Vision Plus of Ballard

I found Dr. Pyle on a list of nearby VSP providers, and I’m really glad I chose his clinic! I’m a graduate student from a university in California, and it turns out I’ve had a significantly wrong prescription for one eye, and a slightly off one for the other for the last year (who knows maybe two?). Basically one was far to weak, and the other a bit too strong. Perhaps the work of a well intentioned but hectic university clinic, perhaps my own fault as well.
Anyway, Dr. Pyle and his staff were a pleasure to work with. He provided me a trial pair and encouraged me several times to try another pair with a slightly different prescription in one eye if I wanted, before ordering my new contacts. I also tried out the photography option (instead of dilation), and enjoyed it thoroughly.
This is a friendly staff that knows how to work together! Come and see Dr. Pyle :)

very bad service. the staff tried to scam me by asking for contact lens fitting and charged 70 dollars for the fitting which was not even helpful.
The doc didn’t even gave me my contact lens prescription afterwards

Nice doctor. Nice staff. Knowledgeable and friendly. Not easy to have some poking on your eyes, so I appreciate the attention Dr. Pyle. Thanks and good work folks at Vision Plus of Ballard.

Dr Pyle is a very attentive to his patients and genuinely cares about not just their eyes but their comfort as well… the staff is very knowledgeable and helpful… the Optician Vickie is great and the frame stylist Nancy is Awesome… i got some Prada frames that i LOVE!!! would definitely recommend this to EVERYONE!!!

The frames of my glasses had broken and I didn’t have a backup, so I wanted to see what the quickest option was for getting a new pair of glasses. I went to Vision Plus of Ballard and I asked if they could find a similar pair of frames and pop my old lenses into the new frames. The staff checked my insurance to make sure I wasn’t exhausting my insurance credits, in case I needed new lenses in the future, and went over the different options with me. They agreed that using my old lenses would probably be my fastest option and the woman (I didn’t catch her name) who assisted me helped me find a pair of frames that I really liked. The whole process cost me nothing and I was in and out in under 10 minutes. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. I didn’t have an exam, but I was so impressed with everyone that helped me that I will definitely be back the next time I need one.

I came in looking to get two pairs of glasses. Nancy was very patient and spent a lot of time helping me pick my glasses. She was professional and knowledgeable.

My issue wasn’t with Dr. Pyle or the eye exam but with the staff.
In terms of Dr. Pyle he is very attentive, quick, and great with the eye exam. Afterwards you wait in the main room to view the frames. There is the receptionist who just sits there and another staff member showing the frames– there was one person being helped so I thought once she was done with him, I would be next (I was the only person in the wait/​main area). 20 minutes later I was still waiting, 35 minutes later another staff members «pops up» to help another person out who was picking up their frames and was also checking out sun glasses– that was when I had had enough– I asked for my spectacle lens RX and left.
The receptionist apologized for the wait but by then the damage was done. After the exam had they told me it would be a 30+ minutes wait to view frames I would have simply left and came back at a more convenient time– the last thing I want to do on a Saturday afternoon is waste my time. They need to work on being upfront on the wait time for looking at frames.

This is a two-​part review about going in for an eye exam.
1) For the most part, Dr. Pyle was quick, polite, and professional. He was a little panic-​inducing about an issue w/​my eyes, only to then say out loud that he didn’t mean to stress me out… and then asked me to come in again in 1 – 2 months for a more intensive exam. Not sure why the timespan should be that long for something he doesn’t want me to stress about. I figure, either book a follow-​up pretty quickly to nip something in the bud, or ask me to return in 6 – 12 months for a regular check-​up. He also under-​prescribed me due to his belief that I was possibly «straining» my eyes with my prior contact lens, then added, «come on in if you don’t like it and we can redo the prescription, no problem.» Whether or not I prefer this prescription, I won’t be going back, because…
2) I called in for a first-​time appointment, making clear that I was new and that I hadn’t had an eye exam in years. I give my insurance info and am told that’ll be a $ 10 co-​pay for an appointment the very next day – so, hey, speedy. I like that. I ask if that cost covers fancy-​pants eye photo stuff that I’d read about, and the receptionist says yes, it will.
I arrive the next day and am greeted by a staffer who asks me to fill out forms, one of which asks me to sign a document saying that I understand the fancy-​pants eye photo stuff will incur an additional $ 35 charge on top of insurance co-​pays. I say, «uh, what?» and the staffer looks at my insurance info. «Oh, you have great insurance,» she tells me, assuring me to go ahead and sign that form and that she’ll add a note at the bottom saying that I’m «covered” – which doesn’t seem like a really professional way to subvert such a charge. Then, she audibly salivates over how much per year my insurance plan covers for frames and lenses, so she starts walking me around the store to look at frames. I say, «that’s fine, let’s just start the exam as soon as that’s ready,“and I add that I’m mostly here to get a contact lens prescription so I can order that elsewhere and that «maybe» I’ll get frames here in the near future. We spend about 5 minutes looking at frames before someone yells from the back, «We’re backed up, please send his paperwork in so we can get a move on.» So I was held up for the hard sell, great.
I go through my appt, then go back to the counter and am told to pay $ 55. Say what? Turns out, I have been charged extra, but not for the fancy-​pants eye photo – rather, for a «contact lens fitting.» «Oh, the doctor didn’t tell you?» the receptionist says. I’m livid, having asked a few times in this whole process about what charges to expect, and after getting home, I call back and tell them how upset I am about the bait-​and-​switch.
I’m directed to the office manager, who apologizes and says «we should have made that clearer, yes.» However, she told me that a «contact lens fitting» is separate from an «eye exam,» then asked me how long I had been a contact lens wearer – as if I’m a nincompoop. The last thing the manager said was to the effect of telling me that I should have known what I was getting myself into but that she was sorry that that’s what happened. I told her that I didn’t appreciate her apology-​takeback and that I would never return.
Worst of all, I still don’t have my contact lens prescription; I’m expected to «come back» to confirm whether or not the one I was given was satisfactory. Hopefully they can just send it in the mail so that we never have to talk to each other again.

Let me first say Dr. Mark is great. A super nice guy who really knows his stuff. It disappoints me that his staff is so disorganized and scattered. It is like pulling teeth to get an update from the front desk. They’ve lost my insurance info twice. They often forget I am a patient. It took over two weeks to get in daily contacts, which is incredibly frustrating. I will not be back for a check up.

I am fairly new to the area and I needed to get in to get a new prescription for contact lenses. I was calling around to literally every vision center and eye doctor that I could find on my insurance. All of them told me I would have to wait at least 3 weeks. These guys were able to get me in that Saturday. They took excellent care of me and Dr. Pyle was great. I got the 3 dimensional image of my eye taken and he was able to show me exactly what he was looking for. I will absolutely be back.

I am so happy I found this place. Dr. Pyle is attentive and truly cares about his patients eyes. The front desk is always friendly and understanding. I have had recent eye issues and I have not had any problem getting emergency help, last minute appointments or advice. I have recommended this place to many co-​workers and friends.

I have been very impressed with Vision Plus. Dr. Pyle is excellent and takes his time with his patients, making sure he explains everything well. The front office staff is friendly and spent a lot of time with me picking out frames (I’m pretty indecisive). After waiting on my new glasses for 2 weeks, I called the office to check on them. They looked in their system and said to give it a few more days. An hour later they call me back and say they called the lab and followed up on the glasses… all without me asking! Apparently there was an inspection issue, but they were going to be sent soon. I was just so impressed that they called me back and did extra work to check on them without me asking. They were very helpful!

I just came from my first appointment at Vision Plus and I have wonderful things to say about Dr. Pyle. What a genuinely nice guy — and so reasonably-​priced. I would highly recommend!

Excellent people, very professional too. I went for a regular check up and found that my eyes are healthy.

I was looking for a new optometrist after relocating to Ballard. Having two great optometrist in the previous places I lived the bar was set quite high. However, Dr. Pyle managed to exceed all expectations. With a thorough, friendly, and attentive demeanor I felt confident that I was getting quality care. The ice on the cake has to be his friendly support staff — coming from Philly a friendly support staffer is a rarity. I will definitely continue seeing Dr. Pyle.

Both Dr. Mark Pyle and Vicky from the front office are great. Mark found out that both my old contact lenses and eye glasses had the wrong prescription (too strong) which was why I was straining to see. All this time I thought the prescriptions were too weak. Vicky was able to help figure out my complicated multiple insurance /​FSA situation to assist in the payment of both and also helped me pick our great frames! Highly recommend!