I started wearing glasses in early 2021, aged 14, after months and months of staring at my laptop from online schooling during the pandemic. Before that, eye tests were a foreign concept to me, which I had rarely ever had.
Recently Specsavers approached EALING.NEWS offering a quick, lunchtime service at their Acton branch, I gladly accepted and booked myself in.
I have not had an eye test since 2022, and as a sixth-form student who struggles to find time where I’m not working, being able to go into Specsavers during my lunch break was incredibly convenient. I booked in for 12:50pm, which in many places would mean twenty minutes later, but the Acton team were punctual. I arrived on time and they saw me on time.
I was first whisked away into an OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) test, in order for the optician to take a picture of the back of my eye. She was quick and gave me simple and clear instructions as to how the test worked and what I was to do. As a young person, I was not tested for glaucoma, but 3D images were taken of the back of both of my eyes to look at the health of my retina and my optic nerve.
Straight after this, the optician took me downstairs for my sight test. She took a look at my current prescription and began my test from where I initially was.
I have always had quite a difference in prescription between both of my eyes, and she took this in mind whilst selecting lenses for me to look through.
She took me through letters, colours and arrangements of circles, applying lenses of different prescriptions to each of my eyes in order to determine which ones I could see through best and which ones made my not-so-great vision a lot worse. This, like OCT test, all was conducted very quickly, yet thoroughly. Then, the optician looked at my eyes with a light, and my sight test was concluded.
I was given my results then and there, and the optician informed me that my prescription had changed significantly in comparison to my current glasses. She also showed me the 3D pictures that were taken in the OCT test and explained what was going on in them to me. She then told me that I should come back in a year’s time.
I then went back upstairs to the front of the shop to choose my new glasses. Now, I’ve worn the same style of glasses since I was first told I need glasses, so I definitely wanted to change it up. But I didn’t know where exactly to start. Thankfully, the Specsavers Acton team were able to guide me and gave me numerous pairs to try on so I could deduce what I though suited me and what I disliked. And after trying on I don’t know how many pairs; I finally found the ones – Karen Millen. The staff then confirmed my lenses and before I knew it, my ‘Lunchtime MOT’ was complete.
In total, the whole experience took around 40 minutes, under 20 minutes of that was the actual testing. The entire Acton team were incredibly helpful and all they wanted to do was make sure I found the glasses that were right for me. A week later, my glasses were ready to pick up and I have been wearing them since.
So, if you’ve been pushing off your eye test for a while, I can assure you that a trip to your local Specsavers won’t be a waste of time.
Specsavers Acton is located at: 150 High Street, Acton, Greater London, W3 6QZ
Tel: 020 8992 3860
