it’s very disappointing that they talk about you basically in front of your face. The lady helping me spoke with several of the other staff members about me and I was in disbelief. I won’t be back.

Earl is taking care of my daughter Bianca, he is not only a warm, friendly and caring guy, he is also excellent in what he does. He prescribe CRT for my daughters vision and he was spot on!!!

Dr. Reeder and his staff are great. They take good care of you and are very helpful if you need any kind of adjustments for your glasses. I have noticed however, that the wait times have gotten progressively worse the last few years. Also, the cost of my glasses have gone through the roof especially the last year when I was quoted over $ 600 for a pair. The downgrade is for the wait times and cost.

I have had the pleasure of seeing Dr Kevin Reeder for several years. I am always impressed by the level of professionalism of Dr Reeder and his entire staff. From scheduling to checkout, the care is always excellent. Dr Reeder is amazing. His exam is thorough and he takes the time to listen to and answer all questions you may have. He is a great optometrist, but also a great person. I highly recommend him!

This place is a major rip off. A simple pair of single vision glasses with an average frame, cost us over $ 600 so we had to pay over $ 100 out of pocket since our insurance pays $ 500.
Even if you feel you have to have your eye exam done at this place, don’t buy your glasses from them. Just pick up your prescription and go some place else such as Costco to buy your glasses. You can easily get 2 pair of glasses with insurance coverage, elsewhere.
Also be careful about how they charge you for routine eye exams. They Pile on unnecessary charges and gimmicks. In summary, these people are supper greedy and will rob you blind.

Well Meaning but NOT HELPFUL!
I went to Carmel Mountain Vision Care and was told they could create bi-​focal contact lenses. They tried but the lenses didn’t work. I went back to get re-​fitted. Disaster! This set was worse than the first. When I asked for a refund, they demanded I come back in for ANOTHER fitting when clearly two had not worked.
I travel extensively for business and after being unable to find a calendar time that would work, i was told they had no other solution. Staff made no additional attempts to schedule the follow up to get this resolved.
When I tried to return the lenses, they refused saying they has a return policy that was not met. Huh? You sold me lenses for over $ 400 that I can’t wear and there is a return policy?
The office staff is particularly surly, acting as if their job is to protect the precious doctors time not solve customer issues.
Find another provider if you want anything other than a basic eye exam.
NOTE: Notice the positive reviewers for this provider only have 1 or 2 reviews but those with a critical reviews have reviewed dozens of businesses, this may be an indicator that the positive reviews are planted or solicited from overtly friendly supporters.

Our family has been coming to CMVC for almost 6 years now. Dr. Sandler is fantastic — great for adults and kids. Vivian is our go-​to gal for helping us choose our frames and ensure that we are fitted properly. She takes care of us every single time. All of the staff here are truly professional and thorough. This office offers the latest technology and services which is important to me with a family history of Macular Degeneration. The «extra exam» that another reviewer mentioned is offered to everyone but it IS optional and in my case with family history of serious eye diseases, very much necessary and I appreciate that it is available to me at CMVC. CMVC works with our insurance to get us the best prices on our very expensive lenses (progressives and progressive transitions in the case of my daughter). When my additional lenses (spare pair) are not covered by my insurance they offer me a nice discount and their prices are no more than any other quality vision care professional. If you want cheap, go to shopping center vision places. If you want quality, first-​rate health care for your eyes, a perfect fit and excellent follow-​up care then feel confident that CMVC will be the best choice.

Nice place, nice people, ridiculous charges. I’m all for health and taking care of your body, but don’t tell me I absolutely need an extra $ 30 examination and then when I do the exam, you look at the results for 5 seconds, tell me all looks good, then proceed to show me a video I could have looked up on YouTube to give me my diagnosis. Total waste — don’t go here unless you want to get ripped off.

been with Dr. Reeder over 12 years, highly recommend him.

This was my first visit to the office. I went on a Saturday. The staff and Dr. Bytomski were very friendly. The consultant that helps pick out glasses was great. She was honest and very helpful at assisting me with picking out the best glasses for my face. The office was state of the art and clean and first class.

Dr. Cook is the best eye doctor I’ve run across. Takes all the time that you want him to and never seems rushed. Very thorough exam and excellent consultation. Even had a nice discussion on SpaceX. Suggested trifocals as a solution to my bifocal problems and listened intently to all my moaning about old age and CSS concerns.

One of the front desk ladies that signs you in is forgetful and unapologetic. Had a great experience during my check up but when I came back for a pick up, she ruined my overall visit, sorry but I kind of made a scene, but that’s how bad I felt I was treated. When I came up to her to check in for my pick up she didn’t seem to care and I saw her write my name down on an empty space of her doodle paper. After 4 people who have checked in after me went before me and 1hr passed with me waiting as calm as I can, I had to get up, I went to her and said what just happened and she asked me what my name was and I said look at the paper she wrote it on but couldn’t answer back so she just got someone to help me asap and didn’t apologize for the inconvenience, my whole good first time experience here out the window. I may not be anyone important, just another customer, but I hope she gets an in-​service on good customer service

Dr. Reeder and his staff are fantastic. I’ve been going there for over 10 years and always had consistent, quality service. I love their extended hours and they are even open ½ day on Saturday. I highly recommend Carmel Mountain Vision Care.

I’ve been going to Carmel Mountain Vision Care for 25 years. I’ve gotten soft contacts, hard contacts, distance, computer and sunglasses, and even Lasik/​PRK surgery. Over the years I’ve been seen by Drs Reeder, Chou and Cook and they all have been wonderful. Recently I went in for my check up and was seen by Dr. Cook. He is thoughtful, thorough, and has a wonderful calmness to his voice which, after a long day at work, I appreciate. The staff are helpful, friendly and attentive. I also like that they have state of the art equipment, take various tests and can provide me a comprehensive status of my eyes health. I recommend them HIGHLY!

Great attention to my vision needs and excellent customer service! Beautiful selection of frames and high quality state of the art equipment.

Dr. Reeder is the best. I have been his patient since I was in high school. Pretty sure he was fresh out of optometry school He is very informative. I’m not a normal patient. I ask a lot of questions and he takes the time to explain and answer my questions. He explains my options and is honest about what types of outcomes that can be achieved with each of the options. I never feel rushed through the exam or my questions. I love the selection of glasses and the ladies are very helpful in helping decide which style looks best for the shape of my face. The explain what my insurance covers and what my total cost would be for each frame I am debating on. Last year I had the lenses replaced in my current frames. I got the anti-​scratch coating (highly recommend) and Lo and behold I got a scratch right in the middle of one of the lenses. The scratch was like having someone’s finger pointing at your eye constantly. Not good. I wasn’t in the San Diego and wasn’t going to be for an extended period of time. I called the office. They made a new lens and mailed it to my location in a few short days. They went above and beyond to get me the new lens. I would also like to say if you are debating whether to get the anti-​reflective coating. Do it. I didn’t one time because I didn’t want to spend the money and didn’t think it made a big difference. Boy was I wrong. Get the anti-​scratch and anti-​reflective coatings. You won’t regret it.
I highly recommend Dr. Reeder and the staff at Carmel Mountain Vision Care!!!

My husband and I had exams and ordered new glasses. We both had a great experience and would highly recommend Carmel Mtn. Vision Care. Excellent customer service.

I’m brand new to San Diego and I was referred by a coworker. I was very pleased with everyone there, they were very friendly and explained everything they were doing in detail. Great exoerience!

Great experience, staff friendly and very helpful picking out glasses! Very comfortable and never felt rushed!

So frustrated. We’ve all been going here for 15+ years. Got an appointment? Plan on waiting 20−25+ minutes (usual) to be seen once you arrive (on-​time) for your appointment. And don’t think you’re going to get out for less than $ 700 (even if you tell them you’re on a tight budget and need to purchase a new, basic pair of lower-​end glasses). I don’t even want to know what the designer brands would cost.
Oh, and today? We sent our son in to get his annual eye exam before he leaves for college this week (remember we’ve been coming here 15+ years) and they couldn’t bill us (even tho they’ve successfully collected $ 1000s over the years from us without incident); they needed him to give them his debit card (he turned 18 a month ago) so he could pay using his birthday money (in full) before leaving. This after he made a call to his Dad in front of them asking him what he should do… apparently they don’t know us here.