This location is Impossible to park, and the employees seem to be angsty college kids. Go to a different Warby Parker Austin location or do the right thing and BUY LOCAL.
Optometrists at Warby Parker earn around $20/hr. That's the going rate for a babysitter and far less than most restaurants pay their staff. In Austin, $40k/yr. salary (equivalent of $20/hr.) is not even close to a living wage. You will get what you pay for. Like with cheap minute clinics, these are the bottom of the barrel Optometrists or first year grads. For my eyes and my family, I'll take a real doctor with years of experience.
Warby Parker is not some little startup. It is a large multi-billion dollar, profit focused public corporation. Their primary goal is to make their stock go up. The primary levers they have to increase their stock value are payroll costs and the cost of lenses and frames. They clearly underpay their employees, it's not much of a stretch to assume they are "optimizing their supply chain" to focus on profits rather than quality.
Parking at Warby Parker Austin Central Park is difficult because it shares a lot with Central Market Grocery store, a hospital and a number of other large retailers. Parking is always difficult. Most of the spots are reserved and like many Austin lots, they have a comical section for "small cars" which inevitably means every truck and SUV takes two spots and you won't be able to park.
Warby Parker has a corporate policy that if you are more than 5 minutes late, they cancel the appointment, charge your card, and make you setup a new appointment for another time and day. If you are 6 minutes late, you're out of luck.
The quality of the Warby Parker glasses has declined in the past few years. Lenses rarely last more than a year before they become so scratched that they must be replaced (I barely ever wear them). I've tried their blue light, their plain, without coatings, with coatings.
Warby Parker is known for making cheap, disposable, Chinese made glasses and they do not warranty their products effectively. If you buy from them, you will definitely have to buy another pair in a year.
Save everybody the trouble, support your local businesses instead, go to a local eye doctor who can check your eyes for health issues, give you a prescription that you can take to any store you want. If cheap plastic is your thing, you can always take your prescription to Warby Parker online to experience the quality yourself.
You've been warned.
Response from Warby Parker
June 12, 2024
We are so sorry to hear about your experience, Arlo. This is absolutely not the experience we aim to provide, and we would love to follow up and help make things right from here. Please reach out to us at reviews@warbyparker.com so we can connect further!