Longwood Optical

Amazing service. Excellent attention to detail. Money and time worth spent. I receive comments about the glasses you helped me to select Bill! You know your clients and what will look good on their face. Thanks a million. Now that I’m officially a member of the four eyes club, you have a repeat customer in me.

The person selling the eyeglass cases seems to be profit-​oriented and not helpful at all. First, he misinformed me about the existence of a frame they do not carry, and then mocked and humiliated me when I asked if he would help adjust the frame I had to purchase through mail order. He pushed a side of the frame on my face until it was crooked, and sarcastically asked: «Is this how you like it?» There was an eyeware rep sitting in the store at the time of my visit and she was visibly uncomfortable with the way the store clerk was treating me. I eventually felt so bad, I left the store — never to return.

Traveling from out of town & had an eyeglass emergency on the T! I CAN’T SEE! Bought Super Glue to fix the problem. Realizing that would ruin any chance to repair them, I took a chance & used Unilocal to find someone who could make me a pair today! They were the closest place & they FIXED THEM IN 5 MINUTES!!! I’m so happy!!! THANKS LONGWOOD!!!

Bill is as nice as they come and I’ve always been happy with the glasses I’ve gotten there. Once, he was already out the door and had locked up when I showed up. My glasses had broken and I was leaving town the next day. He opened back up and dug through his entire stock of 700 frames (while explaining to his wife on the phone why he wasn’t on the road yet) to find the one pair that he could fit my existing lenses into so that I wouldn’t have to wait for new ones to be made.

I went to Longwood Optical on a referral from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, as the hospital doesn’t do contact lens exams.
I was able to get an appointment very quickly and when I showed up, Dr. Shah came to get me before I had even finished filling out the paperwork.
He was very thorough, giving me 3 different lenses to try until we found one that seemed to work, and said to come back for a follow-​up. He seemed very concerned in my well-​being, making sure we have the right pair/​prescription.
It is a very small space, so you can sort of hear some of what’s being said to other patients, but they all try to be very quiet and respectful of patient confidentiality. The 2 staff (a male & female) working were very pleasant. The male even cleaned my glasses for me — something most other eye places won’t do any longer. Great service, in my book!
Dr. Shah only works here 3 days a week, as he’s at other practices, but he has 2 days of evening appointments, which is nice.
Very happy I was referred here!

While I agree that Bill’s prices are not a discount you will not be disappointed with the service you will receive from this place. Your glasses will be ready in a couple of days versus weeks and like another reviewer said, Bill is a perfectionist. He will not let you leave the shop unless you are satisfied with the glasses. Also if you bring in a pair, no matter how old or where you bought them he will adjust them to fit back like they were new. A few years ago I tried Cambridge eye doctors in Washington sq Brookline to save money. Ha! They couldn’t fit glasses if their lives depended on it. Go to Bill you will not be let down.

Look, if you walk in the door of Longwood Optical in search of a bargain, you «likely» walked into eye store. And the reason why I say «likely» is because I think you could get better deals elsewhere, but I’m not sure. And the reason why I’m not sure is because after visiting Longwood Optical, I didn’t care. I got great, personalized service here, and I walked out thinking that the $ 99 I spent on an eye exam and ~$ 250 I spent on new lenses was worth every penny, and given how cheap I am, that’s saying something.
— I visited with Manish Shah for the eye exam. I’m not sure what the difference is between a really good O.D. and a bad O.D. — I felt like he got the job done and was courteous, so that’s good enough for me.
— Bill, who helped me pick out new lenses, was an absolute joy to work with. He walked me through the different options I had for lenses and made me a lot of fair recommendations. I had an old pair of Nike frames that I have purchased 6 years ago, and I did not have an extra pair of glasses, so he lent me a newer model of the same Nike frames while he sent my frames to the lens manufacturer. After the lenses arrived, he was really a perfectionist in making sure my glasses rested properly on my face. For years, I had had this feeling that my glasses were ever so slightly crooked, and he meticulously figured out what was going on. And he replaced the nose pads of my glasses for free (and promised to do so as often as I needed).
— I browsed a couple different options for new frames, and Bill is an encyclopedia of frames knowledge. It’s really uncanny, but also kind of makes sense, given the area. The Longwood Medical Area is full of nerds of different sorts, people studying different niches of science. Bill seems to have thousands of frames committed to memory, and the way he geeks out over them is quite cool and remarkable.

I was looking for a optometrist close to my work and my insurance recommended Longwood Optical. Upon entering the store I was hoping there was some sort of back room where the frames were, because all I saw were frames in glass cases that could only be accessed from behind the counter. When picking out frames that I’m going to be wearing for the next 2 to 4 years, I tend to be a bit picky and I like to try on a lot to make sure I am completely happy with my purchase. The ONLY good part about my experience here was Dr. Manish Shah. He was thorough, friendly and patient. After my exam I was helped by Bill to try and pick out the right frames for me. There really is no way to say this without sounding like a jerk but I did not feel comfortable being around him. I understand he’s been in this business a long time and is trying to be friendly but I felt rushed and forced into trying on glasses that I did not want to try on. I much prefer being able to look around, try frames on freely, and ask questions when they arrise. After trying on all frames they had in stock that I thought I liked, none of them really suited me. Bill seemed irritated that I wasn’t going to purchase my glasses from him, which is kind of understandable, seeing as how he spent about a half hour with me, but I’m not obligated to buy anything if I don’t find something I like. Which is something he should also understand. The whole experience was really awkward and weird, I don’t plan on returning.

I LOVE this place. I lived in Boston for five years, and the last two-​three I found this place and have gone back ever since.
The man, Bill, is awesome. He’s incredibly nice, talkative, and isn’t just trying to get money out of you which I really appreciate. When I first came in here, I actually just wanted my pair of glasses fitted better that I bought elsewhere. He did it for free, and because of that I came back for my contact lenses and an eye exam a few more times. Each time I left incredibly happy, everyone there is really helpful, and now that I’ve moved to New Hampshire, they’re definitely one of the businesses I miss the most.
I’m not going to say its the cheapest place around, but the people are helpful, honest, and frankly if I have to pay a tiny bit more for this nice of service, I’m happy to do so.

I came here today because my department store sunglasses were too big and kept falling off my face. A nice gentleman, probably the owner, very thoroughly adjusted my glasses for me so they would better fit my face. I was done in less than 10 minutes and he didn’t charge me a penny! I’d be happy to come back here in the future if I ever needed glasses.

A great location if you work in Longwood medical, I came here because I needed prescription safety glasses. The owner, William «Bill» Bourget, is meticulous and a perfectionist, he had a ton of experience, which is a good thing. This guy is old fashioned in the good way, and takes great pride in his work. You are sure to get the perfect glasses here.
Recommended.