Morgenthal Frederics Opticians

Summary:
+ Service — everyone is friendly and helpful
+ The frames are beautiful, I love the way they look
— Very expensive
— The lens coating keeps being scratched and making it so I cannot see through my glasses.
+ I get compliments on them regularly
I am a bit of a toss up here, I love the way their glasses look on me and am complimented all the time, but I am concerned about the quality. I have had my glasses for just over 1.5 years now, and the coating on the lenses is getting scratched… again. I already had them recovered about a year ago! The first time I thought maybe it was due to some product that I was using to clean them (and luckily they do have a 1 year warranty and they recovered my glasses for free which was absolutely amazing), so since then I only use the cloth to clean them that they gave me with the glasses and really try to take care of them. So now the covering on the lens is starting to scratch again and I know its going to be super expensive to recover them… my glasses were already so expensive and it hasn’t even been 2 years! I have owned 2 other pairs of glasses who are perfectly scratch free one pair is +10 years old.

First let me say these folks make GREAT glasses. Their frames are beautiful and their lens quality is EXCELLENT. I have a prescription that can be difficult to fill. My eyes are both bad but one is SIGNIFICANTLY worse than the other. Additionally I have a slight astigmatism and wear progressive lens. They did a wonderful job making my glasses. Additionally the service I received from the two gentlemen who initially worked with me was highly professional. The salesmen made me feel comfortable and worked with me to price out options that fit both my budget and my desires without making me feel like I should leave the leave shopping at Morgenthal Frederics to folks with bottomless wallets.
So why doesn’t Morgenthal Fredrics get 5 stars? Yesterday I stopped by the store because I had stupidly stepped on my glasses and broke one of the arms. I met with a saleswoman who assured me that she could fix my glasses while I waited. GREAT! She then told me the solution would be to buy another $ 365 frame. Seriously? I had to ASK specifically if she could just replace the broken arm. She frowned at me and said that it wouldn’t be what she would recommend since one arm was broken, and according to her, the other arm was bent. She even had another saleswoman look at my glasses, (that woman seemed to think that there was no serious damage to the remaining arm. I persevered (and my glasses are FINE) but I really felt uncomfortable. When she gave me my glasses back I had to ask her to fix the balance (they were somewhat crooked on my face) Maybe I’m too touchy but I expect retailers to meet my needs without making me feel out of place.
There is a fine line between a high end shopping experience and being a SNOB. I’m not sure that Morgenthal Frederics consistently walks that line successfully.

Much better service than the one downtown. Contemplating using my flex spending remainder on a pair of Tortoiseshell frames or prescription sunglasses. Stay tune!

Morgenthal Fredeicks lied to me — I wanted the Zeist lens on frames I brought in and they tried to convince me that it was Zeist. I just checked to find out and they DID in fact LIE. They put cheaper lens in my frames but charged me for Zeist Lens!!! I am SO pissed.
Zeist is a special lens that is a camera lens and therefore provides a much clearer view than plastic.

Pre-​Morgenthat Frederics, I was one of those people who would always go into Solstice or Sunglass Hut to wistfully try on sunglasses in hopes of finding the one pair that would make me look gorgeous. This went on for a few months until I chanced upon MF in the Time Warner Bldg. I fell in love with a gorgeous pair of sunglasses — their Excaliburs (aviator-​esque) and the rest is history. Over the next few months, I forgot all about Solstice and kept visiting my beloved pair of glasses at MF, wishing I could afford the nearly $ 500 price tag. I went there so often that the sales people would recognize me as «that girl» but they were always very very nice. One day I decided to (wo)man up and buy my Excaliburs. Worth every freaking penny. $ 500 is a small price to pay for sunglasses that make me look and feel like a million dollars. Heads turn, compliments left and right. It’s ruined all other sunglasses for me, nothing else makes me look as good. It’s also satisfied my previous need to own everything at Solstice so the $ 500 I paid ended up saving me all the $$$$$$ I would’ve spent at Solstice/​Sunglass Hut.
Other Notables — The quality of their glasses is great, some of them are flashy, some of them are more subdued. Either case, they’re clearly unique. Their styles are a little more distinct and memorable.(read: you’ll never find bootleg versions being sold on the street for $ 10/​pair). The people are SOOO nice, considering it’s an expensive optical shop, they’ve never made me feel like I couldn’t afford to go there. I went once and tried on about a dozen pairs of glasses and they were super cool about it. Everything about this place is worth the extra money.