Me And My Glasses Are Tight

(I am at a nationwide chain of “upscale” glasses retailers, the same location where I have purchased all of my frames for the last eight years. I’ve never had an issue with anyone despite buying new lenses every two years until this time.)

Sales Lady: “Hmm, well, your eyes are supposed to be centered in the lens perfectly but these just aren’t. Are you sure that these are the ones you want? I just wouldn’t feel like I was doing my job right if I let you leave looking like this.”

Me: “Well, these are the exact same dimensions as my old pair and I do have fairly narrow-set eyes so I’m used to that. I’d probably have to go down to childrens’ lenses to achieve a perfect center, and then the temples would be too narrow.”

(She huffs a little but gives it up. Later…)

Sales Lady: “The arms on these go farther back on your head than I like to see. Are you certain you don’t want to try another pair?”

Me: “If you look at my old pair here, you can see they go just as far back as these new ones. This is a persistent issue that I have. My ears must just be close to my face.”

Sales Lady: “Hm. Well, I just don’t feel like I’m doing my job right if I let someone leave with glasses that don’t fit them.”

Me: “Do you have glasses with shorter arms, or are these just standard and I’m the wonky one?”

(She ignores my comment and moves on. I return later that evening to pick up the finished frames.)

Sales Lady: “Oh, they’re a little crooked. Let me see them.”

(She looks them over, sets them on the table, tests them with a little level, and everything looks normal. Puzzled, she sets them on my face.)

Me: “I know one of my ears is about a half centimeter higher than the other. That might be why they look crooked.”

(She takes the glasses back and wrenches them up so that they hold so tightly to my face that they stay “even” to her liking, without having to rest on both of my ears.)

Sales Lady: “See? Perfect!”

(I know that she was just trying to do her job, but she had no regard for how I felt about my glasses, their fit, or my comfort. I had to go back two days later and get them completely refit, because I was having terrible headaches from their unnecessarily tight fit.)