I recently went to America's Best in response to an advertised deal involving two complete pairs of glasses, lenses, and eye exam for $69.95. I was treated very well, though I felt the initial eye exam was rather quick. The secondary exam by the optometrist was pleasant, and I picked out two good sets of frames for the lenses. [Okay, my girlfriend picked out the frames; she's better at that sort of thing than I am.] When I sat down to pay for my purchase and have the lenses ground, however, I was presented with a bill for $248. Not $69.95. I was taken aback, and the salesgirl explained that the $69 deal only included the basic plastic frames, which she described as flimsy, bulky, easily scratched and damagable, and that for my astigmatism [mild] they strongly suggested that I get the carbon polymer lenses [which is what I assumed I was getting all along anyway], because the plastic lenses weren't appropriate for astigmatism.

I was stunned. I was prepared to pay twice what I expected, figuring I would choose more expensive frames or something like that; I was not prepared to pay nearly 3.5 times the quoted fee. Oh -- I should mention that when we first called America's Best about the deal, we were assured that the deal covered all lenses except the transitional light-sensitive lenses, which I wasn't getting.

After reviewing my options, I elected to just go with one set of frames rather than two. However, as it turns out, one set of frames was nearly MORE expensive than just two sets, because now the deal no longer applied. [Which is reasonable, actually.]

Since I felt strongly that I was a) deceived on my original phone call [lied to about inclusion of all types of lenses] and b) felt aggressively pressured by the salesgirl to ignore the deal I had originally expected because the lenses were "not appropriate" for my astigmatism, I simply paid for the eye exam alone [a reasonable $45] and left without glasses.

Had the fact that all types of lenses were NOT included in the deal been told to me in the beginning, rather than being told falsely that they are, I would have happily paid for the $248, had I been quoted it accurately before the whole event took place. Instead, I got an eye exam for a reasonable price, and that is where my life as an America' s Best customer will end. Other companies have more honest advertising, and I will be more prepared for their cost.