What Does 'Consumer Reports' Say About the Best Place to Purchase Glasses?

When Consumer Reports looked into the best places to purchase glasses, they had these recommendations:

".....if you're like the 71,000 readers who told us about buying their glasses, you'll probably be happier with an individual practitioner than a chain store....."

".....independent private Optometrists and Opthalmologists who sell glasses as a sideline generally pleased readers more often than did the big optical chain.  They also offered glasses at prices that were competitive with the large chains....."

".....almost half the readers who bought glasses at one of the big optical chains complained that they'd paid more than they expected to.....almost half of those who bought glasses from a big chain had to return at least once because of a problem with the spectacles....."

".....readers examined by private Optometrists and Opthalmologists generally found the examination very thorough; those examined at optical chains were much less likely to feel that they had a very thorough exam....."