Hoquiam Vision Clinic

The eye exam went OK. The doctor (O.D.) seemed to know what he was doing. My problem is with the business side of their operation. My wife and I were getting ready to go on a trip and I needed new glasses before we went. I usually get my eye exam and glasses at Walmart, because we know the doctor who is on site, and they've always done a good job for us. Unfortunately, however, their doctor was out of town and they couldn't schedule an exam for at least 30 days. So, I started calling around. Walmart usually charges about $70 for an eye exam, and most of the other places in town quoted me about the same amount, including the clinic I ended up going to, (which I am reviewing). As I said, the exam itself went OK, but before leaving, I wanted to pay on my bill, so I paid $45, using my credit card. They said that they would submit the (undisclosed) remainder to my insurance. I figured the balance would be another $30-40 bucks, tops. A couple of weeks later, I got a bill for $132.40 ($157.00, less $24.60, which my insurance had paid.) I just about keeled over. I called them up to see what the deal was, and they totally denied quoting me anything near $70. (Unfortunately, I did not keep the scratch paper I had written the price down on, so I had no grounds to argue with them.) I pay my bills, however, so I went into their office in person to pay what I owed. I began by asking them to explain the bill to me. Yup, it added up to $157. OK, but what about the $45 that I paid at the time of the visit? "Sorry, we have no record of that." I was sure that I had made that payment, however, because I had just reconciled my credit card bill. After some discussion, the lady behind the desk said she would check all the credit card charges that they had submitted in June. Well, what do you know? There was a copy of my original $45 payment. She says, "Oh, someone just forgot to write it down in your file." Nice! And not so much as an "I'm sorry". So in the end, they charged me more than double what they had quoted over the phone, AND they almost took me for an extra $45. One more thing, they sell eyeglasses too, so after my exam, they guided me right out to their showroom and gave me a very hard sell on some very expensive eyeglasses. (Actually all their glasses are expensive.) I will never go to this vision clinic again. Walmart will do just fine, thank you.