For those who want an eye check more comprehensive than in optical shops can try Singapore Poly's Optometry Centre (SPOC). Although the initial tests are done by final year students, the final round is done by the lecturer, a qualified optometrist. All for only $5! They will give you written prescription for new specs (some optical shops dun give you copy of prescription to keep), you can also choose to do specs at their onsite spec shop if u want. Appts can be booked online, you can Google for their website.
how long is the eye check ? unless you got lots of time to waste like 1 hour+, yes go there and have some fun and let the students practice their stuff.
it's incorrect to say that optical shops do not do a thorough job (that's depending on where you go). if you got your eyes check by an optician, most likely you just get your eye prescription check and nothing else. however if you got an optometrist, they will be able to do more thorough checks, as indicated. they will not do tests that are unnecessary. besides, it's not fun to sit there and go thru all the tests. what's most important is your concerns have been addressed by the optometrist . for example if you tell the optometrist you can't see clearly and been getting headaches, they will do the necessary tests to find out what is the likely cause of your complains.
when you visit an eye doctor, if you are lucky they spend 5 to 10 mins with you, otherwise it's less than 5 min. however, if you go to public hospitals, most likely you will see a medical doctor under training checking your eyes. they will take a longer time to check your eyes because they are inexperienced.
After reading good reviews of some Queensway optical shops in this thread, decided to check out Seng Li and AZ Optics. Seng Li staff was polite but a bit snooty & didn't seem interested to pursue business further when I was undecided during frame selection. AZ Optics on other hand was very friendly & quickly assisted me to make a choice without being pushy. Made a simple, relatively no-name specs with my high up to -8 sph and astig up to -3.25 for only $200. I went there in early afternoon and by evening was informed my specs already ready! AZ Optics gets my vote for being Triple-Friendly: People Friendly, Time Friendly and Wallet Friendly! They followed exactly the SPOC prescription and my eyes quickly adjusted to the new specs, which also speaks of the accurate skill of the SPOC optometrist.
Previously all my life had done specs at a certain "double noodle" old established shop in Bt Timah, so had no basis for comparison. My previous no-name specs was done there for $500+ some years ago, at that time thought was normal for my high power. Now I know was kena not only chop carrot but chop until like strawberry jam! Moral of story is don't stick to only one optical shop all your life.
do you know what type of lens you get from the bt timah shop as compared to the type of lens that you got from AZ ? also, the 500+ you paid is some years ago.
how can you say you kena chop when you have no basis for comparison ?
before someone say they kena chop, they have to know what they are comparing with.