Dr. Bon-Ton will see you now
While I was at the mall a few nights ago, I went to Pearle Vision to see if my new insurance would be accepted there. I've been going to Pearle for years for eye exams, contacts, and glasses. While I was there, I got to thinking:
Why is it OK for an eye doctor to be based out of a mall?
I certainly wouldn't go to a general practitioner based out of a mall. I strongly doubt I'd go to a dentist based out of a mall. I started thinking about all the other kinds of doctors I've been to. Would I see a mall-based otolaryngologist? Doubtful. Neurosurgeon? No. Orthopedic surgeon? No, and in fact, let me just automatically rule out anything with the word "surgeon." Why don't I give my eyes the same respect I give my teeth or my... the rest of me?
So I turned around and walked out.*
--
* This was right after the receptionist informed me that Pearle does not accept my new insurance.
Comments
Lia said:
There was talk a while ago of Walmart starting to rent space to some pediatricians or GPs - so that you could have truly one-stop shopping.
cadiz12 said:
fair question. i haven't been to the eye doctor in probably seven years. which i realize is a bad thing. so even a mall eye doctor is better than no doctor at all.
oh and otolaryngologist? i had to look that one up. around here, we call them ENTs.
Sarah said:
It's good to see you still have some principles.
aubrey said:
i LOVE the word otolaryngologist. it's actually one of my all time favorites.
aubrey said:
moving on..growing up, i always got my glasses and contacts at lenscrafters but my actual eye doctor was in a real office. shortly after moving here, we had no money or insurance and we went to a pearl vision type place in the mall and i met with the doctor there and i felt like it was fake. and his little lab coat was fake. and his instruments. and i never went back. and waited another year till we had insurance. 5 years later paul's company tells him they don't cover vision anymore. so, i might be heading back there.
Nadia said:
I always thought it was otorhinolaryngologist. "oto" for Ear, "rhino" for Nose, "laryng" for Throat = ENT.
My dentist is based out of a mall and she's awesome. The measure of awesome being that she's allowed to charge me RM250 for 15-20 minutes work and I wouldn't even think of complaining. My aunt who's a GP also had a clinic in a nearby shopping centre, and her patients were with her for decades.
But I wouldn't trust a mall ophthalmologist. My eyes are too important to me. Although, that wouldn't explain why I've been wearing the same pair of monthly disposable contact lenses for over 3 months now, risking conjunctivitis. Maybe they're not that important to me after all. How liberating.
To the mall!
Tori :) said:
I take my kids to Walmart for their eyewear needs. How funny is that?!?!?
So true- I wouldn't have a Walmart dr. delivering my babies...
Nobody said:
Way to take a stand Omar.
I prefer getting my eyes examined at large wholesale warehouses. Next to the one hour photo.
Rhonda said:
I've never been to the eye doctor, so I guess that is even worse than going to one in the mall. We have doctors in our grocery stores now. That seems a little weird.
elasticwaistbandlady said:
Your post made me sad. We don't have any insurance and my kids have to use X-Ray vision glasses from their box of Count Chocula cereal because we can't afford anything else.
I said:
Do they work? The x-ray glasses? If so, I might seriously consider that route.
Lisa said:
We've recently taken to the Costco eye doctor. My youngest has had eye surgery, so she gets the real deal. But the rest of us take our chances. I did try the strip center place-two different ones, even. I didn't feel any better about them.
Christian said:
I went to an eye docter in the mall once, and didn't think twice about it being in the mall. Until I saw the promo-add for 'Hot Topic' and 'Orange Juleis' on the walls.
I prefer my eyes without extra vitamin C thank you very much!
Becky said:
yeah, if there's a 'spencers gifts' and an 'abercrombie' in the same building, go elsewhere.
Lauren said:
I have pondered this same question many a time.
The other day I was on my way home from my brother's apartment and I drove past a strip mall. In the strip mall there was a sign that said "SCHOOL" all lit up in red letters. It gets better, one of the letters was burnt out. I think I will look into that SCHOOL when I have children.
Syar said:
You could never live here. EVERYTHING and EVERYBODY is based in a mall.
I shocked a nurse the other day by not being able to see any letters on the eye chart even though I standing 5 feet away. She just didn't believe how bad my vision was.
So it doesn't really matter to me where they operate from. I'm expecting no miracles.
Jon said:
I saw this thing on wired science the other day where they were building devices for blind people that used the tongue to "see" instead of the eyes. So you really have to ask yourself, how much do you really need your eyes if your tongue can do the same thing?"
Nancy Face said:
How about an eye doctor at the $1 Store?
Nancy Face said:
Around here is a place called "Eyeglass World"...except they use a clever little pair of glasses in place of the g, which makes it look like "Eyeless World."
I do not feel comfortable trusting my eyesight to such an establishment.
No Cool Story said:
I took Fashionista to a mall optometrist once. Aubrey is right, their little coats are fake.
The reason we stoped there was that...well, we were already going to be there ALL DAY, so it just made sense.
No Cool Story said:
Fun Fact: In Spanish it is Otorrinolaringólogo.
Fun, huh?
Carrot Jello said:
I say you just go ahead and get freaky holographic glasses from the dollar store. They work better than glasses from the mall.
I get my glasses at America's Best.
Yes, only the best for me. They give me deals like, 2 glasses and a free eye exam for 69.95. Of course, my glasses look like I just stepped out of the seventies, but hey...retro is in, right?