America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses Reviews

Pros

Great stepping stone in getting into the Health Field - data entry, patient care, etc. Lots of room to gain work experience from being a receptionist, to a non-licensed optician, to an optometric technician and maybe even a contact lens manager. The doctors are fairly young and patient when you're first starting on the job; they are willing to share their knowledge and explain some medical terminology to you. Very fast paced environment; if you're in a popular shopping center you will likely see an average of 22 patients a day. I personally like how there's always various tasks to be done - filing,dispensing,selling,stocking, confirming appointments,calling patients to let them know their glasses/contacts are in, folding papers, etc.

Cons

Coworkers are usually very young and immature; you may even have a manager fresh from high school that is telling you what to do. The pay stinks! Sure you get commission, but it's not much. There are yearly evaluations but expect a raise less than half a dollar. Growth in the company is very limited; about the highest you can go in the store is getting your optician's license which takes about three years to get than you have to pass a comprehensive exam to see any kind of significant pay raise. The store's sales tactics are a bait and switch. They get you in there than they charge you all kinds of things to make the price much higher than what they advertise. Customer service/patient care service is embarassing.; It's poor, it's not even addressed as an issue because the managers just don't care, and personally I never recommended anybody here because I would be horrified to say I worked at a place that gave such low-grade service.

Advice to Senior Management

Managers should not be buddy-buddy with other employees because than things get personal and professionalism goes to the wayside. Many of the problems I noticed was because the managers were getting personal with other managers/employees that the manager in charge was losing authority. Some people got a way with stuff that others could not simply because they were brown-nosing to the manager and the manager was oblivious to boundaries.

Pros

Great vacation benefits and also industry standard when it comes to helping customer find good glasses.

Cons

The pay sucks, senior management do not listen to managers.

Advice to Senior Management

Find a better Corporation.

Pros

can learn optics, meet people, help them, alledged open door policy if you have a problem with a higher up manager. good health benefits

Cons

our district manager threatened to clean house in our store even putting our jobs on the internet. How can you have happy employees like that? I called the In Touch line to voice my concern, afterall, I was supposed to be able to do this without the district manager knowing or so I thought. Now she knows I am stuck in my position without opportunity to advance. My immediate supervisor wants to promote me but she will not allow him since I called In Touch on her. In the handbook it states there is no retribution for such a call but now I am looking for another job because my future at America's best is dead in the water.

Advice to Senior Management

district managers, area managers should be promoted from within from opticians
don't lie about the In Touch line. protect those who call you didn't protect me.
there is more but I don't have the time to write it all. I am going to call the In Touch line again but not say my name this time, I don't want to get fired.

Pros

The hours are better than most retail optical stores. I like that the doctors are employed by the company, and the structure of store positions make more sense than other optical companies.

Cons

Because the price point is lower, some of our clientele have little or no class. There is too much inconsistency between how rules are followed from store to store. Some of our store managers think they need to be everyone's friend, and then they complain when rules are broken or people show a lack of respect.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't advertise $35 for each pair and get mad when our average ticket is less than $100. You don't want us to bundle, but you get angry when our packages are low.

Pros

Easy to get hired and fast hiring process.

Cons

It's easy to get hired and a very fast hiring process because they don't care about who they have working and don't do a good job of matching candidates to the job or screening out the bad eggs. Senior management does not care about the average employee. There is no strategic partnership between operations and HR. Operations management is extremely derogatory about those beneath them, especially the head of operations. The culture communicated from the President of the Company and what actually occurs are total opposites . . .

Advice to Senior Management

The cultural message and operations leadership need to be aligned.

Pros

The hours are flexible. it is an interesting job and you have to retain alot of information after you get all of that memorized its an easy job. Must be able to multitask.
great job if you looking to stay temporarily.

Cons

What i disliked was that it is really obvious who is the clear favorite of everyone. I seen employees mess up orders left and right, but never get told anything. Most never work they just stand around. Managers will not take the patient as a priority a lot of the times they say that the customer can wait. All anyone in this company cares about is making money they make. ie clubs, visual field, etc.

Advice to Senior Management

I understand money is a huge priority and so are the numbers, but if you want more people coming in, and not complaining as much. Look at the people that are being hired. Everyone time the manager hires people, she brings on 2 or 3 people towards the end it evens out only because one usually ends up quitting. you should not be hiring people if you believe they can't handle the job or will quit.

Pros

Hourly starting is good
Not as Professional as Clarkson Eyecare- more relaxed medical office environment

Cons

Run you around on promotions
Complaints aren't fixed by managers, no matter how high up they are in the company
My annual review was great, but my raise was only a quarter!

Advice to Senior Management

Do what you say you're going to do

Pros

Great room to grow. Great place to learn sales and how to maximize them.

Cons

The day to day tasks are greatly affected by the vision of whatever District Manager is around at the time and will change with whatever District Manger is around at the time. The NPS calling system will affect your bonus and now your job.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat your Employees with respect. Be down to earth and not command and power driven and you'll earn their respect and be able to grow along with them and improve your customer satisfaction at the same time.

Pros

I'd say work there if you need a job in the field. That's about it. I didn't get a much of a chance to have a positive experience with this job.

Cons

Condescending management. Underpaid with little to no benefits. Secretive & preferential work environment in which information was not openly & honestly shared for the betterment of the team.

Advice to Senior Management

Leave the politics at home. The stores should be run based upon the facts & needs of the store, not the hierarchy of the relationships of management.