Mann Eye Institute

4.7

11733 reviews

10448

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Star R. Via Yelp - North Austin Location

10 years ago

I'm asking myself how difficult can it be to provide good customer service during an eye exam? Well apparently it is pretty darn difficult if you are part of the MEI crew. After completing a 4 page health history I was told that I may have additional fees if the doctor filed my claim as a medical rather than eye exam. Why would someone bill my eye exam under medical if I'm only there for an updated eyeglass prescription? I was escorted to the back by Connie, (who conducted 98% of my exam). She explained that they do no use "the puff" during their exams. My response, oh the puff to test for glaucoma? No response. So you don't test for glaucoma? (Obviously irritated, she responded) We do test for it, we just don't use the puff. Oh, so what do you use? No response. Period. Am I the only one who finds this outrageously rude? Next I'm brought into another room. Connie asked if I would like an exam for contacts as well. I say, I may be interested it depends on the additional costs. No response. No let me look into it for you or I'll have the receptionist check, NOTHING. Next she puts drops in my eyes and states they are numbing drops. I'm thinking why am I getting numbing drops when I'm just here for an updated prescription for glasses?! I asked Connie why she had placed numbing drops in my eyes and she reluctantly explained for the glaucoma test. OK , so you don't use a puff to test for glaucoma because according to you it is outdated, but now the procedure you use is so invasive it requires numbing drops? O.K. go AHEAD. She later adds the numbing drops were also to reduce the pain from having my eyes dilated. So now I'm getting my eyes dilated?! I ask how long the dilation would last and was told up to 6 hours, well I had not planned to have my vision disturbed for 6 hours so I declined, except the numbing drops were already in my eyes so too bad for me. Finally the doctor arrived and spent all of 3 minutes with me. During my 3 minute session with the doctor, the receptionist burst into the room stating the insurance card I gave her was invalid and that I did not have insurance. I explained to her that I did in fact have insurance and offered to call the company to verify. She says, "No, no someone is already looking into it, I just wanted to give you a heads up." You just wanted to give me a heads up on what?! That you don't know what you're doing? After, the exam ordeal I check out at the front desk and now the receptionist is telling me I have insurance, but can't use it because it's been used before. My response: This is my first time using this insurance, I haven't seen any other doctor. Her response: So what doctor DID you see? My response: I just explained to you that I have not seen another doctor, I have not used this insurance card before. At this point I call my insurance company and while on hold the receptionist is able to sort everything out, and informs me all is good and she will take my $10 co-pay. Really. I would not recommend

Meagan R. Via Yelp - Houston Medical Center

10 years ago

I have been going to the same optometrist in College Station since I was 8 years old but since I moved to the Houston area, I had to find a new eye doctor. I chose this office for the location because it is so close to my work. I just needed new glasses since I was fully stocked on contacts. When I first walked in, I couldn't help but notice that the waiting area is very nice - a huge plus! If they take care of their office space, they must also take care of their patients right? After a short wait, I was taken to a room to be examined by a technician. I took out my contacts and she did several quick tests, but without really explaining anything to me and then put several drops in my eyes, again without giving me any explanation of what they were for and what side effects I would feel. I felt uneasy not knowing what was going on and feeling like I was on a conveyor belt and not feeling like a patient. They put me back in the waiting room without my contacts and told me my pupils were dilating and that I would have to wait for the doctor. So now I'm nearly blind. At this point, I am getting irritated because I have never had my pupils dilated and never needed to in the 15 years that I've been getting contacts. I had to go back to work after this appointment and needed to be able to see what I was doing. In a full waiting room, I hear someone call my name but I can't see where they are. The doctor finally had to walk over to me waving so that I could see her. How embarrassing - a young woman (23) blind as a bat because they took my contacts and dilated my pupils. When I finally start talking to the doctor, Dr. Jhaver, she was immediately irritated that I couldn't remember my brand of contacts (even though I'm only here for glasses, which I repeated several times). When I told her that my mom, has always ordered my contacts for me (because she orders hers at the same time), she said that "I was old enough and I needed to grow up sometime". Saying that to someone who lived on her own at 17 and graduated college at 20 is ignorant and very unprofessional. I remained polite and quiet, although several times I noticed her rolling her eyes at me. Maybe she thought I couldn't see her but, at this point, I finally had my contacts back in and could see her, despite my pupils still being dilated. By the end of the appointment, I was so frustrated and I was just ready to look at some frames, which is why I made the appointment in the first place. Unfortunately my pupils were still dilated and I couldn't see my reflection very well. It's a disorienting feeling. And, conveniently enough, I also couldn't see the price tags and had to rely on the "stylist" to "help" me pick out a very pricey pair of glasses that I'm not even sure I liked because I could not see. I considered just paying for the appointment and fighting to get my glasses elsewhere but I'm pretty sure they weren't going to allow me to leave with a prescription since it was a "hard sell" environment. I threw in the towel, forked over my credit card and dreaded that I would have to come back in 2 weeks to pick up the glasses. Walking back to my office was scary, since I was having trouble seeing and I have to go in and out of traffic and cross paths with the train rails. You should be letting your patients know these about these effects BEFORE the appointment or at the very least before you put the drops in. Being in the medical center, I expected top notch patient care. It's very sad that my hole in the wall optometrist in my hometown offered FAR superior care than this high-rise "prestigious" office in the medical center. My other optometrist ALWAYS explained to me what he was doing. He never chastised me and understood any time I had concerns or questions. Next time I need a prescription, I'll make the 2 hour drive back to College Station, meet some old friends, and not feel like I was taken advantage of by a "doctor" who should be helping me, especially if you are going to charge me and arm and a leg for your service.