Voorthuis Opticians

I meant to post this in January 2016, but I haven’t forgotten the wonderful customer service I received by the Voothuis staff. I was visiting my fraternity brother for the New Year’s holidays when my prescription glasses broke. To make matters worse I had no contacts with me. We stopped by this office to see if they could help with the frames, but the damage was a little too extensive. Seeing how I was visiting from Indiana there was no way I was going to navigate D.C. visually impaired. Dr. Mazia gave me a trial pair of contacts to hold me over until I flew back to Indianapolis. He didn’t ‘g=have to’ but he saw the dire need I had even if I wasn’t an official patient of the store. I told the staff that I would recommend this eyewear store to my D.C. area friends/​family since I cannot personally patronize from the Midwest. But compassion goes a long way and I am thankful for Voorthuis Opticians for being great health practitioners.

Paul, the main manager at this shop, is beyond competent. Perfectionist is more like it. He knows what he’s doing and he’s no nonsense. Just go there and seek his advice. I’ve been coming here for years and am always happy with the service.

I managed to step on my Maui Jim sunglasses and bend them pretty badly, so I stopped by Voorthuis to ask about a repair. A gentleman offered to help, and a few minutes later they were fixed like new. When I asked how much I owed, he said there would be no charge! Awesome experience; I would definitely come back — and hopefully be allowed to pay!

Short and sweet — I’ll be back to this store for frame shopping, other services. Why?
I had a routine repair i needed done on a pair of glasses. I had never been in the store before as an exam patient, a browser, a frame buyer — anything. I just walked in and asked the gentleman behind the counter «can these be fixed». (It was a temple piece missing a screw.)
He immediately stopped what he was doing, went to the back, and worked to find the correct, matching screw to fix the frame. «What do I owe you?» He just shakes his head. Nothing?
That’s right — nothing. A pair of glasses they didn’t even sell me, they were glad to rapidly and competently repair, at zero cost.
That’s customer service.
Nice work, guys.

I can’t say enough wonderful things about this place, especially Paul’s service. I have a very petite face and never wear glasses because I can’t find any that fit! Paul was patient and kind and found all the petite frames and the shop. I ended up getting a really unique pair of slightly cat eyes, matte, tortoise shell colored glasses which I adore. Even more, he was very patient with explaining insurance discounts and even helping me with some insurance issues ex-​post. Everyone in the whole store was very friendly and helped me choose. The experience at Voorhuis was so overwhelmingly positive, where as all the other eye glass stores on the block didn’t even acknowledge my presence or help me when I walked in! I plan on making this my glasses go-​to place from here on out. I highly recommend it.

For the longest time, I had been poking my nose in this place to get my sunglasses often re-​adjusted. I never bought them from this place, but of the constant times I have klutzed out, sitting, bonking, dropping them… my frames always needed adjusting.
Every time I came here, they never blinked and were also very cordial in helping my glasses fit. So when it came to for a new pair. I decided this place should get an opportunity to get my business.
I do not need prescriptions first off, (I have Heterochromia iridum) but I am seriously sensitive to sunlight and really need sunglasses. So with that out of the way, I went to many places in the area and Voorthuis had by far the best selection for men’s sunglasses. The guy who worked with me was supper polite, very cordial, not the slightest bit pushy. He even let me walk outside the store with them on to try out before buying.
In the end, walked out with a great pair of Serengeti’s. Some items here are expensive but they are great quality. Glad I gave these guys a shot, I would recommend them to anyone without hesitation. Excellent customer service and great selection.

I have a beautiful pair of Persol sunglasses (plastic) that had gotten slightly bent from wear, to the extent that I had mostly stopped wearing them because they started feeling like they wouldn’t stay on, especially in the DC summer heat (read: sweat = nosebridge lubricant).
I headed to Voorthuis around lunch and was greeted by Schuyler, who went to work on my glasses immediately while simultaneously discussing the ins and outs of sunglass construction, various brands, and their store’s business model (it’s independently owned), among other pleasantries. She heated the plastic and reformed ever them slightly to fit my face/​head/​nose/​ears.
Glasses look and feel great now. I will go to Voorthuis for any and all optical needs from now on.

Usually I don’t bother to take the time to write reviews when I have a bad experience, however I felt the horrendous service I received from this company warranted it.
When I called to request a prescription, the man who answered the phone was rude right off the bat for no reason at all. He continued to speak over me the whole time, even when I was just politely asking him a question. Finally, he told me he would read the prescription over the phone. I asked him if he could fax it to me, to which he replied in a very loud, sarcastic tone «Oh so you can’t read prescriptions?» I tried to explain that actually I can read, I would just like a copy. However he would not let me speak and said «Oh so you can’t read a prescription. Well I’m going to read it to you and YOU’RE GONNA LEARN».
Wow. I have never had someone I don’t even know speak to me in such a condescending manner. I had to immediately get off the phone with him because I didn’t feel that I deserved to be yelled at. I don’t know what I did to be spoken to like that. Perhaps he was having a really bad day and took it out on me. Maybe his wife left him. Maybe he’s sad because no one will ever love him because he’s such a raging asshole. At any rate, I have dealt with a lot of very poor customer service before but this is the first one I have ever felt compelled to write about.
If you want to be yelled at and made to feel like shit for absolutely no reason, I would definitely recommend Dr. Mazia and Voorthuis Opticians.

This place is fantastic! Paul and Brian are excellent – very knowledgable and personable! It is always a pleasure chatting with them. Paul set me up with beautiful Martin and Martin glasses – absolutely love them! Great for my face shape and he was able to tweak them a bit to sit better on my nose.
Went back today for help with sunglasses – offered very reasonable pricing for lenses and even remembered my name from 6 months ago! I will definitely be coming back here again and can highly recommend to all!

There are another 20 opticians with 2 blocks of Voorthuis. Don’t bother with this one. I had excellent customer service with one staff member and awful service with another. It looks like you can get the same frames elsewhere in the neighborhood for less money.

Best optician I’ve ever found — awesome customer service! Really appreciate their advice in helping me pick out the perfect frames! They have a terrific selection, and my 3 favorite pairs of glasses are from here.

I have been a customer of Voorthuis for about 10 years. It took one purchase for me to understand why I pay a tad more for their frames than I would at another shop. Their service is superb, and their taste is well beyond what you would expect from a mere optical store.
To those who complain that their offerings are encased — the frames they carry can be terribly expensive and, at least at the Connecticut Avenue store, because of the store layout, it would be a snap to walk in, snatch a pair, and walk out. I think that keeping the cases closed is a sound business decision.
I highly recommend Voorthuis.

I am not thrilled with the customer service and every experience with them makes me less and less inclined to do repeat business with them. Every phone call was answered by a brusque irritated man. When I got my glasses and noticed a scratch in it, the man behind the desk acted as if I was causing him a great inconvenience and treated me as if I was crazy for even suggesting that their lenses have a scratch! I should not have to go through such an unpleasant experience when I paid nearly $ 300 per lens. (I paid nearly $ 750 for the frames and lenses, and I’m treated like this?!) I’m the one paying them, yet they treat me as if I’m a nuisance. Not a way to bring back customers!
The man who fit my glasses just let me browse and did not really help me find lenses that fit my face shape. He was more into selling the products and of course steered me to the most expensive section. If I’m going to invest over $ 300 for a pair of frames, I want them to look good on my face. Only an expert can be able to tell me whether they fit my face. I did not receive this type of service.
The doctor seemed to know what he was doing, but seemed rushed and didn’t really thoroughly test my close-​up vision. Other doctors really took the time to test both my close-​up and distance vision. Not him. Again, I felt as if I was an inconvenience both times I’ve seen him. He also did not test for glaucoma, despite the fact that I wrote down on my med sheet that my father went blind from that disease.
Since they don’t accept insurance (another major drawback!) I think I won’t be going back. I’ve already sunk way too much money for experience and quality that I can get elsewhere.

Amazing customer service– best optometrist I’ve been too. Great at fitting for contacts and they have a wonderful selection of glasses.
Better service than LensCrafters and better deal too.

BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!
they clean your glasses for free whenever!!! and no i dont mean wipe the lenses… i mean pop the lenses out soak them and clean any inside fluff in the frame… pop the lenses back in and sit you down to refit them to your face… ALL FOR FREE… whenever and wherever?
who else does that?
awesome selection of stylish glasses… expensive but hey its glasses… the extra money is worth it to not look like a douchie steve urkel

Great selection of interesting frames! They carry higher end frames, so it’s a bit pricey. Paul helped me with my frames — he definitely knows how to pick good frames for your face shape, and he does a great job fitting them. He even spent time adjusting my existing frames (that I got elsewhere).

I know this sounds like an exaggeration, but I mean this quite literally: I have never ever gotten this level of care and service from anybody. I say this because they got many, many small details exactly right — but also got every single part and stage of the process perfect as well. Several extraordinary things happened:
1. PAUL AND VOORTHUIS WERE RECOMMENDED BY A COMPETITOR when I was desperately seeking a very specific need (I needed sunglasses that protected my eye from airflow — post-​surgery paralysis on right side made it impossible to blink — a condition called «dry eye syndrome») before a long drive coming up in two weeks.
2. PAUL HELPED ME GET EXACTLY THE RIGHT FRAMES — they were a specialty item that molded to the contours of one’s face and only available from a specific manufacturer with some hoops to jump through (they are usually only sold to active duty desert soldiers). He told me the proper and most expedient way to do that. This was extremely valuable and made my trip possible.
3. PAUL GAVE ME REALLY GOOD ADVICE ON LENSES — he took time to explain options and gave me a simple and direct recommendation, while making it clear he would do a good job with whatever I thought was best (different tints, bi-​focal, progressive, all that). He listened to me regarding where my head was on price vs quality, effects on vision, and personal tastes. Hard to express how patient and pleasant he was.
4. PAUL CRAFTED AWESOMELY HIGH QUALITY LENSES and put them in the frames. I have never seen better craftsmanship; the lenses and frames are as solid as if they had been built out of the same piece of material. The prescription lenses are the best I’ve ever looked at the world through. There’s good, there’s great… but seriously; this was WOW. This guy is a master of the craft.
5. PAUL ALWAYS FOLLOWED THROUGH. I was on a ridiculously tight time frame from when the doctor told me I should protect my eyes until I took off for a 3000 mile driving week for work. He didn’t know me from Adam when I called, yet he treated me better than most would treat lifetime customers. I never had to call him, I never had to worry about the status. Paul followed up at every step and actually delivered a few days ahead of (again, the ridiculously short time frame) when he promised they’d be done.
In addition, I have to say that every single person I interacted with at Voorthuis (Connecticut and L St) in person or on phone was nice — pleasant, personable, and professional. It really was noticeable and made a difference.
I’m a Washington DC native and I have gone to the same (not Voorthuis) opticians for years and years without complaints. But I will go ONLY TO VOORTHUIS in the future. This isn’t «absence of negatives» this is «remarkable level of positives».
I’m back from my trip and the new frames and lenses were as comfortable on the first wearing as glasses usually feel after months or years. Thanks, Voorthuis! Thanks PAUL! You rock.

Awesome service from Paul on so many levels — understood exactly my price range, my comfort level, etc… while also being a nice guy to talk with. Also helped fix my fiancée’s broken glasses.
Strong recommendation.

very conveniently located quality eyecare — at a price. four stars in my book.
i was in the u.s. just for a few days and wanted to get glasses made on the quick. i came to voorthuis and was not disappointed. i came in and was immediately approached by one of the staff — a very friendly and helpful guy who quickly sussed out pretty much exactly what i was looking for in frames (in spite of the fact that i had literally NO FLIPPIN CLUE what i wanted). seriously — in approximately five minutes i went from «gee, i don’t know. what do you think i should buy?» to «omg these are like THE BEST FRAMES EVER CONSTRUCTED IN THE HISTORY OF EYECARE.»
so after i got the frames he checked the doctor’s schedule, but there weren’t any openings for the remainder of the day. the soonest he could get me in was the next morning, and i had a flight two days after that. i explained all of this to him and he said don’t worry, we’ll get you in tomorrow and we’ll rush the glasses (no extra charge) so you’re sure to have them at least 24 hours before your flight. i said ok let’s do it.
the next day i came back and had the exam with a very nice and knowledgeable doctor. great «bedside» manner, yet quick to get me in and out.
sure enough, the next morning i had a voice mail — «your glasses are ready to be picked up.» so that afternoon i went by, got the glasses (which were perfect), and went on my merry way.
to alison r.‘s point, i have to admit that the place DOES seem a little snooty. and all of their frames are under lock and key, so it’s not like lenscrafters where you can just walk in and paw everything you want (save for the staff — that’s a felony, Unilocalers!). so in that sense, yep, she’s right. and there are no prices on anything, which is generally a sign that the place is on the expen$ive side. and my glasses were definitley more expensive than i’ve ever paid before.
all of that said though, i am completely pleased with voorthuis. their customer service was very respectful and helpful, they were sensitive to a specific need (time sensitivity), and my glasses look AWESOME and allow me to see stuff again! four stars.

The short of it: In short, I went from a grumpy, far-​sighted witch to a sunny kate spade-​wearing art critic in the span of three days. It’s pricey, but you certainly get what you pay for.
the back story: The back story: I went into this place on Sat. afternoon, Jan. 31, 2010. I had learned weeks ago that I was far-​sighted (who knew?). I needed some glasses fast because I was going to opening night of Alvin Ailey at the Kennedy Center and had waited until the last minute to get my prescription filled. Shame on me.
I tried on about 45 pairs of frames – Chanel, Kate Spade, more designers, and some unknowns. I hadn’t thought to look up my insurance, so the rep whose name escapes me this moment did it for me. He called my insurer and got them to fax the details of my plan, which included a 30% discount on some frames.
The insurance part took all of 5 minutes. He endure my shopping, suggesting frames but not pressuring me to buy. I settled on a pair of black semi-​rimless Kate Spade Mazie frames priced at $ 284. (I wanted the Chanel 3155H frames, but those were more than $ 500 alone. You can get them online for $ 400. They’re still too much for me. Afterall, this is a recession.)
My frames arrived the night of the show. It’s a good thing I called because no one called me. However, they kept the door open for me after they had closed, fitted my glasses with no rush, and sent me on my merry way to Ailey.
I’ve seen Ailey a handful of times, I saw «Revelations» and «Suite Otis» that night with more clarity than ever.