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January 2024 by Vie
Don’t go to the 1919 Penn Ave location. Dr. Ayalew is very personable, but her support staff is beyond unprofessional. I had to call multiple times to get my prescription and was given my last year’s prescription each time. I would also be told that I’d receive a call back with my current prescription once the doctor updated it but would never receive a call back. The worst part? When they finally emailed me the new prescription, it was wrong. I had to request to change it to the correct numbers that the doctor and I had discussed! I only knew that the information contained in my prescription was wrong because the doctor had given me contact samples to try and the number on the samples did not match the prescription at all. This is unacceptable! If you want assurance that you are going to get the correct prescription and to communicate with reliable staff, please do not come here.
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December 2023 by Victor Brown
Dr. Ayalew is an exceptional eye doctor who goes above and beyond for her patients. I recently had an eye emergency on a Sunday night and emailed her, she replied st 5 am instructing me to come in first thing in the morning. I know she squeezed me in because I was unable to schedule the appointment online.Upon arriving I was literally greeted at the door and taken straight to the exam room. (I’m sure this isn’t always the case so I don’t want to build any unrealistic expectations, same goes for emailing on a Sunday night, but this was my experience today so I’m just sharing factual events) Dr. Ayalew thoroughly examined my eyes, patiently explaining the condition and answering all my questions. Her expertise and genuine concern for my well-being are always evident at my appointments.My insurance switched a few years ago and metropolitan optical doesn’t take my new insurance but Dr Ayalew is so good I go to her anyway and pay out of pocket, money speaks louder than words — this is greatest endorsement I could give any doctor.Over the past 25 years living in DC, I've consulted with several optometrists. Without a doubt, Dr. Ayalew stands out as the best in my opinion. Her combination of expertise, compassion, and patient-centric approach is unmatched. I highly recommend her to anyone seeking exceptional eye care
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September 2023 by Philip Wang
Love this place! Everyone is professional and has their masks on. They are able to repair my glasses within 10 minutes. Will recommend this place to anyone in DC area.
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September 2023 by Danielle Holman
Dr. Ayalew has been great but the customer service to receive my contacts has been the worst I have ever experienced in 2 decades of wearing contacts. The office team are nice people but every time I go, there is some issue/confusion about ordering my prescription and scheduling a follow up.It took over 1 month for my contacts to arrive when I was given a one-week timeline. Every time I called the office about the status, I received a different response — “it’s being shipped to our office…oops I mean it’s shipped to you”, “It arrived already… wait no it actually won’t be delivered until Friday.” They asked me to come into the office to pick them up, only to find they had mailed them to my house when I arrived.They scheduled me for a contact follow up when it was supposed to be a glasses follow up. It’s ridiculous, frustrating, and stressful. I really hope the service improves because I like Dr. Ayalew but this has been such a strain on my time and really disappointing.
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September 2023 by D
I simply do not understand the negative comments about the staff. I will chalk it up to a bad day. Have been seeing Dr. Ayalew for nearly two decades. She is great and her staff is friendly and efficient.
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September 2023 by Jack Murphy
Big fan of Dr. Ayalew. She is highly knowledgeable, takes the time to listen to my questions and concerns, and is always warm and friendly. Staff at the practice are also terrific.
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August 2023 by Hope Ajayi
I've been wearing the wrong contact prescription for months now and no one seems to care. I've been told my last eye exam was two years ago when I just visited in march and they have my new prescription. Despite having my new prescription, I was mailed my old lens prescription and I worry it's worsening my eyes. I've called and called and promised to get someone to call me back and of date -- I am still in my three year old prescription lenses despite Metropolitan Optical having my new prescription.
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July 2023 by Mark Baumgardner
I came to the office 15 minutes early and immediately taken care of. The staff was friendly and efficient. Once, I met with the doctor, she provided all relevant info and answered my questions. Very satisfied.
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June 2023 by Brian J.
I made an appointment for 10:45, arrived at 10:50 and was told I had to reschedule because I was late. They were rude and completely unaccommodating, awful experience. Don't go here
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June 2023 by Alyssa S.
Dr. Stupiansky was phenomenal! I had an eye infection for a month. I'd already seen a general practitioner to no avail. I was anxious and not sure anyone would necessarily be able to resolve my problem. Her bedside manner was impeccable. She's very thorough, she listens and explains things very well. She submitted a prescription, called me to let me know and told me if it's expensive let her know. I called the pharmacy and it was free because of a coupon she submitted with it. 20 minutes later I had the prescription. 2 days later my eye was completely better. Like nothing ever happened. I can't get over what a positive experience the appointment was, and how quickly and kindly she resolved an issue that was overwhelmingly annoying for a month. Literally the best doctor I've ever had.
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May 2023 by Dana R.
I have great Vision Insurance with My Company. So when I knew that I needed a new Contact Lens and an Eyeglass Prescription, I knew it would be no problem. I chose Metropolitan Optical at 1150 18th Street, NW. I was told hours, after being late that they had moved to 919, 18th Street, NW. So, I went there, unfortunately. I am a degreed professional. I work for a Primary Care Office conglomerate. I am proud to give the best quality care and best customer service possible. I was offered none, at Metropolitan Optical. I was given the wrong location, directions and told, "Oh Well!" I was never addressed by my first or last name. I was never even given a real eye exam on my first or second visit but my prescription was just copied from my eyeglasses. I was also berated by the Optometrist for not bringing in the boxes of my old empty Contact Lenses. Then I was told by the Doctor that, "You have some ole el cheapo glasses that are so cheap the prescription could not even be copied." Yet when I got in the chair she said that this was my previous prescription. I could even read the far away line perfectly. Then although my insurance information was taken three times, They never used it. I paid $109 for a Non-Exam and $117 for a year's supply of bad Contacts that they never called me back to retrieve. I could have gone somewhere else, paid the same price and maybe have been treated with more respect. The Optometrist gave me trial contacts that she said she knew would be too strong for me, that would be blurry, would take my brain a long while to adjust to and that I may not be able to see up close with. All of that happened to my detriment. Oh and I should just buy reader eyeglasses from the drug store to see up close. She said I probably previously had contacts that allowed me to see far away and up close but she wasn't going to do that. I also received a text that read that I needed to confirm my next appointment and if I cancelled not before 24 hours, there would be a $50 fee. My company does not even charge a cancellation fee and we are a Primary Care Doctors' office. We know that life happens sometimes. No wonder I was given the wrong address and the run around. Everyone was condescending, unpleasant and blatant liars. They were all pretty though. The Assistants all had on tight clothing, had pretty faces, and looked aesthetically appeasing on the outside. I guess that is what matters there. Maybe that is how they draw people into a false sense of security. Maybe they only do it to unfortunate people like myself? I am not sure? In any case and in my opinion, we are put on this earth to help one another through this thing called life. We are not here to take advantage of one another. I am so sorry that I chose this establishment. I keep wondering what I did to deserve this kind of treatment? Then I thought, I am the Customer. I did nothing wrong!? I lost over $200, my time and a bit of dignity and peace of mind but I am starting over elsewhere. I will have to shell out more money. I will have to adjust my schedule. At least, I will be able to see and prayerfully never humiliated, disrespected and demoralized like that again.
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May 2023 by Nunya Binness
Dr. Ayalew and her entire staff are fantastic. I switched to her practice a few years ago when my previous doctor retired and have been incredibly happy ever since. She is thorough, thoughtful and very knowledgeable.I have an eye condition that requires regular monitoring and correction and she has helped me understand the challenges, solutions and what to expect as I age. Everyone in the office is knowledgeable, helpful and thorough too. In fact, I raved about how great my first experience was so much that my wife started going to her too. Now she won't go anywhere else either. Top notch!
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May 2023 by CFX IDE
As a tourist from another country I stopped in this shop to have my daugther’s glasses fixed (she had lost a nose pad). They were super nice and fixed the issue on the spot. Thanks!
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April 2023 by James C.
Billing insurance headache. They misleadingly provide services during eye exams that are not covered by standard vision insurance (even in-network) and that provide little value to patients. This will not be explained until you have to pay your copay, and it turns out to be a lot more expensive than anticipated. I will not be returning.
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April 2023 by Myra S.
It took over 2 months to get my glasses and involved multiple phone calls to follow up where I was put on hold for long periods of time or had to leave voicemail and never got called back. I had to message the actual doctor in the medical chart to ask to have someone call me back and help me. I have used two other glasses chains in DC and it never took more than 2 weeks or required me calling people to get my glasses after the initial appointments. The doctor was nice and when I was in the actual store the staff was nice enough but there is nothing about this place that makes it worth waiting 2 months for glasses.
