FYi Doctors

I'm caring for my 82-year-old mom in Ontario. I called ahead to confirm persons over 65 are entitled to a free exam. She needed it to redo her driver's license. I called and no one asked if this visit had been requested by MTO. Long story short, we were caught off guard by a $245 fee for her eye exam. I asked why they didn't ask if this was an MTO request, and warned me of the fee. All I got was a sheepish, "Sorry." I stood my ground and told them, "Next time someone calls for an appointment—ASK if it's an MTO request!" They said it's so rare they never ask. But if it's rare—it still exists. My mom is sick over this. She not a well-off senior, just a regular little old lady trying to survive.

Love my eye doctor, but since it was switched to an FYI organization the service is extremely poor. Booked an appointment and when I arrived they had it booked for the wrong year. My doctor was great and fit me in.but the staff basically shrugged their shoulders and weren't prepared to do anything. My glasses needed to be sent out for new lenses, so I am wearing an old pair. Two weeks have passed and I called to find out if they were back, they had not sent them out yet. Apparently you need to pay up front. I mentioned I had never done this in the past 25 years I have been going there the answer was that it is a new policy. Not sure why I wasn't contacted to let me know they were waiting for payment. I was sent an email with the cost and that was all I had received. Now another 2 weeks with old glasses.

Ok, so most recently, went to get updated prescription in June. Authorization to eye doctor to make glasses recieved but lost July 6. Never contacted me or attempted to re-gain authorization. Just ignored. Had resent 2 months later when I discovered thru my own efforts, never FYI. Lost authorization again! Still no glasses.
Sadly is not the first time. Last set of glasses were of similar difficulty.
Had numerous tests done on eyes regarding neurological issue it turned out. Not that FYI ever shared any information following exams. 2 Years later when I asked, I got the info during different appointment.
FYI Water Street Cambridge has the WORST service possible. Never to return again. Getting too big to do anyone any good. Sold out to large clientele rather than even minimal service.

My ophthalmologist Dr Browne, at FYI on Shaha Lake Rd Penticton, prescribed some eye drops for my glaucoma. After I picked up my prescription I put the drops into my eyes and the next morning suddenly my vision was terrible affected. While driving I could not even see ordinary street signs which I have never had trouble seeing before. I called the FYI office the same day Monday, called again Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday when I also drop into the office, because in all this time no one ever returned my calls to the messages I left. Just a machine answers their phones. When I stopped by, their door was locked yet they were open, I had to knock loudly, they told me that Dr. Browne would not be in the office until the following Tuesday. I said isn’t there another doctor I could talk to? The staff said rudely there was no doctor I could speak to they were all out. I said isn’t one doctor on call? They told me I should call my own doctor or go to the emergency room at the hospital. I said, I just need to speak to an eye doctor who would know what problem I might be facing, like could it be the prescription or has something happened to my eyes. The staff said sorry no doctor until Tuesday. They also promised the doctor would call me Tuesday. The doctor never called Tuesday, or even Wednesday. The worst doctor’s office staff I have ever encountered.

I was referred to fyi years ago from my keratoconus specialist in Calgary so I thought I was actually getting the best. This place left me legally blind for years. I was told by 2 different doctors that I would never be able to wear glasses again and that the only option I had was very expensive gas permeable contacts, which comes with expensive fitting and eye exam as well. I am low income with no insurance so I pay out of pocket so this was always a stress for me. Finally I decided to go to another doctor and was fitted for glasses that day. I went to eye9 on the westside of Edmonton and was literally given the gift of sight that day. I will never recommend the greedy crooks of fyi doctors to anyone ever. What they did to me was unethical I think. They should be ashamed. Here's me with my new glasses an gift of sight.

I and finished with this organization. I'm speaking of their office in New Minas, Nova Scotia.I was prepped for a eye exam, waited 20 minutes for eye drops to set in, when a young lady comes in with her daughter and was prepped after me. I was sitting in the waiting area a good 15 minutes before they returned from their prep exam. I was in the waiting area as I was the next to go in, then the receptionist bypassed me and sent the young lady and her child in. I questioned the receptionist on this and her excuse was I needed 20 minutes for the eye drops to set. I told her its been a half our since the drops were administered. All she could say was "Oh, I'm sorry". Not good enough.What a joke. That was it for me dealing with this outfit! Not only was I annoyed with the high cost of their glasses, even with two insurances covering me, I'm tired of the amateur employees they have representing them. Good bye!

On September 21, 2015 I took my eyeglasses into FYidoctors on Hamilton Street for an adjustment. This is the store from which I purchased my glasses. The optician, [redacted], used a heating device which I understood was required before adjusting the temples. On her third attempt she cracked the temple and said, "Whoops I think I cracked your temple in a couple spots. Yes, I did." Normally, I am in and out the store in 5 minutes when getting my glasses adjusted. Today, [redacted] was distracted and unfocused in the 15 -20 minutes she spent with me.She apologized, then left to go to another area of the store to apply heat shrink tape to prevent the temple from falling apart. No further adjustments were attempted after the glasses were damaged. Two options for repair were discussed. The first option was that [redacted] would find a replacement temple from the supplier in Montreal. The second, which I suggested, was to find another temple that might fit the glasses. She said this would be difficult. [redacted] said to leave it to her to first look for a replacement. If a temple was available, it would arrive within a day or two of the order. When I did not receive a call from FYidoctors after the fourth day, I called the store on September 25 and left a message with the receptionist. [redacted] called me back about two hours later and informed me that all attempts to find a replacement had failed. She gave me two options. The first was to surrender my glasses and she would try to match up a temple to my frame. She said the chances were slim that another temple would work or match. This would only be done when she had spare time. Meaning I could be without my glasses for an indefinite period of time. The second option was to offer me a $75 credit towards the purchase of a new set of glasses. Considering I paid $961, the credit offer is inadequate, when it was the fault of the business, as the left temple was not cracked or damaged prior to the adjustment. [redacted] argued the cause was my glasses were old, and that it underwent a few adjustments; neither which I accepted as valid arguments.P[redacted]Desired SettlementWhen I told [redacted] that I would speak to the owners as the next step, she essentially said I could try but would not succeed beyond her offer. She also said they did not have to compensate me at all for damaging my glasses. My preferred resolution if that the business accept full responsibility and provide me with a refund of $281. This is the price I paid for the eyeglass frames. [redacted]Business Response [redacted] This patient is concerned that we broke his glasses when attempting to adjust them. This can happen any time a pair of glasses is adjusted, even occasionally when working on a brand new pair. Breakage or cracking is much more likely to happen to a pair such as the patient's that is over 3 years old and that has had the temples adjusted on several occasions. The staff member he was working with has over 30 years of experience as an optician in the optical industry. She (along with all of our optical dispensing staff) take pride in their work, both on a technical level and in striving to meet patient needs and address patient concerns. We are a very busy office every day but the optician was not in a particular hurry the day she was assisting this patient. The crack in the temple of his glasses was unfortunate and could have happened at any time. Unfortunately, despite much effort, a replacement pair of temples could not be found. The patient is not satisfied with the compensation that was offered to him, that being a $75 credit to be used towards new glasses. This compensation is not unreasonable given that the frame originally cost $281(his lenses cost $680) and is now over 3 years old. It should be noted that we have always treated this patient very fairly. In September of 2012, when he picked up his new glasses, he took them home then decided he did not like how they looked. We replaced them with a brand new pair of frames and lenses at no cost to him. Also, in October 2014, his lenses were scratched but were no longer covered under warranty. Again, we replaced them at no cost to him. [redacted] He is requesting a refund of the full amount he paid for his frames 3 years ago in the amount of $281. We will provide this refund to the patient so that he can purchase new eyewear elsewhere. Normally when a full refund is given, we request that the product be returned to us. Given that the patient has no other glasses, this will not be required in this case.Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)I accept the refund in the amount of $281 to close the complaint. Thank you.I would like to clarify two statements for the record:1. "In September of 2012, when he picked up his new glasses, he took them home then decided he did not like how they looked." My prescription did not translate into the optician recommending an appropriate frame even after hearing my concerns. I went with the recommendation as I trusted the optician. The result however was extremely disappointing, not only to me, but the optician. I did not have to 'push' to get a new pair of glasses. A quick decision was supported by the management to provide a new pair of glasses with a smaller frame. To this date, I have to say that I still appreciate this gesture of customer service.2. "Also, in October 2014, his lenses were scratched but were no longer covered under warranty. Again, we replaced them at no cost to him."I was told that I still had coverage just before the end of the warranty period. Also, it was not for scratches, but for the coatings which had failed prematurely as was how the optician explained it to me.