Service as it should be

Let’s travel in time together for a minute.  About three weeks ago, we remove the carpet on the 2nd floor in our home and installed laminate.  Following this gigantic change, I had a small accident in our bedroom – my glasses dropped on the floor from the night table.   With carpet it wouldn’t have been an issue.  I would have picked them up and put them back on the night table.   But with laminate flooring….  it’s another story.  So I picked up the glasses, put them on the night table and rested a bit.  When I got up, I grabbed my glasses to wear them but an arm was missing.  Looking on the floor, I realized that the frame was broken.   SIGH.

Back in May, I got a new prescriptions for my glasses – progressives lenses were a must.   So I shopped around and learned that the eyewear department at Loblaws on Baseline Road was the cheaper place.   I compared many stores – Hakim (well when I went they had closed the store for 30 minutes so I never went back), Laurier Optical (extremely pricey), Costco and Loblaws optical.    At the time of the purchase, Loblaws optical was very competitive with Costco (60$ less).   I could keep my frame which was still good and save a bit in the process.  Having experienced an amazing service with my son’s glasses a few months before, I decided to order through them.

Fast forward to my little accident.   I immediately went to Hakim where the frame were purchase – hoping we could find another one.   That evening, we were told that there were three in Ontario, that we could get one pair transferred and we could purchase them.   However, the next morning, it was someone else in the store and I was told (rudely) that the stores didn’t have any and I could come and pick up the glasses immediately.   No offers whatsoever to find other arms or nothing.   (never really liked the service there….)

So I drove to Loblaws optical on Baseline and told my situation.  He took the frame and told me he will see what he can do.    The next day, he told me he had two options – he had found two frames that could fit but he would have to cut manually the lenses or he had installed new arms on the frame.   We went to check it out.  Obviously, the arms were not a perfect fit…  They were extending more than usual on a regular frame.   But it was doing the job.   I agreed to test them for a week or two and see how it would go.   Price tag for this work: 0$.   We were amazed at the service offered once again.

A week passed…. I kept adjusting the glasses as one arm would pop out every once in a while.   After a week, I told my husband that it was driving me crazy.   He told me to go and get one of the two frames that the owner had found a week earlier.   So I went, he ordered the frame and worked on the lenses.  On Wednesday this week, June 10th, he called me and told me that he had cut the lenses but he wasn’t satisfied with the result – there was a bit of space between the lense and the frame.  He was ordering a new set of lenses and will return the old ones.   The previous night, I had mentioned to my husband that I had the feeling that he would do such a thing.   I can go and pick a brand new frame for the new lenses – something I would be more comfortable with – if I wanted to.   He thinks the lenses should be in by Friday at the earliest.

I’m speechless.    

Can you see how amazing the service at the Loblaws optical on Baseline Road (corner of Woodroffe) is?   (Guess which store has just lost my business?  No more Hakim eyewear for this family…)   I am amazed by the service offered by Scott McCulloch and will definitively go back to him for all our eyewear needs in the future.   I strongly recommend you to go check out Loblaw Optical and ask for Scott McCulloch, the managing optician.     He is extremely friendly and will work with you to find the best fit for your eyes.  

Loblaw Optical
1980 Baseline Road
Ottawa, ON  K2C 0C6
(613) 723-3200  Ext. 135

As for me… I need to go select my new frames and wait patiently for the lenses to arrive.   

This is service as it should be.   Thank you Mr. McCulloch for your amazing service and dedication to your clients!