Back to Alex

We helped Mom get new glasses at Sam's Club because she wanted to get transitions for the bright Hawaiian sun. I wrote a post earlier about meeting Alex, the optician at Sam's. We were astonished to hear how beautifully he spoke Japanese.

Well the glasses came in and she wore them around the house and outside. We told her she looked great in them, but she just didn't like how it felt. She said she had to keep dropping the lens to watch TV and then raising it to read. She pronounced this new shape too terrible to get used to.

I contacted Alex about this problem and he told me that we should bring her in and make it right.

"NO," said Mom. "It's too much trouble." Then came the battle of wills.

"If you don't like it that much, Mom," I said, "You need to bring it in. Those are expensive glasses and Alex said he would help you."

"No," she wouldn't budge. I wouldn't describe the look she gave me mulish, but...

"Arrrrghhhh...."

In the end Art told her we were going and that's that!


Alex was as sweet and understanding as could be. He hunted down another pair of frames that were almost identical to her old pair and said there would be no charge. He assured me that they would make it right.

He even said the pair he found is cheaper so we would be getting a refund on the frames. And he also added that "If there are any changes to the prescription or otherwise within the warrantied time, there is no charge to you for a prescription change."

I know Costco was reputed to be the best place for glasses, but at Costco you can only buy new glasses if you are the card holder and I don't know if they have the same warranty. Sam's Club lets you buy a pair for another family member. Besides, Costco doesn't have Alex.

As we were returning home, Mom kept telling us how that other pair was driving her crazy and that the shape was all wrong and how she's been noticing other people's glasses and rounder ones are better and how when you're watching TV it's a bother to adjust it up and down and when you're pulling weeds, you can't see right, and the frames were too skinny, and........

Arrrrrrghhhhhhh!

I've got all my fingers and toes crossed tight that this next pair will be perfect for her. Alex chuckled and said, "We'll make it right."

With an optician as wonderful and kind as Alex, plus that guarantee, this is where I'd be getting any new glasses I need. (And yes, their prices were the best of several places I checked out.)

New Glasses for Mom

The sun is awfully bright in Hawaii so we did get mom some of those clip on shades for her glasses. It was OK for a while, but then she complained that it was too heavy and bothersome. She's been noticing the transition glasses that Art and I both have now and started to really like the idea of her glasses being able to darken every time she's out in bright light.

We did do quite a bit of price checking this time. The estimate we got from her optometrist was $478.00 for UV protection, scratch proof, transition, bifocals.

Forget Costco because I'm no longer convinced they are the absolute best place to buy glasses AND you have to be the actual card holder!

Next stop was Kaiser Permanente's optician. Their price for about the same thing was $309.00 + tax because they were having a $100. off of the frames promotion for April.


Art and I then checked Sam's Club's Optical Center in Pearl City. They had a frame that might work for mom so we brought her in. While we were deciding which one to try on, Alex came over. He blew me away! He started talking Japanese to mom and I'm embarrassed to say he could speak the language much, much better than me. Yikes! It's not often I hear young people in Hawaii able to speak fluent Japanese. He had mom at ease and laughing for the entire session. She smiled at me later and said his Japanese is perfect. Yeah...yeah... I know.

Shock of shocks! We learned that Alex's wife is from Sendai also. (We don't know any other people from Sendai in Hawaii other than relatives.) Wow! I asked him how he got so good at speaking Japanese. He said it was from watching Japanese dramas. Ummm... no... I don't think that's it. I watch those dramas occasionally, too and my Japanese is not nearly as perfect as his. OK, OK, my Japanese is pretty crappy. Ah well...

Aside from his ability to speak Japanese, he was also very knowledgeable about glasses. Mom's glasses with a little better lens material cost $302 + tax.

Next time I need glasses, I'm going to see Alex!

POSTSCRIPT: Alas! Mom's been wearing those Sam's Club glasses and is having some difficulty getting used to them. The bifocal line is a bit higher than her other glasses and is causing her difficulty when she gardens. I'm trying to find out if there's any sort of warranty or correction or whatever. I e-mailed Alex, but haven't heard back yet. We'll see.