If you live in a City other than Melbourne and are thinking of going to discount eyewear Company Specsavers, you may want to think again, with customers having to wait weeks to get a prescription filled with the Company using only one Melbourne based lab to process thousands of glasses every week for the entire nation.
A visit to the Product Review website reveals that of over 1,500 people who wrote a review the bulk were bad reviews with many complaining of problems with delivery.
The Company is franchised, and this year the UK based company opened their 400th shop in Australia but despite the growth the business has failed to invest in labs in NSW or Queensland two of their biggest markets.
Instead, they are taking customers money upfront and then making NSW, NT and Queensland customers wait weeks to get back their glasses which when one has lost or broken ones glasses is rough treatment from a Company that is owned by a Welsh billionaire, Douglas Perkins and his family who operates out of Guernsey a tax haven located on an Island between France and the UK.
Perkins is worth over $3 Billion dollars.
The Australian operation last year delivered profits of $72M up from $64.8 million in 2019.
Revenues were $1.071 Billion via the Consolidated Company and $606 Million via the parent Company that delivered an additional $18M in profit.
The Company managed to spend $70M on advertising but it appears they do not want to invest in better service for the bulk of their Australian customers.
Creative for the Companies digital online advertising as well as their outdoor and TV media is also developed by the Companies tax haven-based business.
When I first started using Specsavers the glasses were returned with a week now customers are being forced to wait three weeks or more to get back a subscription. This is despite the business taking customers money up front.
Financial reports lodged with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission show that ‘During the year certain subsidiaries declared and paid fully franked dividends of $72,940,187 (2019: $61,375,804) to noncontrolling interests.
Directors of the business include Douglas Perkins, his wife Mary and son John Perkins who are residents on Guernsey.
The business has also expanded into audiology in Australia however the concept of investing in delivering better service in Australia appears to be falling on deaf ears as the directors’ pocket tens of millions of dollars despite COVID-19 which has seen demand for eyewear grow as consumers spend more time on screens at home.
A visit to the Product Review website reveals more complaints than complements about Specsavers products.
Out of 1,510 reviews 782 panned the Company handing out a one-star review, 199 gave a two-star review while only 393 handed the Company a 5-star review.
One customer writing under the name BMO from Metropolitan Adelaide, SA The quality of Specsavers glasses and lenses have fallen in recent years. Until 2020, they were my ‘go to’ for glasses. However, in 2020….I found them lacking.
My first issue was with the coating on my glasses…. I have had nothing but problems with this coating. The glasses constantly ‘fog up’ and always look smudged.
The writer was also refused a warranty claim when the arm came off another pair of Specsavers glasses.
Mark from Darwin in the Northern Territory wrote under the headline ‘Poor Customer Service’.
He complained of ‘rude and disrespectful customer service’ he accused staff of poor interpersonal communication levels.
Jas a Melbourne Victoria based customer wrote Under the headline ‘Have waited over 3 weeks for glasses – rang to chase up and was told it will be another 4-5 days!!!
Three weeks ago Granny Jules from Sydney wrote ‘Feel scammed by shonky service’ she added “Disappointing service as they were very pushy about what to get and push to use all Medicare services so they get money. Takes a long time to get prescription lenses. ?
See Spec Savers Product Review comments here.
