Melvyn D Bert, MD

I had a pleasant experience with dr. Bert. He’s very friendly and meticulous.
The customer service here is above and beyond to make sure that I’m happy with my glasses. My prescription glasses came with the glasses slightly thicker than the frame on the left side. Dustin, the optometrist, just went ahead and ordered me a pair of new lenses. Even tho I’m still adjusting to my glasses but I’m very happy that I decided to come here.

Best doctor I could ask for.

I’m a terrible patient. Dr. Bert’s team ordered new lenses for my glasses back in 2013 and I let them sit there for over two years. Not kidding.
Fast forward to 2015 and I did come back for an annual exam as well as new pair of glasses. They still had my lenses and sent them back to the manufacturer to fit the new frames.
This time, I came back within two weeks. No shaming required.

Eye styes are no fun, seeing Dr. Benjamin Bert is. Okay, so having to see a doctor is never fun, but visiting Dr. Bert’s office is not, not fun. Staff is friendly, professional, and kind. Weird that I’m saying this, but I’m looking forward to my follow up appointment.

I agree with all the high marks and positive feedback. Excellence experience with this doctor/​office. The staff is knowledgable and responsive and Dr. Bert spends time with you to really educate you and ensure you’re getting the best care possible.
Overall, an incredible experience.
The best part, they didn’t even know they had all this Unilocal love! Not doing what they do just for the ratings makes me love them all the more.

I had a very pleasant experience visiting Dr. Melvyn Bert for a vision concern.
I can honestly say I have never been to an eye-​specialist who was as caring, sympathetic, understanding, and dedicated to his profession.
I fully intend to return here for all of my future eye needs.

What a stellar eye-​exam-​y experience.
My initial contact with Ashley booking an appointment for the first time yielded some complications with my health insurance, but she happily worked with me and sorted everything out. Then I met Dustin and Dr. Bert, who were both amazing.
Dustin made the welcoming paperwork seem less tedious by talking to me about my eyewear (and life), and he was SUPERR helpful in the frames selection process. Who knew my mushy face worked so well with linearly shaped glasses? ;)
Dr. Bert immediately found common ground before diving into my eyeballs, and the whole bright light/​dilation thing passed without batting an eye. Haha get it?!
This wonderful ensemble of professionals have got a sweet gig going on in Union Square. Go check them out!

Outstanding experience here as a new patient. Dr Bert and his staff Dustin, Maryann and Ashley were all extremely professional and courteous and they went out of their way to make me feel welcome. Very thorough, efficient exam using modern equipment. I received excellent care and will definitely be recommending friends, family and coworkers!

I saw Dr. Benjamin Bert this morning after reading Unilocal reviews to find an ophthalmologist in the city. He was outstanding. He was both punctual, thorough, and extremely knowledgable. I’ve grown up going to ophthalmologists annually, and I felt that he was among the very best.
My vision had recently become slightly blurry in one eye, which was the reason for my appointment. He explained what he was looking for in the tests that were run and he scheduled a follow-​up appointment in a month to ensure things continued to progress properly.
He will definitely be my regular ophthalmologist.

I don’t understand why some of the comments below are negative in any way. I’ve seen opthalmologists in several cities and Dr Bert is the best. He is extremely knowledgable and I feel comfortable putting my eyesight in his hands. I told him I was moving to Las Vegas and he offered to put me in touch with a new local eye doctor. His whole staff is friendly and they have a great selection of fashionable frames available to boot!

[NOTE: I saw Dr. Benjamin Bert, who according to reviews on here is the son of Dr. Melvyn.]
Chiming in because I almost didn’t come here due to some of the negative reviews, and yet had an extremely positive experience.
The full experience and situation is described below, but the TL;DR is that despite my strong skepticism (due to some negative Unilocal reviews) and somewhat unusual situation w.r.t. my eye health records, my experience was overwhelmingly positive and I fully intend to return for as long as I live in San Francisco.
;;
I just moved to the city and had yet to schedule an eye appointment out here since moving. My final pair of contact lenses tore immediately after putting them in, and I did not have a pair of backup glasses, so rather than having a 30-​day buffer I needed an appointment as soon as possible, but I still was concerned that I received quality care.
I cross-​referenced my employer-​provided insurance network with reviews on Unilocal and my own judgement to try to find an eye doctor. Dr. Bert’s office has some glowing reviews but also a few very negative ones, so (as hinted above) I had initially ruled out this office. However, after trying a few other offices and being unable to find an appointment earlier than the middle of March (unacceptably long in my situation), I scheduled an appointment at Dr. Bert’s despite some reluctance.
Looking back, I can’t believe I was so skeptical.
The process of scheduling the appointment was very easy. I called and the receptionist was very friendly, and looked up my insurance information while on the phone to make sure I would be covered.
(My ONLY nit about the entire experience was that the lady on the phone forgot that I requested both an eye exam and a contact lens fitting — she scheduled just the eye exam at first, and I only caught the error when she read everything back to me to confirm. This is a forgivable and very human mistake.)
I arrived 25 minutes early as requested so I could fill out new patient forms. The front desk staff were all incredibly friendly, very chatty, and were clearly quite cheerful and loved their job. My appointment was perfectly on time.
Dustin, the optometrist, was also very friendly and helpful. I did not have my previous eye records available, and also felt that, despite having worn the same contacts for 8 years, my previous lenses of choice either no longer fit as well or were less well tolerated by my eyes. Thus, I was looking to be re-​fit to a pair of contact lenses from scratch. Dustin was very patient in the conversation that led to these revelations despite that I got the impression my situation was unusual.
I saw Dr. Benjamin Bert for the ophthalmologist’s part of the appointment. He too was quite friendly (notice the trend here). I always ask lots of questions when I see doctors, and he was patient and happy to answer all of them. He cracked a couple of jokes and made light conversation but also was very efficient and professional. Based on the shape of my eye he suggested a different brand of contact lenses from those I’d been wearing for the past 8 years, and thus far he has been spot-​on as the trial pair immediately felt much more comfortable than I was used to (and continues to feel this way).
Overall an incredibly positive experience and I will be recommending this office to anyone I know who is looking for an eye doctor in this area.

It’s pretty rare to come across an optometrist, an ophthalmologist and an Eyewear shop all-​in-​one. Doctor Bert, Dustin, Certified Optician, and his staff are incredible.
I came here because my previous optometrist in the east bay closed his office and moved to Kaiser so I was looking for a reputable place that accepted VSP medical insurance (I’ve changed optometrists half a dozen times in the last couple of years so I wanted to pick someone and someplace I could stick with for the long term).
After my first visit with Dr. Bert, I was impressed with his thoroughness and patience, not to mention his charming but witty character ;). Dustin and Bert gave me some contacts to try. After a few weeks, I began to notice that my eye sight was still not steady, so I came back for a second visit. Dustin gave me a second set to work with. I am now very satisfied with the contacts prescription they’ve set me up with.
Their patience and genuine care for their patients are what I admire and what will continue to keep me returning here as a patient. Their willingness to also accommodate my busy work schedule is something worth mentioning.
They have select brands of eyewear here, including Gucci, Marc Jacobs, & Kate Spade. I ended up also getting a pair of glasses here since I was pleased with their selection.
Two thumbs way up for a solid staff, great examination experience, convenient downtown SF location (easily accessible by BART, muni, bus or there’s several parking garages nearby), as well as good boutique/​eye-​wear selection.

I believe that Dr. Bert is a qualified UCSF ophthalmologist with years of experience. But this review is mainly about his behavior in the examination room. I found his «bedside manner» to be unprofessional. Dr. Bert was abrupt, condescending, and quite judgmental when examining my vision. Due my age and occupation, he assumed that my vision was worsening because of excessive computer use. He then went on a tirade about how this generation (mine) was «ruining their eyes» and that no medical intervention would be able to help them. When I started to do the reading test, I had trouble seeing the smallest letters. As I struggled, I kept telling Dr. Bert that I couldn’t clearly see them. But instead of focusing on correcting my vision, he started up again, berating me like a child about how computers were ruining my eyes. I was stunned.
I decided to get a second opinion from another qualified UCSF ophthalmologist who confirmed that Dr. Bert was «a bit different» and had «strong opinions.» He also confirmed that my family history of poor vision and natural aging were actually stronger factors in my changing vision, something that Dr. Bert was probably aware of but chose to ignore during my examination. I am concluding that he was more interested in expressing his viewpoints and biases rather than offering an objective, professional assessment.
Another reviewer commented that Dr. Bert is like a «jolly ol’ grandpa.» Think about that. Do you really want someone fitting the profile of Santa Claus to examine your eyes? Creepy.

Dr. Bert’s office is the best in the bay hands down! My experience there was beyond impeccable and Dustin was a tremendous help. I would highly recommend Dr. Bert’s office to anyone that cares about their eyes as you only get one set for the rest of your life, seeing is believing ;)

I’ve been coming here for years and after toiling for my entire life find the pinnacle of eye care, I have finally discovered it. The staff and facilities are superb and Dustin especially does a great job taking care of you from the moment you step in the door. I highly recommend this place to anybody I know and don’t know.

Dr. Bert is hands down the best optical shop I’ve ever been to… And I’ve been around. Their selection, service, and quality is far and beyond anywhere else I’ve been. Dustin is incredibly helpful and exceptionally knowledgeable — not to mention the staff are some of the friendliest people I’ve come across in SF. I feel lucky to have found the place where I will undoubtedly get my glasses for as long as their doors are open. HIGHLY recommended.

This was the most expensive vision appointment I have ever had. Be sure to triple-​check your vision plan before coming here. I had been hoping to step up to an opthamologist from an optometrist, but I’m going back to my old optomestrist.

I guess I can trust Unilocal for restaurant suggestions but not for doctors. This was the absolute worst experience I’ve had with any ophthalmologist, actually any doctor for that matter. I went to Dr. Bert a year ago due to the great Unilocal reviews. The visit was alright, nothing extraordinary, but the bill was insane. I have great vision coverage and usually am able to use the coverage for the contacts eye exam + a years worth of contacts. At Dr. Bert’s, I had to pay an additional $ 175 just for the contacts exam. That is absurd. On top of that, I feel that he is advertising for acuvue oasys or gets some benefit for recommending them. I was doing excellent with my coppervision brand, but he INSISTED on switching me to acuvue. However, Acuvue was simply not right for me – it was uncomfortable and my makeup always seem to get on them. After switching between three different contacts and numerous visits back to the office, he finally switched me back to coppervision, but not until he told me that I must be using the wrong make up. That’s funny – I NEVER had this issue before!
The icing on top of the cake, I went to a different ophthalmologist today because I feel that I don’t see as well out of my left eye. Well, it was because Dr. Bert gave me a prescription –0.5 too strong for my eye. I hate writing bad reviews but this was just such an horribly awful experience.

Dr Bert is awesome. I look forward to my next visit!
Dustin, the optician, is very knowledgable and incredibly helpful.
Great staff!

It was harder than I thought it would be to find a good opthamologist. Dr. Bert answered all my questions and gave me thoughtful advice.
Dustin was great with the eyeglass selection process. The only negative was that they called to tell me my glasses were ready when only the lenses had come in. I had to make an extra trip on a week day but I love my glasses so it all worked out.