Comments on: Sticker shock: Why are glasses so expensive?
Add a Comment
- The story missed the most important fact...most Luxittica product is manufactured in China, not Italy. They used to produce great quality eyewear. They don't anymore. The public has been tricked into believing that a designer name equals quality. There are many better quality eyeglass frames that cost less that are produced by other companies, but don't have a fashion designer's name printed on the side. In fairness to Luxottica though, I would point out that eyewear IS fashion, and similar to shoes, handbags, watches...price has more to do with status than quality. Finally, everything is relative. I have seen people complain about paying three or four hundred dollars for eyewear that they will wear every day for one or two years, but drink two or three cups of Starbucks a day at four dollars a cup.
- Reply to this comment
- Haa Haa Haaa!! So now everyone else is privy to what I have known for the past 15 plus years.
First off, for those of you that advocate purchasing "on line" I would like to warn you of the chances of buying stolen or counterfeit items made of very cheap quality materials is more common than you think. Buyer beware!
On that same note, if you are adamantly against buying anything made by Luxottica, make darned certain that what you are buying is NOT a Luxottica product. They DO, in fact, have factories in China. That is where their lower end products are made.
Secondly, you people that are concerned about glasses for the needy, well Luxottica has you covered with the LensCrafters Gift of Sight program. Yes they do send teams several times a year to third world countries to donate old eyeglasses to the poor and under-privledged. They also have a program they do here in the States but there are strings attached.
Oh my, warm fuzzy moments for the next LensCrafters annual managers conference. I wonder which luxury resort they will have that at next March!
My sincere advice to all of you is to get your glasses at your eye doctor's office. More often than not, your insurance has some kind of vision plan for optical materials. And many doctors take not only Eyemed but they also take plans such as Vision Service Plan (VSP) or Vision Benefits of America (VBA)among others.
Your doctor will carry many of the designer brands plus brands that are "exclusive" or "house" lines of particular manufactuers. These house lines also tend to be much less than the designer lines and many times are just as good of quality.
So what if your doctor can't get them in an hour or even the same day. Many times the doctor's turnaround is less than 2-3 days. But folks ask yourself, do you want quick or do you want quality?
In case you haven't figured it out by now, yes, I am a former employee of Luxottica or LensCrafters to be exact. I know all the pitfalls of the company. The big answer is NO! Luxottica is not giving the customer any kind of break by purchasing at the companies they own.
But here's another side to the Luxottica story. What the company reaps in rewards for their corporate CEOs they take away from the folks that are their "face to the public". The workers that run their LensCrafters and Pearl Vision stores.
Since purchasing LensCrafters in the '90s, Luxottica has all but eliminated any trace of quality trained, professionals from the LensCrafters stores. They get by with using inexperienced, poorly trained people they call "eyewear specialists" to determine some of the most technically challenging needs of eyewear prescriptions. They do not want any full-time workers on their sales floors because they don't want to pay insurance benefits or above minimum wage salaries.
Employee turnover is high and the rate of satifactory craftsmanship is extremely low.
Sales associates MUST adhere to extremely high average dollar amount sales quotas and are constantly badgered to make more of the sale or else loose your job. The customer waving a prescription and a wallet will be served first instead of the customer that is returning to pick up their order from earlier in the day. And usually there are only 1 or 2 sales people on the floor to even help customers.
The quality inspection of the final eyewear order has been watered down to the point that they should come out with a book and title it "Opticianry for Dummies".
I don't consider myself a disgruntled former employee. I rather like to think of myself as someone here to say "I told ya so!"
I got caught up in one of the Luxottica "house cleaning" raids in early 2006. LensCrafters had been doing this for a couple of years before I lost my job. Anyone not performing to "company standard", at that time the quota was around a $280 average per sale. I have heard that now the quota is around almost $400 per sale. And they must have at least 70% of their sales as multiple pair sales, meaning the customer should be buying at least two or more pairs.
Geez, now that's a heck of an investment huh!
Yeah Ms Stahl, you need to take your investigation further and see if you can really get the scoop on how Luxottica treats their workforce as well as their customers.
Talk about an eye-opener! - Reply to this comment
- The pitch made for Warby Parker seemed misplaced during the segment. Turns out that General Catalyst Partners which just backed a large financing deal for the company also has deals with CBS in the area of radio (Tunein) and Television (Boxee). Also several cross over directors between the two companies. CBS has recently aired several positive pieces on Warby Parker on national shows as well as local news broadcasts and radio recaps. Warby Parker frames are $95 and apparently, CBS wants you to go buy them. The whole segment on Luxottica was slanted to make them seem like vicious profit mongers all the while, CBS is gently steering you in a direction that helps them profit. People put on your glasses and read up a little before you so easily fall prey to these types of media tactics.
- Reply to this comment
- Luxottica also owns Essilor Labs, the largest optical surfacing and finishing lab in the United States. That would mean that they control every and all aspects of the optical industry.
60 Minutes might consider investigating allegations that they tried to force independent optical offices to sell their products, by threatening to exclude those offices from the EyeMed Insurance panel. I'm not sure, but I believe that the FTC may have had a hand in resolving that matter. - Reply to this comment
- Thanks for a very interesting program. I recently purchased blended len glasses from LensCrafters during the "50% off frames September sale". I wasn't looking for designer frames, only a shape that I thought looked right. I was amazed that my glasses still cost almost $450. Your story won't help me, but it is so telling. If I had thought the price was high and decided to shop, where would I go? Target? Maybe Sears? Pearle, and others? I would have thought I was shopping for price and would have been worn out by the process. How would I have known that I was not shopping for price, but just wasting gas! I am not opposed to a business wanting to be successful, but I don't think it isn't right that a company like Luxottica can hide in the weeds and be so opaque that the consumer has no idea who they are dealing with. As they say, "There should to be a law"!
- Reply to this comment
- There is another power struggle in the optical industry. Essilor, a French company wants to be the one and only for the all prescription lenses. They are buying independent labs at every opportunity. Yet they still have competitors. Essilor owns VCP.
Luxottica improved the quality and the style of Ray Ban hugely.
Luxottica still has competition, even in Italy. Safilo, Marchon, then Charmant and Rodenstock, not to mention anyone in China or Japan.
I am a board certified Florida optician. I put my effort into helping people see and only a little into the Fashion equation. Ask an optician about Progressive lenses ( no line multifocal ) sometime. - Reply to this comment
- Luxottica is charging as he said "what people are willing to pay". Price is not a function of cost. Most people do not price check their eyeglasses. Possibly since all the stores are owned by Luxottica that would be a waste of time. Someone I know stepped on a pair of glasses she just bought. I thought she was going to have a heart attack at the thought of replacing them.
I do not allow the price of my eyeglasses to be a burden. I buy them on the internet using a prescription from my doctor. All eyeglasses are designer eyeglasses. If you want to make a statement with your frames buy from Luxottica's companies. If you just wan't to see, use the internet. I have never had a prescription filled in error. I have been buying my frames from Zenni Optical. A similar frame in Costco was $100 more. Mine were less than $100. - Reply to this comment
- Why on earth was this company being demonized for being successful? The company doesn't control prices--that is illegal. They charge what the market will bear and make a profit. Last time I checked CBS was doing the same. Just another attempt by a liberal station to demonize corporations and make every one think that government price setting (re Obama's health plan)is the solution. They aren't driving up prices, if you don't want to pay for Chanel, Ralph Lauren, and Ray Ban there are other options out there for you at lower price points--you are not entitled to designer frames any more than you are entitled to own the new iphone.
- Reply to this comment
- great story by Leslie Stahl. I was wondering if a similar story can be done regarding Razor Blades! The prices of razor blades are sky high and I can't for the life of me figure out why. Department stores have them under lock and key because of their prices. Can someone on 60 minutes do a story on this product similar to eyeglasses. I'm an avid watcher of your show. Thank you
- Reply to this comment
- Bausch & Lomb was destroying the great brand Ray Ban. I'm not a fan of Luxottica but they brought it back to life. The consumer has choices of where to buy and what to buy. Leslie left out the entire discussion of lens types and designs. The ability to achieve great vision and look good in your glasses has tremendous value
- Reply to this comment
