Below I narrate a true story I felt was share worthy – happened to myself today. It is hoped that the audience will remember the takeaway and not the embarrassment experienced by the author. So here goes….
Backstory: Getting New Eyeglasses for vision correction
About six months ago, I got my eyes tested. During that period I was experiencing blurry vision. the testing results showed that my vision had actually improved, Now I had minimal long distance number, with a negligible bifocal correction needed.
Armed with this new prescription, I promptly ordered new glasses from Specsmakers. During that period (and on several other occasions, as I learnt later) their online store had a buy one / get one free offer. Colloquially this is also known as a BOGO offer or scheme.
I ordered two pairs of eyeglasses, taking advantage of this BOGO offer. A few days later, I received them, neatly packages. I began to use one pair, the second was placed in the glove compartment of my car in a sealed condition.
Blurry Vision Returns
Four months later, I began to experience blurry visions again. I again went to get my eyes tested. By now I only had negligible long distance correction needed, the reading glasses were gone. What might have caused the eyesight to improve? Was it the anti-glare coating while looking at a laptop screen? Was it the quality of the Optical lenses that did the trick? I was struggling for an answer.
“Wonderful”, I said to myself finally, and nodded at the doctor. It was quite an ego boost, considering the lady doc was easy on the eyes.
My elation was short lived.
Plano Lenses Revealed
The doctor asked me for my current pair of glasses. She looked at them, and frowned. She took the glasses, went outside, came back a minute later and said,
“These are Plano lenses”.
Now that’s a term I hadn’t heard since class IX in Kalyani Madam’s physics class. Over the years I had heard of progressive lenses, corrective lenses, blue light filters, lenses with protective coatings…
meaning of plano (dictionary.com)
Plain lens? I thought I was sporting prescription glasses. I left the consultation room red faced.
The Embarrassment Continued
The Mrs was waiting for me in the reception area when I walked out of the consultation room. My demeanor told her that something was amiss.
“Out with it”, she said.
I narrated my embarrassing situation to the Mrs, who burst out laughing. And her laughter was lour, nearly at nearly triple digit decibel level of the laughter. Loud enough to make me worried about my ear drums. I was already suffering from Tinnitus. And Tinnitus + busted eardrum si a recipe for disaster.
What exactly went wrong?
It turns out Specsmakers had shipped two pairs of glasses. One pair with prescription, the other with the Plano lenses. The correct pair of glasses was sitting in the glove compartment of my car. And for the past few months, I had been sporting plano lenses. thinking them to be closer to my
It was their mistake, but six months had passed since the purchase. therefore, getting a refund or a replacement was not going to be easy.
The Saving Grace
If it is any consolation, I was able to impress the Doctor when I told her about my ergonomic workspace, including while working on computers… standing desk, blue light filter, dark mode, 120 percent zoom…she smiled when I held the reading chart at eye level, and not in a slouched position.
I typed my experience to tell y’all to be careful about the BOGO offers. They might end up doing more harm than good.
Way Forward
The fact that I was able to type this much on a mobile phone, in spite of my, fat fingers and all, while travelling in a rickety autorickshaw on potholed roads of Namma Bengaluru… all seems to suggest that my eyesight is improved quite a lot. The extent of the healing makes the eyeglasses with plano lenses and the accompanying embarrassment worth it.
Thank you for taking the time to read, hopefully with the right pair of eye glasses.
