There are a total of 19 Instore Opticians within the Tesco group situated across the UK. They are only sited within the Extra Store formats, to complement the Instore Pharmacy services. (Though there is at least 1 store, Inverness, where there is no pharmacy!). Plans are afoot, according to Tesco, to launch another 35 Opticians. The Optical Project started some 5 years ago within Tesco, and it seems only now that they are ready to launch full steam ahead with them.

Stores which currently have them (May 2005. Source Tesco Store Guide) -

Inverness Extra, Cambridge Extra, Cardiff Extra
Aberdeen Extra, Cheshunt Extra, Horwich Extra
Swansea Extra, Newport Extra, Peterborough Extra
Broadstairs Extra, Redditch Extra, Sandhurst Extra
Watford Extra, Weston Favell Extra, Newcastle Extra

and a host of non dispensing stores too.

The optical departments all follow the same format, basically 4 metal rooms with a common reception area, built within the store. You do get private consulting rooms and they look just like any ordinary opticians, so you dont need to worry about cost cutting by Tesco to bring down the prices by the looks of it. The rooms are clean, carpeted and feel very light and airy. There is a very clinical feel about the place, all in white which again is quite reassuring. The glasses are situated on a mass of display racks at the front of the department. There are 3 consulting rooms and 1 pre-screening room. This is where they test your eyes for field of vision, Glaucoma, and apx prescriptions. All the equipment looked new and very hi tech - so there is obviously money being invested in the departments.

For a while Tesco had a mix of Dispensing and Non Dispensing Opticians, where some carried out eye tests and some didn't. It still appears to be the case acording to Tesco's own literature, You can also get details of where Opticians are situated in the free Petrol Station / Store Guide Tesco issue each year, though it is woefully inaccurate as i found out on a few occasions. Tesco though barely make reference to their Optical services on the website which is a total sin and very unlike them. I have written to them to pass comment on this but never receievd a response on it at all.

The beauty of Tesco Opticians is the opening hours which supermarkets can offer. They do sight tests 7 days a week, late evening tests and even some holidays. I mean, we all know that when a normal Opticians is open during the day we are all at work. Late opening is such a simple idea, and one which Tesco seems to have cottoned onto, as the late evening and weekend tests need to be booked well in advance from my experience.

I booked my appointment over the phone. It cost £16. It was simple and straight forward. I gave my details, including doctor and was asked a few health questions. I was advised to take my old specs and prescription with me too. You can also book appointments instore and I was told they are looking into offering a web based service soon and call centre as they expand. Nice touch.

The staff appeared very friendly and very knowledgable. They were all wearing crisp white uniforms, name badges, and bent over backwards offering advice and discussed my prescription in depth with me. I was initially given my Pre-Screening by one of the 'Optical Assitants' before beiong taken in for my eye test with the Optometrist (on time). The test was pretty normal and certainly no different from previous ones I have had at Vision Express. The appointment lasted 20 minutes and then i was passed back to one of the assistants. They showed me the range of glasses, discussed my needs, offered a few suggestions then said they would leave me for a while to have a look myself. There was no hard sell at all, and i was left in peace to pick my favourites. The Assistants do not work on commison so I guess that explains the laid back approach, which was most refreshing too.

After choosing a few pairs, my assistant came over and gave her opinion on my choices. She was pretty critical about some of them but I couldnt help but laugh at the honesty. Another assistant came over and also gave her opinions. As i said before the refershing honesty and laid back approach was brilliant, it made the whole chore of buying specs fun for once!

We went into the reception area and the assistant ran through the len options, tints, MAR coating etc, demonstrated the ones I didnt understand in no nonsense plain english and explained the pros and cons of each one. Again no hard sell, just offered me the options and let me decide. I made my choice on an MAR coating and a pair of tinted specs too.

They offer a wide range of frames which start at £24.95 for the Budget range, with specs avaliable at £39.95, £59.95, £79.95, £99.95 and £119.95 (Designers) price brackets. This covers a huge number of frames, and impossible to list all the prices and choices (In excess of 300 frames! But there is a Tesco Finest Range too for the snob value)

Designer Frames include names such as Guess, Boss, Calvin to name but a few. Titanium, Memoflex, Rimless, Supra frames are all avaloable. The choice is almost too good. There is also a childrens range of frames as well for the young ones!

There is a huge range of lenses avaliable but the main thing to remeber is that the price you see on the frame at Tesco also includes standard single vision lenses free of charge, so no nasty hidden extras! They offer a range of lens options according to prescription. Again I am not going to give prices because everyone has a different need for eye wear, but the prices certainly compete in the middle market (Vision Express, Dolland and Aitchison). Asda offer an Optical service which is cheaper but it does show in the facilities and choice when i visited one our of curiosity in Aberdeen.

Lens options avaliable include (prices are approximate and vary according to perscription)

Bi-Focals , Vari-Focals, Compact Vari-Focals (£35 - £200)
Tint, UV Coating, MAR - (£12 - £30)
Thin and Light - (£65 upwards)
Complex High Prescription / Prism (£12 upwards)

They can provide you a quote form to take away based on the prescription you show them or your eye test results. Again its the no hard sell approach. You do not have to have an eye test with Tesco to buy glasses from them. As loong as you have a valid prescription from elsewhere they can use that to provide a service to you. However with Contact Lenses, they must carry out the Contact Lens consultation with you and you will be obliged to attend more regular tests with them too.

Delivery time varies from 7 - 28 days according to your prescription complexity. But you are always given a due date at the time of order. I was genuinely pleased when after being quoted 7 days, mine arrived in 2! I had to pay for my glasses at the time of order. When they arrived I was given a courtesy phone call in the evening to let me know they were ready and also the times I could collect them - Legislation again I was told as there must be a Dispensing Optician present on site at time of collection.

When i went to collect them I produced my reciept and was asked to take a seat. Within a few minutes, I was taken to a different consulting room, and the glasses were fitted by the Dispenser. I was checked for comfort of fit, and a quick eye chart test to make sure that they worked! I got given a good sturdy hard plastic Tesco glasses case and a free cleaning cloth. The dispenser also ran over some care tips and do's and dont's of using them.

The spectacles are provided by a company called Galaxy Optical, who were the driving force behind the Tesco Optical project in the early days, and now work exclusively for Tesco, having previously supplied companies such at Co-Op.

NHS Vouchers are also issued and accepted at Tesco Opticians, and you can earn and redeem Clubcard points to!. There seem to have a good cycle of special offers which vary from free tints to the infamous 'Buy One Get One Free'. These seem to change on a monthly basis, but they repeat the offers so if you miss out chances are it will reappear.

They also offer a full contact lens service. You need a seperate appointment which costs £25 on top of your eye test fee. They can supply all the brand names - Bauch and Lomb, Focus, Accuview, Fresh Eye Colours to name but a few. The prices are pretty good too when I have compared them to other Opticians, though i will admit i don't wear contact lenses, but the coloured ones do appeal to me at times! Monthly Direct Debit Schemes have been introduced and they can post items to you in exceptional circumstances if required.

They also seel a good range of accesories which are pretty well priced. Glasses cases, neck chains, repair kits, magnifying glasses, wipes to name but a few. Its a nice touch which impressed me greatly when I first used them, as it showed they had really thought about what they needed to offer. They do not sell off the shelf ready made reading spectacles though. I found out after asking that the reason they can't is because the store is licenced as an Opticians, there must be an Optometrist present when glasses are sold, regardless of type. As the Extra format is 24 hours, this is impossible so they don't bother. However, if you go to a non-optical Tesco, they can sell them! Weird legislation but makes sense.

My main gripe, having used them on a few occasions, is mainly down to lack of privacy when choosing your glasses, and that inevitably, situating an opticians instore means it isnt always peaceful! But choosing your glasses at the front of the department which faces an aisle is a tad disconcerting, when mum and kids walks past with her trolley!

I have heard a few gripes amongst freinds who have used them, such as screws working loose in the frames, and refitting required. But the one comment which always comes back is that problems are dealt with pretty quickly and efficiently, especially with the later opening hours.

So give them a try, you have nothing to loose and it delivers the professional service you would expect from your normal optician with the added bonus of Tesco's great customer service.