Eye Care for the Adirondacks

This office has serious issues with scheduling, wait times, and patient communication. Appointments are clearly overbooked. Even when you arrive on time, it's common to wait 30 to 60 minutes before being seen, and you often spend more time in the waiting room than you do with the technician or doctor. Everything feels rushed. Communication is another major problem. I've called five times recently and have not been able to reach anyone locally. Every call has gone offshore. One woman told me this directly, another said he was just an answering service and instructed me to leave yet another voicemail. This gives the impression that patient questions and concerns are not a priority. That said, the doctors themselves are excellent. Dr. Reidell is remarkable and has given me the most thorough eye exam I've ever had at this location. I used to dread going to the eye doctor because no one truly listened to me about my vision or how contacts felt. That has completely changed. She is competent, direct, and clear in her explanations, and I now look forward to my checkups because of her. I would rate her a 10/10. I've been coming to this office for over 15 years and previously saw Dr. Kirkpatrick before he retired, so I have a long history with this practice. I've also seen Dr. Frechette once in Dr. Reidell's absence, and he was outstanding as well. He has a professional, reassuring manner that makes you feel comfortable and confident in your care. On the positive side, check-in is usually quick, the waiting area is not overly crowded, and there is plenty of seating.

I love Dr Riedell and her team. I feel that she provides the best care for all of her patients. I would give her and her team 5 stars. However, the office's scheduling system is abysmal. It took forever to get a real person and then I had to really advocate for myself to get an appointment within 2 months of the original appointment that was canceled. Then when I went to the appointment I found out that they did not schedule me for a time to evaluate my contacts too. So now I have to come back in 3 months. I don't see how some of the elderly patients they take care of are getting any reasonable care. The office is filled wall to wall with patients. In the office you are corralled like cattle and really only lack a number tag pierced on your ear. The average in and out time for an appointment is 2 hours. There are many elderly patients that are frail and probably diabetic. This is unacceptable.

The staff is great and my eye doctor is fantastic. Problem is the men's bathroom the urinal has been out of service for close to two years. The paper towel dispenser is usually out. There are a plethora of great plumbers to fix the urinal. Adirondack Affordable Plumbing would have this fixed quickly. Please call a plumber...

The Plattsburgh office has made it crystal clear that they do not care about their pediatric patients or their families' time. I scheduled my son's yearly appointment a full year in advance -- October 2024 for October 2025 -- to make sure he stayed on track with his eye care. Then, just one week before his appointment, I got a call saying it needed to be rescheduled due to a "scheduling conflict." The new date? March 2026. And this isn't an isolated mistake -- it's a pattern. When I tried scheduling appointments for my other children, they were booked nine months out, only to have those appointments pushed back seven more months, and then another five months after that. Each time, the calls came just one week before the scheduled date. This is beyond frustrating. Families plan ahead, take time off work, and make arrangements to get their kids the care they need. To be repeatedly pushed back like this, with little notice, is not only unprofessional -- it's unacceptable. Our kids deserve better. Parents deserve better. This office needs to seriously address its scheduling practices, because right now, their "care" feels anything but caring.

I arrived 20 min early. Sign in was quick. Waited very little time before being seen by tech Lauren. She was very pleasant, great demeanor and extremely professional. She did an outstanding job. Shortly afterwards, was examined and finished appt by seamless checkout including assignment of a future annual appt. Great job everyone!

This place "may" have some knowledgeable staff, but the bedside manor and customer service is the worst I've ever experienced. I was there for my yearly eye exam for contacts and glasses and anyone whos been there knows this is at least 2 hours out of your day. During the exam, I was informed that this appointment would only be for glasses (which I wear about 3 times a year) and i would have to make an appointment for march to come back for a contact lens exam. This was not told to me before and their excuse was due to short staffed. Not my fault and I traveled 1.5 hours for this exam. I needed to order new contacts as I had my last pair in my eyes, so I asked the doctor Kate Ridell if I could get a copy of my prescription for contacts so I could order more. Her response was what took the cake, I was told she wouldn't give me a copy as its been over 1 year (3 days to be exact) since my last exam. Well... thats what im here for and its not my fault your short staffed and will not do my contact lens exam today nor was i told beforehand this wasn't going to take place. Then she told me if I didnt like it I can go and see another provider! So needless to say, I will do just that and never return to this place. I will also be sure to educate anyone who's interested in going here. Think twice before you make an appointment here and wait a year to be seen. I feel this was a very non professional way of responding to me and incredibly disrespectful to waste my time for a glasses exam I did not need. You wont be getting my business anymore, and I know for a fact im not the only client who's ever experienced this nonsense. On a good note, the lady who checked me out was the best part of my visit. Wish I would have known her name to give credit where it was due. She was a prime example of what customer service should look like.

The doctor is great, but the facility is not. They are over booking appointments. Waited around for 2 hours for an annual before actually seeing the doctor. He then had to rush through because there was still so many people waiting. They also never put in my eye drop prescription to the pharmacy. It wasn't even in their system when I called to ask why the pharmacy never got it. Was sitting around with burning eyes for nothing. 2 month update! Going from 2 stars to 1 star- After having to go back many times due to reactions i was getting with the contact solution/contacts, i changed contacts and they havent put in the new script on either Hello Abby or their website for me to order more. I try calling and get either the automated person or some operator that doesnt even work there that has no idea what is going on or how to help. Finally got transfered to the contacts department where I had to leave a message. Im not even going to try to bother with getting the contacts prescription fixed so its not blurry because I would never be able to get into the office or have anyone answer the phone.

Two aspects to this. Clinically superb. Just brilliant all aspects. From initial measurements through pre-op to the skill and dedication of Dr. Douglas ( now left) and then the post operative team. Just superb. Outstanding result. Now to the aggressiveness of billing who surprised me by calling up for prepay ( declined) then at site prior to service ( declined) then post billed but questions on what was submitted to insurance. No response, no follow up,no answers except a steady stream of payment requests. It would appear that it is contracted out, it does not seem connected from my experience only. Ultimately the optical result was perfect, the pursuit of $ was less than great.