I've been wearing my pink prescription sunglasses for two months now since my regular glasses are scratched up.

January 11, 2010 11:47 AM

I'm looking for an eye doctor in the Charlotte or Concord, NC area. I don't want to go to a chain, but am looking for a private practice.

Any suggestions? Or any places I should stay away from?

It'd also be really great if they had a fantastic selection of frames. :)

posted by All.star to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

I grew up going to Carolina Eye Care in Cornelius. Depending on which side of Concord/Charlotte you live, they might not be inconvenient to you. The doctors I used to see, Drs Martin and O'Donnel, have both retired, but my folks go to the new doctors and still like the place a lot.
posted by hydropsyche at 1:10 PM on January 11, 2010

I can't help with a local eye doctor, but you might also want to peruse previous MeFi threads about buying glasses online.

(I'm all for supporting local independents when it comes to eye exams, but a lot of frame brands are controlled by the same company that owns all the chain eye doctor outfits: http://glassyeyes.blogspot.com/2007/07/luxottica-suxotticas.html)
posted by usonian at 1:45 PM on January 11, 2010

I can actually suggest a place to stay away from. Mecklenburg Eye Associates was definitely subpar to work with. I went to the University location. They did an initial exam and then left me sitting by myself, sans contacts or glasses (leaving me practically blind), for almost an hour. I felt this was an unreasonable amount of time. I just didn't get a good care from the people in the office and they weren't very friendly.

That was almost four years ago, though. Almost three years after my visit, I actually received a bill from them for some unknown service with a seemingly random date on it. I fought and fought with them over this bill. I mean, I had moved away and was nowhere near Charlotte anymore! They were horrible to work with and suggested I was lying. They threatened to turn me in to collections. I finally got my insurance company on my side and they were able to get the clinic to admit that something had been misfiled somewhere and that I was not responsible for this bill.

So, overall bad experience. Bah. Don't waste your time. If I recall correctly, they had a really small area that had just a few dozen frames in it, so you probably wouldn't be happy with the selection there. Hope that helps.
posted by bristolcat at 2:19 PM on January 11, 2010

I loved my doctor at Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat and was devestated when they stopped working with the state health plan. Now I go to an OD in south Charlotte who looks like the Free Credit Report.com dude so it's hard for me to take him seriously. CEENTA are probably the largest practice in the area but they have very good patient service, from our experiences, both with opticians and ear tubes for both kids. Their optical shop is about as fast as any non-Lens Crafters type place (about a week for glasses IIRC).
posted by Sweetie Darling at 4:24 PM on January 11, 2010

Seconding Charlotte Eye Ear Nose and Throat.
posted by canadia at 7:16 PM on January 11, 2010