Benson/Kent Vision Source

I’ve been a client of Dr. Mitchell for many years and always appreciate his professionalism and great staff.

I have had a very good experience with Dr. Mitchell and Benson Vision Source. All the staff are absolutely wonderful. I certainly will recommend this to my friends.

I came to this place as a new customer and while the Dr was nice {the only thing saving them from a no star review} they really failed on the back end. First it took over a month to get my contacts. Why did it take a month? I don’t know, they never gave me a reason. When the contacts finally came in there was no fitting or anything, they just handed them to me in a bag and sent me on my way. Then I got the bill from my insurance, apparently they billed my insurance over $ 600.00 dollars for a routine eye exam and contacts !!! I can get my contacts anywhere else for $ 68 – 75 depending on where I go. And I have NEVER seen an office visit cost more then a $ 100 dollars. They told me the whole time that they had talked to my insurance and confirmed I was covered for everything. I even told them that if my insurance wasn’t going to cover/​pay certain parts then don’t do it and was told that they already talked to my insurance and the insurance was paying all of it. These people will over-​bill your insurance {its Legally called Predatory Billing and Insurance Fraud people}, try and stick YOU with the whole bill and THEN be extremely rude to you when you try and call to get things corrected. I will NEVER return to this place and you should consider never going there also. Terrible, Terrible service. Better Business Bureau, here I come!

Vision Source is an extremely friendly, professional and all-​around pleasant place to get your vision cared for. Dr. Mitchell is knowledgeable and easy to talk to. The staff is very accommodating, and the technology they have to help with the eye exams is really cool! I highly recommend them.

Okay, mea culpa — my eyes no longer allow me to focus on small print. The fancy technical term is presbyopia — not to be confused with Presbyterian — although with similar roots the ideas just keep coming.
Anyway, an Ev1l H4x0r who cannot read an xterm (or a book) is not going to be much of a threat, so I booked myself down 108^th to this optometrist for my very first pair of eyeglasses.
Now, I have *never* been to an eye doctor before. I have always had perfect vision. I kind of knew I was due for this; however I had no idea what to expect. The people at Benson were sympathetic, which helped my ego a lot.
The visit started by going through the standard eye exam — cover your left eye and read the line etc. Next I got to go sit in the big chair to have my prescription determined. Dr. Alan Bernstein, OD, was the optometrist who examined me. He is a mature gentleman who exudes a great deal of confidence, and who explained everything to me before things got underway.
Drops were put in my eyes to dilate them (don’t believe what they tell you — those bastards sting). Then we went through the regimen of the phoropter — the large machine that looks like a prop from one of the Alien films. Very quickly Dr. Bernstein had diagnosed exactly what my eyes needed, and it was out of the exam room to the front office to pick frames for my new glasses.
Okay, now for the really scary part, because when it comes to style and taste in eye wear, I am extremely lacking in … oh forget it — I suck! I can barely dress myself. So I had to fall back on the staff to help me pick out some eye wear that would not make me look like I was auditioning for the part of Clark Kent. Fortunately the ladies who work the front office have experience and taste, and they helped me to pick out the right frames (and they were decently priced too). Finally, I got my set of paper shades (to wear until the effect of the eye drops wore off) and instructions about when my glasses would be ready, and I headed back to work.
Two days later I picked up and paid for my brand new glasses (which I am wearing as I type this).
The good news is that now I can read what I am typing without squinting and shifting my head (I have a slight astigmatism). The really good news is that everyone I know who has taste told me that the glasses look really good.
If you’re in the South Sound and you’re looking for a place that does eyes and does them well, I recommend Benson Vision Source. They’re a small boutique place (unlike Pearle and Bausch and Lomb) with a knowledgeable staff (with good taste) who will make your experience as pleasant and comfortable as possible. They take all kinds of insurance, and the first question out of their mouth is not «what is your Social Security number?»