specsavers.ie

Horrible customer service and lack of professionalism

I've been getting my glasses fitted at Specsavers in Ashbourne since 2019, previously in Blanchardstown, and I'm afraid my glasses weren't fitted correctly from the start. However, my recent experience has prompted me to write this review, mainly because Specsavers has ignored the complaints I've sent. Staff from Ashbourne is extremely rude and is using gaslighting techniques to intimidate their customers. I bought varifocal glasses with second pair free, but still it cost me €400. When I collected my glasses, I immediately noticed that I don’t see correctly but I was forced to try my new glasses for 2 weeks. The objects I looked at with my glasses were distorted, the letters were blurry, I suffered from severe eye pain and headache, but I was trying to wear new glasses as I believed in professionalism of the staff. Most difficulties I had with close and intermediate vision. During my few interactions with Specsavers’ staff in Ashbourne 3 people introduced themselves as managers, and every one of them was giving me contradictory information. They were trying to sell me another pair of glasses telling me that tailor-made varifocals are not good for computer use, despite the fact that the Specsavers website clearly states that they are suitable for reading, driving and working on a computer. They offered to “lift my lenses” but after that I was unable to see on distance, however, reading was ok. Still intermediate vision was not good. When I came back again to the store, I was again gaslighted by another manager, who at first was telling me that my frames are too big (but when I was buying them no one questioned their size) and later, when I was refusing to change frames for the smaller one, she offered to replace my lenses for different one. I could not get information which one she is offering, as I paid for most expensive tailor-made lenses, so changing for different varifocals had no sense for me. I decided to go on Specsavers chat with question what types of tailor-made varifocal lenses they have, but I had to wait for answer for several days, because they did not understand my question. Finally, they confirmed that they have only one type of tailor-made varifocals, so clearly for me this manager was trying to replace my lenses with cheaper ones without informing me about it. It was only when I came with a family member who was with me to witness their gaslighting and rude behaviour they offered me refund. I wrote a comprehensive complaint to Specsavers over a month ago, but I still haven't received a response. This clearly demonstrates that not only Ashbourne branch, but the entire company, doesn't care about customer well-being and satisfaction. I also requested all my medical records under FOI, but only received prescriptions, no additional information about me, and I know they have notes on the whole situation because the manager herself informed me about it during our last conversation. After this traumatic experience, I went to a regular optician, and it turned out that I had a completely different vision problems than the one diagnosed by Specsavers. The optician gave me a prescription without any problem, and I ordered my glasses online for which I paid only €52. Not only are my glasses advanced varifocals, much better quality than the ones from Specsavers, but they also have scratch-resistant coating, reflexion and 100% UV + blue light blocking. I have one pair of glasses that meet all my needs, I can finally see without any problems, but also with such low prices, there's nothing stopping me from buying more glasses in various styles.Don't overpay, because you really don't have to, and it's best to have your eyes examined by a professional optician who knows their job.

Date of experience: Aug 15, 2025