Downtown Optometry

Awesome, friendly and fast!

Dr. Tu is great, but his support staff is incompetent. He’s been my eye doctor for about 4 years. Seems like every time I go in, someone new is training. Twice now they’ve messed up my appointment and told me incorrect information about my insurance eligibility. I had an appointment scheduled, after confirming eligibility and appointment date/​time, only to show up and be told, «I don’t know what happened. You don’t have an appointment. You can wait, but I don’t know how long you’ll be waiting.» I suggest Dr. Tu finds out who took my call on ¹²⁄₁₅ at 8:51am and investigates what that girl did wrong, because between the error and lack of customer service/​sincerity/​caring from the two girls this morning, it’s enough horrible customer service to make me never go back. I’m finding a new eye doctor.

Dr. Tu and all of his staff are fantastic. The doctor has a create bedside manner, very nice and easy to talk to. I used to him when I lived in San Diego 4 years ago and now that we have returned I called him right up to go back because he was so great. He corrected a major vision problem with my contacts that another doctor had messed up. He appears to have has the latest technology and spends time with each patient. I highly recommend him.

I have been going to Downtown Optometry for many years, my boyfriend also goes there and they are amazing. Very nice staff, excellent service, Dr. Tu is knowledgeable and always up on the latest equipment, contact lenses, glasses and is very personable and just a nice man. Their office is beautiful and they always call you when your glasses are ready and are on time, they email you a courtesy reminder when you have an appointment, I cannot say enough about them but highly recommend them and will never go to anyone else. Great business, great people and always reliable. Think very, very highly of them.

Dr Tu is great! I have a dry eye problem and he offered some different options to help with dry eyes such as eye drops and a fish oil supplement. The staff are courteous, plus a great location downtown! I would definitely recommend downtown optometry.

Very courteous staff, the Dr was very through and very helpful with explaining the exam an procedures.

Needed somewhere to fix my daughters broken glasses. Went in and facility was nice, bright and welcoming. Receptionist was pleasant and helpful. Will come back if needed.

LOVE this place! They are the best, always nice and welcoming and quick as well. I move to UTC area and still go to this place for my yearly eye check ups.
Keep up the good work!

Made sure to resolve any issues I had. Thank you for your professionalism!

The doctor called me back to try and rectify the situation which is nice and professional. I am not sure if it was in response to negative Unilocal review but who cares! Still good faith effort.

I am new to the downtown area and I needed to find an eye doctor that was also in network with Tricare Prime. I chose Downtown Optometry and I am so glad I did! Dr. Tu does a FANTASTIC job of getting to know his patients and educating them on their eye health, it really makes you feel like he cares. I also love their 20% military discount off glasses and contacts and getting my frames in was SUPER FAST! I went in on a Saturday and my new glasses were ready by the following Tuesday.

Terrible service! Just don’t even bother going here. as I was there 2 people left without getting glasses because they said we didn’t have time to choose any so they gave us our prescription and said to go elsewhere to fill them or to come back another day… & also told me about another customer «not caring of there time». terrible. Wish I could give negative stars or zero stars!

Loved the doctor. Very personable and easily explains any concerns to you. I love that I didn’t have to wait very long after arriving and paperwork was simple and straightforward. I had insurance questions and the front desk personnel was very helpful. Definitely recommend for anyone with Tricare, they also provide a military discount on all contacts and glasses of 20%!

Love Dr. Tu! Too! He is the best and the front staff is amazing as well. For the last 15 years I have been going to numerous eye doctors trying to get my prescription right and Dr. Tu did it! Thanks Dr. Tu for being the best!

Even though I’ve moved to Carlsbad, I will continue to make the trek downtown for my annual eye checkups at Downtown Optometry. Dr. Tu is so nice, and keeps everything simple, professional and relaxed.
Also, bought a pair of prescription Dior eyeglasses here two years ago and it was worth every penny. I get so many compliments on them, and the staff was so patient with me in my efforts to find a stellar pair of eyewear.

This review is long overdue. I’ve only been going to Dr. Tu for about a month now but I’ve had plenty of visits since then. My eyes are pretty troublesome and Dr. Tu has taken the time to make sure that my contacts are just right, not only prescription-​wise but for my absolute comfort as well. I definitely enjoy my weekly Tuesday visits. The staff is super friendly and they actually care, which makes me feel super comfortable. If your looking for an awesome optometrist with top notch customer service then this is the place for you.

This is a wonderful place and I will be back again for my annual check-​up and all other eye care needs for as long as I am in SD.
The receptionist was very clear, patient, and helpful over the phone when she booked my appointment. The office is very bright, clean, and well-​organized. I waited less than 10 minutes before being escorted to the examination room by the receptionist.
Dr. Tu was extremely friendly and professional. He recommended that I upgrade my brand of contact lenses since the ones I’d been wearing all these years are apparently severely outdated! He took the time to explain that the newer contacts on the market allow more oxygen to reach the eye, which was great since I’ve had a history of eye problems in the past. The exam was painless, relaxed, and quick — certainly the best one I’ve had in years. At no time did I feel like I was being rushed or pressured to purchase anything.
I was given a pair of contacts (of the brand that Dr. Tu recommended) that matched my new prescription to wear for a week before returning for a follow-​up appointment to have Dr. Tu check how my eyes were responding to them. I think it’s nice that he has his patients follow-​up with him, rather than shoo-​ing them out the door to collect payment and leave with contacts that might not be a good fit. It shows that he cares that his prescriptions were accurate and that his patients are comfortable.
My follow-​up appointment was about 5 minutes long. This, too, was painless and relaxed. The contacts I needed were actually in stock at the office, so I did not have to place an order for them and return to pick them up. The gentleman at the front desk also gave me instructions on how to obtain a mail-​in rebate on the contacts I purchased.
As a healthcare professional myself, I appreciated all the efforts Dr. Tu and his staff made to ensure that my visits were pleasant experiences. I would absolutely recommend Downtown Optometry to my friends and family!

Twice I have been to see Dr. Tu at Downtown Optometry and I have been very pleased both times. He always explains the procedures and answers my many questions, no matter how silly. His staff is very pleasant as well. I’ve never had issues with billing or refilling prescriptions. I will continue to visit Downtown Optometrist however long I’m in San Diego.

What happens when you rip a contact on the first day of your bachelorette party and completely failed to pack a second pair? Well, either you blindly go into the weekend without being able to see all the amazing things your friends planned for you, or you find the holy grail of wonderful optometrists who come to your rescue! Now this was a joint effort between my own eye Doctor sending the prescription and Downtown Optometry filling it, but without one or the other, I wouldn’t have been able to see all weekend!
After getting my eye doctor to fax over a prescription, Downtown Optometry let me stop in and filled my prescription without blinking an eye. Not only did they «see» that I really needed their help, but they didn’t bat a lash when I asked them to fill the prescription stat. Within 10 minutes, I had a new pair of contacts and was out the door to continue to the ferry to venture over to Coronado Island. I don’t live in SD but if I did live in Ron Burgandy’s town, «eye» know who I would choose as my optometrist. It doesn’t get much friendlier then this wonderful place. Thank you Downtown Optometry for truly saving my bachelorette weekend!

I am a military wife who for the past 8 years has gotten my prescription updated every two years or so at Navy and Marine Corps facilities. My eyes have changed quite a bit since my last exam 3 years ago, and the local military facilities were all booked up until November (!). My insurance therefore cleared me to pick a civilian provider from their approved list, and I chose Dr. Tu simply because he’s less than 3 blocks away from my Gaslamp residence. Frankly, I wasn’t expecting anything great.
Yow, HOW WRONG I WAS!!! Dr. Tu and his staff (especial kudos to Chantal) had me cheerfully and courteously in and out of there in less than half an hour, with all the data the Navy requires for my insurance to pay for my next set of lenses.
I’ve been wearing glasses for 37 years, sourced from providers in every region of the USA, and I can honestly say that Dr. Tu provided one of the best eye exam experiences I’ve ever had — in literally ¼ of the time any other provider has ever taken. BIG OL’ BONUS: No stinging, dizzy-​making, have to wear sunglasses for the next two days, eye-​dilation drops! Dr. Tu assured me after close examination by other methods that my optic nerves are healthy as a horse and there are no signs of glaucoma or precursors of macular degeneration, therefore THERE WAS NO NEED to subject me to that dreaded eye-​drops ordeal!
I HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Dr. Tu and Downtown Optometry with no reservations whatsoever.