Smart Eyecare Center: Gladstone Sarah OD

Well, at first we were highly discouraged when we came to your Bangor center on a Saturday only to find that you did not have Saturday hours as your website said! We came back, and although the customer service was minimal, I really needed these glasses so we ordered them. This is the first time in 25 years I've had decent glasses with an updated prescription! It's a poverty thing, you know? Well, since then we have tried to get a hold of you to confirm your hours, and no matter what button I hit on your menu it just says the person at the Same Number extension is on the phone! All day? Why have menu options that go to a single extension? I'm quite disabled and in constant pain, I can't just travel to a closed store, you know? Is anybody there?

Usually I have no issues here and am happy with the service they provide. However, yesterday I had an absolutely awful experience. I called to speak with my eye doctor because I had some questions about getting my lenses prescription put into to my frames. I spoke with a man that I later discovered was the store manager, Nick, and he informed me that I can't speak with my doctor at all without an appointment, I can't even leave a message for a call back. He offered to answer my questions, but some of my questions involved medical questions and he is not a licensed doctor, therefore unqualified to answer them. I went into the store location hoping to speak with a manager and my doctor. This is when I discovered that I was speaking with the manager, Nick, over the phone. He told me that I'm "wasting my time, that my doctor wasn't in, that she would have no intention to call me even if I left a message especially since the doctors don't use the phones (which makes no sense, she literally tells me to call with questions), gave me incorrect information about insurance stipulations (that I confirmed is incorrect, 3 times), that I don't medically qualify for coverage (like I said though, he isn't a doctor and can't make that determination), and invited me to leave the property and find a new eye doctor/lenses provider." I'm pretty confident that my doctor was there too. Pretty sure I watched her walking through the door as I was arriving. If someone would like to reach out and discuss this further, you have my contact information, and I look forward to hearing from you.

I was a new patient and although Dr. Lucie was amazing, the follow up interactions i had with the team today were awful. They provided me with an incomplete prescription to order glasses, when I called to inquire and get the correct information, I was informed that I would need to come back in and pay an additional fee in order to get the information that I need to order glasses. Not very kind and certainly not very helpful after having spent over an hour there yesterday.

Dr. Gladstone is lovely; however, when I called to make my appointment (I've been a patient for years, with the same insurance I've always had), I was not told that my insurance would not cover the visit. As such, I was left with a $195 bill that I shouldn't have had to pay.

I just received a bill a month before Christmas for an exam I was under the impression was "routine." Come to find out, they billed as a medical diagnostic exam because I am pre- diabetic )which is being monitored by my physician and has been since my diagnosis 10 years ago. When I called to ask why I was told in the beginning, "we automatically do it as a medical exam when you have a diagnosis like pre diabetes." So I asked why I wasn't made aware of that until a month later when I got a bill. She then told me, "we don't know how the doctor is going to bill until after the appointment." Excuse me? They knew from the being of my medical diagnosis so I should have been told up front. Now I have a bill that I can't afford to pay right before Christmas. I am very disappointed and how they handled this situation and I will not be going back. I know a review means little to nothing, but if I can save someone from a surprise bill right before a major holiday, it's the least I can do.

Been going there for years and this year went for annual exam and new glasses but was told they no longer took my insurance. After reviewing the web site, VSP IS listed as insurance accepted. I work for one of the largest Healthcare systems in the state and will be sure to NOT recommend this business.

I have been here twice to see Dr. Gladstone. The chief advantage of going to Smart Eyecare is that they have a machine that does a special image of the insides of your eyes for a fee of $35. The first visit was excellent. However, when I visited a year later in November 2021, the waiting room was so hot and stuffy it felt like a furnace! And, though it may have been because of the masks we were wearing, Dr. Gladstone seemed to be having problems with her hearing.

What amazing and dedicated care. I had a day of vision loss due to glucose issues and the doctor and staff were supportive, tested everything they could that day and even checked up on me later in the week. TOP NOTCH