We have all seen the adverts; “You should have gone to Specsavers…” Well perhaps you should?
I have to say that I always support local people as long as they offer excellent service. So posting good things about a large company is a little foreign to me. Both my wife and my son have always used Arnolds in Petersfield. I can vouch that they are great opticians or optometrists; whichever is the correct term for what they offer.
I have always been a little sceptical about using larger, national companies who offer a cheap service for the masses that may well affect local businesses. Surely their service; whether you look at it from a personal point of view or a professional one, has to be second-rate; isn’t it?
For quite a while, I know I have needed glasses for reading, and I have often tried to get an appointment on the right now basis. By this, I mean one when I am free; be it a walk-in or when I call; so not planned for days in advance.
Last Tuesday I woke during the early hours with what I thought was a piece of grit in my eye. After around 40 minutes of bathing it, I went back to bed. Later that morning, I thought nothing of it and settled down to work.
Just after lunch, I noticed some floaters in my eye. Now I had them before and thought nothing of it; however, it did remind me to call around for an appointment. Specsavers opticians in Petersfield had a vacancy; so I went.
I expected I would be in; tested and out. After all, this company sells cheap glasses, and quick turnover is essential to it; isn’t it? How wrong could I be!
During the test, the optometrist; Shilpan Shah should concern about what he saw in my right eye; the eye with the floaters. He then arranged for a staff member; Sara to take a photo of the back of my eye.
The resulting image showed a large area of blood at the back of my right eye. The optician checked further and advised me that he would need to refer me to QA Hospital Cosham; Portsmouth for further tests. He felt there could be a significant problem. I had arranged to go out that evening; Aldershot was playing at home and so asked if he could arrange it for the following morning; this he did.
I was seen at QA Hospital around nine-thirty a.m., and the doctor spent around an hour checking and double-checking my eye. Although he eventually came up with a diagnosis he wanted it double checked, and so got his senior, a consultant to look.
They ultimately agreed it was not as first thought a possible detached retina. The blood was more than likely the result of the jelly-like substance in front of the retina moving forward and ripping a few blood vessels as it did. However, they also felt that it needed investigating further as it may require an operation to fix it. They gave my right eye an Ultrasound, and I am now seeing another consultant this week.
The story doesn’t finish there. Shilpan Shah; the optometrist from Specsavers in Petersfield called to see how I had got on. I did not expect this at all; it is the action of someone who shows compassion; something I do not associate with large corporations. The call helped confirm that my initial thoughts; pre-appointment; about Specsavers was so wrong.
I should point out that the other staff on duty during my initial visit and subsequent return to order some glasses were all impeccable with their manners and professionalism. Along with Shilpan Shah were Sara; who took my prescription for glasses. Dan, who did the original checks before I saw the optometrist and Jo who along with Sara, was helpful when I was selecting glasses. I will mention Lin and Adi also deserve mention by association.
On this blog, I can’t communicate my appreciation to all concerned other than place Specsavers opticians Petersfield within my “The Dogs Bollocks” section. Which is something not done lightly? Their superiors should applaud the whole team.