Compare Clearly.ca

"I don't know if the decline in Clearly can be pointed to the sale to Essilor-Luxotica in 2014, or the departure of longtime CEO Arnaud Bussieres in 2023, but based on my experience this seems to be a company in rapid decline.

The misadventure started with difficulties on their website. After making numerous attempts on March 14 to place an order, I was left with it hanging and never going through. As a result I placed an order with Zenni the same night as a backup. The price was $133 at Zenni versus $436 at Clearly but I was willing to still try Clearly as the glasses looked nicer online. Plus, I always like supporting local businesses and I wasn't yet aware of the fact that Clearly had sold to Essilor-Luxotica.

On the morning of March 15, I was able to get the order to go through. My VISA was processed for $236 and $200 was billed to my insurance carrier directly.

The website says that processing time for prescription glasses is 3 to 7 days for prescription glasses, meaning that they should be shipped on March 21. That day came and went without any communication and my order still showing as "in process".

On March 22, I called their support desk to find out what was going on. I was told it was actually 7-8 days, so they would likely be shipping out on March 23 (Saturday).

March 25 arrived and still no communication. I called first and was told it was actually 7-8 business days. I pointed out that 7 business days had already passed and was told that they would ship some time within the week. I let them know that I was unhappy with the delays and was told to send an email to customer service.

After sending an email, I received a reply within 2 hours from Bernie. He apologized and indicated that they were instructing billing to refund $30 against the order. While not a large amount on a $436 order, I was willing to accept this as a token gesture and put it behind me.

My glasses were finally completed on March 29. They are marked as 'shipped' but Fedex indicates that only the shipping label has been created and they have not yet received the package. That's 15 calendar days or 11 business days.

Today I received an email from Bernie saying that they can't refund me $30 after all because the order was direct billed. I replied showing that I paid a substantial portion by VISA. Numerous emails later, I'm left with a store credit and "sorry for your inconvenience".

To contrast, Zenni has my glasses at my doorstep in less than a week.

After an experience like this, I know where I'm taking my business and it's sure not Clearly."