Pioneer Optical

They deliberately withheld the eye exam results unless you purchased lenses from their shop. --> P.S. They just replied to my review. I have to say I have no obligation to disclose my full name on internet review site. But I visited the shop for eye exam in the past. After the exam, they tried to persuade me to order their frame and lens but I didn't. At the end, they didn't voluntarily give me the prescription report.

They are family business that has been in the area for more than 30 years. The vibe is so different than a huge group practice or those big corps only look at profit and rush through the appointment. Dr. Tsao is the owners' daughter and she is superb! She explained everything in detail and she is very friendly. We did myopia control consultation and learned we have a few options, ortho k, softlens mysite and eyedrop. Highly recommended!

Stopped in for the first time to see if they could adjust my glasses. Stewart did not hesitate to help. His attention to detail is impeccable, adjusting to fit me exactly. While there Stewart shared Pioneer's history--all the way back to 1987. I even got to meet the whole family, down to their dog, Sophie! You will find only high quality and kindness here. Highly recommend!!!

I have been coming here for 27 years and have many pairs of glasses from Pioneer. I tried a number of other places and have always had issues with my prescription and glasses. I have a high prescription and this is the first store I have been to where I have not had a problem with my glasses. The clarity of vision, quality of frames and lenses, and customer service are the best! I can't recommend them enough.

My experience at Pioneer Optical was nothing but spectacular. I got my eyeglasses four months ago and have been very happy since day one. One can find high quality lenses and wide variety of frames in the store. For a reference, I got essilor 1.74 index with blue light filter. The owners are very experienced, and know what they are doing, so I'm sure they can help with almost any type vision problems one might have. This place has been family owned and operated for more than 30 years, and is still in business, something tells about the quality of the service that one can expect. When you order a pair of frame and lenses, all are installed in the store by the owner, which is really cool I think. In case there is a problem, you know whom you should contact. My glasses were ready in less than a week, which is pretty good considering the lenses were shipped from overseas (France I guess). As a side note, there is an option of purchasing clip on/flip up polarized sunglasses, which is customized to your frame and made by the owner. If you want to use sunglasses but always find it unpractical due to your regular eyeglasses I'd recommend this option. One last word about the prices: This place is not cheap but definitely not overpriced, and you get what you pay for. If you are in doubt think how many hours you use your glasses per day or how often you need them, then compare it with other big budget items you've recently got.

I've visited Pioneer a number of times in the past few years for eye exams, new complete glasses, and placing existing lenses in new frames. I could not recommend this local Rockville business more highly. The long, rich, deep technical expertise I've found at Pioneer is unusual and frankly thrilling. I appreciate their understanding of style - in my case, styles for men; they typically have in stock new or vintage frames that are truly on point. Don't sleep on Pioneer - it's a great place!

This is an outstanding, honest business! I had an amazing experience. Dr. Tsao is a great optometrist and very meticulous with the eye exam. Wendy was incredibly helpful with helping me try on frames and figuring out my insurance benefits. Also, Wendy and Stew explained everything!! Stew custom makes the lenses in house- ask him about them :) I learned so much about lenses and frames because they took the time to educate me and answer my questions. They are truly experts in the field, very helpful, and genuinely nice people devoted to their work and customers. Plus they practice with integrity and honesty. I highly recommend this business! Also wanted to comment on the after sales experience. I received my glasses and didn't feel like I could see 20/20. They rechecked my prescription AND remade my lenses, and I experienced outstanding service again. No extra costs! They stand behind their work.

Strongly advice taking your business elsewhere. My frame (price was over $200) broke in less than a year. I went to the store and they said they'd get back be to me in a couple of days. No response for over a week, so I called them again. They said it had been over a year since purchase so there was nothing they could do beyond a 20% discount on a new frame. This despite the *pickup* date having been within a year (because they had to re-install the lenses the first time). On top of that I was told they couldn't honor the pickup date because people could be 2 months late in picking up glasses (wasn't the case here of course) and that other people have not had issues with this frame. The story kept changing. I've worn glasses for over 35 years now and have literally never had a frame break like this or so early. My guess is it's a fake. I thought I was supporting a local business but apparently I had signed up to be scammed and insulted.