Guest aot87 Posted May 2, 2009 Posted May 2, 2009 Looking to get a new pair of glsses while in pattaya, ,can any one recomend a shop to buy a pair Quote
Guest dale1 Posted May 2, 2009 Posted May 2, 2009 There are literally dozens and dozens of optical shops in Pattaya all probably providing just about the same quality product REPEAT product ....... those of us who need them probably have our favorites (like bars, restaurants, beach chair concessions and all the rest) ..... for years my favorite place to get new lens and/or frames is Beautiful Optics ......... there are several such shops all around Pattaya ........... originally I went to the Beautiful Optics immediately next to the Wat Chai compound and across from the market on South Pattaya Road ..... found the manager there really knew his business .......... some years back he was transferred to manage their shop in Mike Shopping Mall ...... not the smaller one next to Boyz Town, but the big one north of Boyz Town, Royal Garden, and shortly before reaching the new Central Shopping Mall ...... entrances on Beach Road and Second Road ....... the Beautiful Optics shop there is just inside the Beach Road entrance on the left as you enter......the Manager, Khun Nakorn, has been with the company a long time and has the experience to provide what for me is the clincher -- professional service ..... not always evident in other shops ...... he has the professional capability to operate the machines they have to examine your eyes to determine the lens you need and the authority to provide you with the best price he can on the wide variety of frames ..... I have recommended this shop and Khun Nakorn to many friends over the years and have never had someone come back to be with an unsatisfactory report ...... I assume he has provided them with the same quality service that he does to me ........ tell him DALE sent you ......... would love to hear how it goes if you choose to shop there..... good luck. Quote
Guest laurence Posted May 2, 2009 Posted May 2, 2009 Why experience with buying glasses in Pattaya was not so great. It seemed they wanted to sell me frames in the display case without ordering the proper size. I did buy progressive lens which I hated but I can't blame that on the shop. Quote
Guest lvdkeyes Posted May 2, 2009 Posted May 2, 2009 I bought glasses here once before I lived here. They were the kind with no rim at the bottom of the lens. After I got home the lenses kept popping out and the glass splinted at the edges. When I came back to LOS, I went to the shop and they would not do anything about the problem (because the guarantee was only for 3 months) other than try to sell me another pair of glasses. Of course, I bought another pair from them. NOT Quote
2lz2p Posted May 2, 2009 Posted May 2, 2009 ...... he has the professional capability to operate the machines they have to examine your eyes to determine the lens you need and the authority to provide you with the best price he can on the wide variety of frames . My first experience was with Euro Optics opposite Royal Garden Shopping Complex. On a later change, I decided to try progressive lenses -- couldn't adjust to them (my fault, not shop) - went back for bifocals. Later, I tried a couple of other shops in the Jomtien area (too lazy to go into South Pattaya to Euro Optics). Was never fully satisfied - also, the eye exam consisted of looking at an eye chart rather than the optical machines that optometrists used in USA and the lady at Euro Optics uses. So, for my last pair, I went back to Euro Optic and am again fully satisfied. The only drawback is they seem to stock more expensive frames than some of the other shops - they do have some less expensive frames, but they are not on display - kept in a drawer and choices limited. However, this last time, they used my old frames for the new lenses. So Dale, maybe next time I will try your suggestion for the Beautiful Optical at Mike Shopping since they apparently use the optical devices that lets the optometrist adjust the different lenses as they examine your eyes (not sure, but if memory serves, the Beautiful Optical shops in Jomtien do not have the machines - only the chart -- but, then again, maybe I have them confused with one of the other shops I used as you said, there are so many. Quote
Guest Geezer Posted May 2, 2009 Posted May 2, 2009 Years ago when we thought my BF needed gasses we visited an optical shop. After a vision test which seemed too brief, a prescription was written. We visited a second shop for an exam to see if the two prescriptions agreed. They did not. We visited a total of four shops. When none of the prescriptions were the same we questioned the manager of the last shop. He suggested we visit Bangkok Hospital Pattaya to be tested. We did, and were told the lad’s vision was normal; no glasses were required. He only needed a better light for reading. Since that time both BF and I have visited BHP for prescriptions several times with good results. BHP does not dispense glasses, only prescribes them. You must go to the shops to get them. After you receive them it is a good idea to return to the hospital to check that they have been ground correctly. Don’t get me started on those optical shops. I am partial to a particular model of Ray Ban frame. I found one with Ray Ban stickers and a “Ray Ban” case, and went for it. I figured it could be counterfeit, but hoped the quality might be acceptable. A year later much of the gold had turned black and copper colored. Later I complained to the shop manager (I knew it wouldn’t help, I just wanted him to know I wasn’t happy). He shrugged and replied that they were two years old. The problem is, the frames weren’t at a counterfeit price; they were the same price as the real thing in the US. Quote
Guest jtrack33 Posted May 2, 2009 Posted May 2, 2009 To overcome the high-priced frame problem, I always go to Tesco/Carrefour/Big C or similar and select a pair of Bht99 or Bht199 glasses with a suitable frame and then take them to a glasses shop(my favorite is Top Charoen on the Jomtien Road near the junction with Sukumvit..Tesco corner) and ask them to change the lens...for about Bht900 for bi-focal, basic lens..ready within an hour. If you pick the rimless glasses from the supermarket, then it takes them a day to bore the hole for the sidearm mount. I have never had a problem with the frames. Quote
Guest Posted May 2, 2009 Posted May 2, 2009 Am not sure where you are from AOT87, but wouldn't it be about as cheap and probably more reliable to buy the glasses back home from one of the Internet based retailers? Then when it goes wrong, you would be protected by the kind of consumer rights that exist in western democracies. Here's an example from the UK. Glasses Direct Quote
Up2u Posted May 2, 2009 Posted May 2, 2009 I use the mega chain, Top Charoen. They are all over Pattaya and Thailand. In fact it might be a close contest on the number of Top Charoen's Vs 7-11's!. Quote
Guest gwm4sian Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 We visited a total of four shops. When none of the prescriptions were the same we questioned the manager of the last shop. He suggested we visit Bangkok Hospital Pattaya to be tested. BHP does not dispense glasses, only prescribes them. You must go to the shops to get them. After you receive them it is a good idea to return to the hospital to check that they have been ground correctly. Geezer - once again some wonderfully wise words of wisdom. Thanks for the advice. Do you need to make an appointment ant BPH or is it just turn up on spec (pardon the pun) Quote
Guest Geezer Posted May 5, 2009 Posted May 5, 2009 Just turn up. You can also be tested for glaucoma, which may not be the case at an optical shop. Quote
Guest gwm4sian Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Just turn up. Following Geezer's excellent advice, both b/f and I went to BPH and got our eyes tested. Testing seemed exemplaray, and done by a very qualified person. Cost for me 1050baht, for the b/f 950baht. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 They were the kind with no rim at the bottom of the lens. After I got home the lenses kept popping out and the glass splinted at the edges. When I came back to LOS, I went to the shop and they would not do anything about the problem (because the guarantee was only for 3 months I got the same type here at a shop on Sukhumvhit in Bangkok. One lens popped out after 2 years. I took it back to the shop where it was repaired at no charge. Quote
Guest dale1 Posted June 25, 2009 Posted June 25, 2009 In the second posting in this thread, I recommended the Beautiful Optics shop in the large Mike's Shopping Mall ........ recommended primarily due to the professionalism of the manager, Khun Nakorn .......... just a note here to advise that he has recently been moved to a new Beautiful Optics location on the corner of Pattayaland Soi 1 and Beach Road ......... quite a promotion for him as this is both a new shop and in a prime location ..... I stopped to chat with him the other day and he is pleased with the move and noted that business at the new location is good. Quote
Guest lvdkeyes Posted June 25, 2009 Posted June 25, 2009 I got the same type here at a shop on Sukhumvhit in Bangkok. One lens popped out after 2 years. I took it back to the shop where it was repaired at no charge. My lens popped and and the rim of the lens splintered and is was in 6 months and they would make no adjustment, not even to replace the one lens at my cost. They insisted I get both new lenses, which I did not. Quote
Guest Geezer Posted June 25, 2009 Posted June 25, 2009 For future specs I shall continue getting the prescription at BHP (or Bumrungrad) but order the spectacles on-line from the US. If one must pay the real price, one should get the real quality. Quote
