I recently got a new prescription, so I have been waiting for an opportunity to go into the store to have the lenses in my current Warby Parker glasses updated and to purchase an additional pair. Because I wear progressive lenses, we’re talking about an $800ish purchase.
I live and work about 40 minutes away, so going to the store is roughly a two hour commitment. After waiting several weeks, I finally had a slower morning and decided to make the trip. Since they don’t open until 10:00 a.m., I was there as soon as they opened.
I had already uploaded my new prescription online and had it validated by Warby Parker. The only thing I needed to do was place my order and make my purchase. Instead, I was informed that the optometrist had an emergency and wouldn’t be in for a couple of hours, and that the store could not sell me glasses without a licensed optical professional on site.
I understand that Tennessee regulates optical dispensing and requires licensed professionals to be involved in that process. However, Warby Parker appears to be taking that requirement to an extreme at the expense of its customers.
Tennessee’s own regulations define “optical dispensing” as the design, verification, and delivery of prescription lenses, frames, and other optical devices. I wasn’t asking this employee to verify my prescription, manufacture my lenses, fit finished glasses to my face, or deliver anything to me. I was trying to place an order and pay for glasses that wouldn’t even be ready for weeks.
Warby Parker already had my prescription, and Warby Parker had already validated it online. There was plenty of opportunity for the appropriate licensed professional to review, verify, and approve everything required before my order was manufactured or ultimately dispensed to me. There was absolutely no expectation that I was walking out of that store with prescription glasses that morning.
What makes this even more ridiculous is that I can go to Warby Parker’s website, never speak to anyone, upload that same prescription, enter my credit card information, and order prescription glasses. Yet I apparently cannot place an order with an employee standing directly in front of me because the licensed professional isn’t physically in the building at that particular moment.
The reason I couldn’t simply do this online is that I also wanted to replace the lenses in my existing Warby Parker frames, a service for which Warby Parker requires me to visit a store.
I understand Tennessee’s requirement for licensed professionals to oversee optical dispensing. My issue is with how Warby Parker has chosen to implement that requirement. There should be a process that allows an employee to begin a customer’s order and take payment, with the appropriate licensed professional reviewing and approving whatever is legally required before the order proceeds to fulfillment.
Instead, I drove 40 minutes, arranged my morning around the visit, arrived when the store opened, and left without being able to spend roughly $800 on the products I specifically came there to purchase.
That’s not protecting the customer. That’s a company policy and process creating an unnecessarily frustrating customer experience.
Do better, Warby Parker!
Response from Warby Parker
September 03, 2026
We are incredibly sorry to hear about your experience, Jordon. This is not the level of service we aim to provide, and we will absolutely pass your feedback along to our team. If you would like to discuss your experience further, please reach out to us at reviews@warbyparker.com
