Pearle Vision

What a great staff of knowledgeable people. their prices are super reasonable and the exam I got from dr. Alex was caring and not rushed. I guess I got a 5 star pearle experience.

Dr Alex, cares about his patients, family & friends. He goes the extra mile or miles if need be. He is a human being… and I mean that in the highest sense.

I’ve been going to Dr. Alex and his team at Pearle Vision since 2008 and they’ve always been an absolute pleasure to work with. I moved from the Somerville area to South Boston and still continue to drive out to Somerville because my experience with them has been so good. I know it’s not far, but the traffic from Southie through Cambridge can be torture, so that alone should tell everyone how great they are over there! I highly recommend Dr. Alex and his team!
–Neil G.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from a corporate chain, but my experience at Pearle Vision was amazing. Dr. Alex was friendly and personable, and his staff were professional and knowledgeable. My new glasses were ready an hour after my appointment and I’m so grateful to finally have a prescription that works for me.

Dr. Alex is great! I don’t understand why there are so many negative reviews– I have always found him to be pleasant to work with and his opinions over the years about everything from glasses to contacts to, most recently, an explanation about a hormone-​based illness I experienced recently and the impact that it had on my vision. He is both very experienced and intelligent. I will never go to another eye doctor. Dr. Alex is tops, and the other women who work there are also really, really sweet and attentive.

Dr. Alex is AMAZING! I saw him for many years while I lived in Cambridge (now I’m in California, wishing I could find an equally great eye doctor). He’s very friendly, and really takes the time to give you a thorough exam. I really appreciated that he took the time to explain the science behind my eye issues (I struggled with dry eye syndrome and have an astigmatism in one of my eyes). After my appointments, I always understood exactly what was going on with my eyes. He worked with me to find the best remedies for my eye issues as well. We tried a variety of remedies until we came upon the best one for me. He always followed up to check in on my status as well. My visits with him were always educational, and you know he cares about your well being. I loved being his patient, and I wish I could continue to do so!
Thanks Dr. Alex, you’re missed in California!

Wish i could give 0 stars. I have a high rx and decided to splurge on a nice designer frame with all the bells and whistles. After having my lenses remade 4 times they still are wrong. I finally went to another eye glass place and they couldn’t believe how poorly made me lenses were and how off they are. Every time I went back to pearle vision they made me so uncomfortable and made me feel like i was wrong. Even made me get a 2^nd exam because of course my eyes must have changed over the 2 months we spent trying to get the lenses right. So now after all this time im left with eye glasses that i cant wear without getting a headache and im out over 700 $. I will note dr alex is great. Hes the only reason worth going there.

Great experience getting an eye exam here. In and out in fifteen minutes. My prescription didn’t change and I appreciated that Dr. Alex didn’t push getting a new pair of glasses. I definitely had never been congratulated on the results of an eye exam before.

All of the people who work here are great to interact with (this is a professional and friendly location). Dr. Alex is amazing (knowledgeable and kind). I am more than satisfied with the service, the script, the glasses & contacts I have received from here. As many others have stated, people here are friendly and everyone appears to genuinely want customers to get the best service. After shopping around Boston and Cambridge for good vision care for over ten years it was great to find someone I can stay with.

I have to say, I’m a fan. Dr. Alex is amazing — very humane, interested, knowledgeable, and somehow I’ve visited him a million times and only once paid a co-​pay, and I’m on pretty bad insurance.
I gave only 4 stars because he refers to the other staff as «the girls,» and there’s somehow a throwback 50’s feel to it all, like he’s the king rooster surrounded by his hens. Also, he gets a bit obnoxious and lecture-​y about buying glasses online. It makes sense that he’s not a fan of buying glasses online, since it takes business from his store, but it’s also the case that the cheapest glasses in his store are $ 140 (WITHOUT lenses), whereas I bought a pair of glasses online (with lenses) for $ 35. I guess I just have little patience for being lectured at to spend hundreds of dollars on glasses by someone who probably makes 4x my income.
But again, those are actually smaller gripes in the big picture. He’s overall marvelous.

I just joined Unilocal,specifically to warn people about this eye dr. and office. Do NOT NOT NOT schedule an appointment here or at another chain optometrist. Take the time to find a local /​private practice, your eyes are too important to schedule something out of convenience. The long and short… I needed an updated prescription to get contacts, and went to Dr. Alex. He did an eye exam and sent me on my way. After the appointment I saw worse, much worse, and we to Bay State Eyes in Waltham.
At the new eye Dr. I was told that 1) Dr. Alex gave me the complete wrong prescription, in both eyes. 2) The contacts I have (Air Optix) have multiple law suits against them and they are in questioning by the CDC 3) I have blood vessels growing into my cornea 4) I have a very serious infection under my eyes lids… that any eye dr. should have seen immediately 5) If i kept wearing those contacts i could lose my vision 6) Dr. Alex told me that my astigmatism was caused from contacts and will clear up, which isn’t the case.
Dont get me wrong, he’s a super nice guy but PLEASE take the time to go to a private practice and do not go to Pearl Vision or any other chain.

I been going here for about 3 years now to see Dr. Alex. I believe Dr. Alex is doing a good job taking care of his patients, but… for some reason I always feels that I’m over paying at the place for my eye exam. It seems like my insurance doesn’t cover anything. It cost me less to get a physical from my doctor than an eye exam.
One advice from me is to KNOW and UNDERSTAND what your vision insurance is covering and telling you. MAKE SURE to read the insurance coverage print out that they have on hand for you. On my insurance, I have an allowance of $ 105 to use on contacts, glasses, or lens. My insurance also states that if I forgo my $ 105 allowance, I can have $ 60 to use towards my contact len exam. I asked the sale person about the $ 60 option and she told me that I received a discount already and encourage me to use the $ 105 allowance towards contact. The contact lens (toric) cost $ 100 per box. I really don’t believe what the sale person is telling me. I rather use the $ 60 towards my contact exam and buy my contacts online for half the price that they are offering.
The sale person maybe getting some kind of commission for selling contact lens.

I started seeing Dr. Alex 7 years ago because it was a bicycle ride from my apartment in Inman Square. Since then I’ve moved over to Jamaica Plain but I still come back to see Dr. Alex for my annual check up.
Why would I subject myself to the agony of Somerville traffic for an eye exam you wonder? Because Dr. Alex rocks. Not only has he given me top notch care year after year, but the guy remembers me and cares about more than just my eyes. In one visit a year Dr. Alex knows, and cares to ask more about me than most people I see every day. He’s a true neighborhood doctor and I love being his patient.
Also, the staff is great, the prices are fair, and there’s plenty of parking.
Thanks Dr. Alex!!!
PS– I now live in Los Angeles, but I still fly back to Boston so Dr. Alex can take care of my eyes. I thought I would have the honor of being his most distant patient but as it turns out he’s got patients who come from overseas!

I moved to MA after college, and when I needed a new eye doctor, came to Pearle Vision on merit of its positive Unilocal reviews.
The good: Nice selection of frames with decent discounts, a patient and professional staff, and Dr. Alex was a pleasure to work with.
The bad: After 5 follow up visits and almost 2 months of headaches and nervous driving (and being repeatedly told I just needed to get used to my new, lowered Rx), I got fed up and wound up paying the full price for another exam at my usual Lenscrafters when I was home for the holidays. It turned out that only the Rx in my right eye was correct, and my astigmatism was off by roughly 10 degrees in both eyes. I got my glasses corrected and bought new contacts at Lenscrafters, and haven’t had a headache since.
Edit: Removed part of the earlier review after clarification regarding the extra charge.

Stopped in at Pearle Vision after my current frames gave up the ghost and finally fell apart. Was expecting to have to get new frames and lenses, and hopefully not wait too long for them to be completed (Monday — had to get back to work). Instead, they were able to find a frame that was the same shape as my previous ones, and were able to simply transfer the lenses into the new frames. Insurance covered the majority of the cost of the new frames, and i left after about 15 minutes — vision restored!
What started out as a very frustrating day was turned around thanks to the friendly folks at Pearle.

This was the best optometry appointment I’ve ever had. I left with a much better understanding of what the issues are with my vision, and — most importantly, why I need to wear my glasses. Dr. Alex was incredibly thorough, helpful, and spent as much time with my questions as needed. Can’t rate them highly enough!

I’d really like to give Pearle Vision a 3.5.
I went here for the first time about five years ago for an eye exam and to get new prescriptions for glasses and contacts. I recently ran out of contacts, so I was forced to get another eye exam. Dr. Alex was beyond horrified that it took me so long to run through a one year supply of contact lenses. He (rightfully so) chided me for being a little irresponsible with my (very precious) eyes. Needless to say, I am now going to be wear dailies so I don’t have to worry about anything, and I will be less likely to inadvertently blind myself. Excellent.
I’ve been to Pearle Vision twice in the last couple of weeks (exam and then a follow up/​pupil dilation) and I’ve had a mostly positive experience. I really like Dr. Alex, and the other employees were all very friendly and knowledgeable. After my pupils were dilated, one saw me struggling to read a text message from a friend who was picking me up and asked if she could help. It’s the little things, like taking care of a semi-​blind person, that get the stars, ya know?
I did not purchase my glasses here, but they have a decent selection. I can’t vouch for price, but they seem to have a good variety of brands. They will price match for contact lenses, so don’t forget to ask. They would have sold me a box of 90 daily-​wear contacts for 85 dollars if I hadn’t asked them to match the price on 1800 contacts (which was 50 dollars for 90!).
The only thing I really didn’t like about Pearle Vision was that I kept feeling as though I was getting the hard sell. I understand that they wanted me to purchase everything there, but I felt as though it was continuously mentioned. There’s also a machine that will take a picture of your eye so that you don’t have to get your pupils dilated, but it’s not covered by insurance and it’s an extra 30 dollars. That’s some drinkin’ money, and since I’d just spent 100 dollars on a contact lens and vision exam, I chose to go the old fashioned way of blinding myself for four hours for free.
All in all, a pretty standard place for your vision needs.

Yesterday I went to this Pearl Vision location and had an Optomap eye exam (this is the exam you can do in place of having your eyes dilated) and I never thought I’d say this about an eye exam, but it was such a pleasant experience! The eye doctor was very professional and personable, did the exam quickly and then explained the images to me afterwards. Very cool!

I don’t write reviews very often but I had to take the time out to write this one! This was by far the best customer service I have ever received. My glasses had broken right in half so naturally I was a mess to begin with and the manager and staff at Pearl Vision we unbelievably accommodating. I had issues with my insurance that they fixed up, I was stressed so they helped me find the perfect pair of glasses, they gave me a discount on my new pair and even more then that because they knew I had a presentation that day at 2pm they had my glasses ready and waiting for me at 1pm (note I went in at 10:40am that day)
I have never met such nice people that were so willing to help a customer. I HIGHLY recommend this place and would go back here anytime.

This place is really handy to have around the corner from my house! I called here after finding the Unilocal reviews and looked them up and saw they would take my Harvard Pilgrim insurance for my annual eye exam. They do offer a discount on glasses there (I think it’s 30%) as my insurance doesn’t cover the glasses.
I made my appointment on Tuesday for Saturday morning. I was happy they were able to fit me in so quick! I got there a little early, did my paperwork, and Dr. Alex had me come back for my exam. The exam itself was really a five star process and Dr. Alex was very food about explaining what he was doing which is always good. Dr. Alex was also very patient with me because with on particular test I have always pulled my head back, even at other offices, but he talked me through it so I didn’t pull back.
The exam took maybe twenty minutes so I was in and out relatively quickly. I paid my co-​pay at the desk and then got taken out to the glasses for me to check out various glasses. I was really just looking as I wanted to order some new glasses online and that I just wanted to get a sense of the different shapes and styles. The sales person was helpful in showing me around and explaining the reasons why ordering online may not be a good idea. I took it with a grain of salt and did my homework, and it ended up being fine ordering online and I got three pairs for cheap with a high level of quality.
I’d definitely suggest Pearle Vision for anyone who needs an eye exam. They do seem to take a variety of insurances, and the out of pocket rate isn’t even that terrible at $ 135.