Shortly after I got home from the cardiologist, I received a text from Penn Medicine asking me to participate in a survey about my experience. It was a mixture of numbers 1-5 to rate my experience plus I could add any comments that I wanted. Most of my numbers were 5’s because overall the experience was good and I really have a great deal of respect for and confidence in Dr. Miles, but I definitely added my comments about having to wait so long without anyone telling me what was going on. And I did it without a single curse word.

The following day I headed to Snyder Opticians to get a new pair of eyeglasses and to see if they could patch up the old ones. I knew they couldn’t really repair them but perhaps they could do something. Snyder is not a discount place but they provide a lot of extra services that the discount places don’t, and I’ve been very satisfied with them for years now. They don’t contract out; they do all the work themselves right on the premises, so their turnaround time is very fast.

While I was walking there (it’s about a 30 minute walk), I received a text from Penn Medicine to the effect that they reviewed my feedback and are using it to make improvements. We’ll see.

When I arrived at Snyder Opticians I showed my broken specs to Kristi and she agreed that they could not be repaired but she thought she could at least do something to allow me to continue to wear them. She disappeared into the back room and several minutes later she emerged with a new right rail where the old one had broken off. (By the way, I understand that it’s not called a rail but a temple.)

“You fixed them!” I cried.

“No, I didn’t fix them,” she insisted. “I just made them wearable.” 

“Oh, don’t sell yourself short. For all intents and purposes you fixed them!” 

I went on to explain that I wanted a new pair pretty much like them but perhaps with somewhat sturdier frames. These had lasted for four years, maybe the new ones could last for five.

She showed me some slightly sturdier frames that had just recently come in, and I OKed them. 

She already had my prescription on file, but she’d have to call my, uh, eye doctor to make sure the one they had on file was current because it was four years old.

Did she need a deposit? She didn’t need anything. Could she give an estimate? I probably turned green at the price; as I said they aren’t a discount place. But I am very happy with their service and all the extra little touches they provide.

Leaving the opticians, I realized I was only a hop, skip, and a jump away from the Walnut Street Apple Store.

So I went there and bought a new iPad.