By Bev Orton Jennings
Wearing glasses can be a right pain. I’ve worn them for donkeys years, and while I’ve recently also dabbled in the world of contact lenses (you go steady now Beverley, don’t rush into these things), I still mostly resort to my specs.
Thing is, while I’ve pretty much gotten used to having glasses in my life, I still loathe having to go into the opticians and select new frames.
I guess I’m just fussy, but I almost always seem to work my way through the entire shop’s stock… before ending up with the pair I tried on first. Opticians must love me! Thankfully I’m short sighted so can actually see what the frames look like on… but then, maybe that’s the problem!
I got lucky recently though, and hadn’t been in the shop for long before landing on a pair that I really liked. Bought and paid for, two weeks later, I was still liking them (that constitutes my spectacle-honeymoon period - when I start to wonder why I choose these horrors!) So you can imagine my upset when, six weeks after that, I picked them up and the arm fell off. No, I hadn’t sat on them. Or subjected them to any sort of extreme sports. They simply went plop.
My first reaction was to find the superglue. Even though I knew that would mean me gluing anything and everything to my hand. That’s invariably what happens when me and superglue cross paths. But, looking at the miniscule amounts of plastic to be glued, I knew it was a hopeless task.
So, I headed back to the opticians. With my hopes low, it must be said. Have you ever tried to return a faulty item in Cyprus? Believe me it’s not for the faint hearted. With loins suitably girded, I entered the lion’s den. Amazingly, all went well. I was told that another pair of frames would be sourced or mine would be repaired. In shock, I left the building. Ten minutes later I received a phone call… mine were irreparable and there were no more of those frames available. Returning to the shop, I looked at what else was available and nothing appealed to me. The optician said that he would bring in more pairs from the other branches and, true to his word, a few days later seven pairs were on offer.
I was rather taken with one pair… but expected problems as they were €50 dearer than my original pair. But no, the optician said all I had to pay was €9 and they’d be ready for collection in three days. And they were!
In 20+ years in Cyprus, that’s the best after-sales service I’ve ever received. I don’t enjoy griping about the bad and/or indifferent service that seems to be the norm in Cyprus today, so I’m taking this opportunity to praise someone who’s actually getting it right. I’m going to ‘name and fame’ them too… so thanks everyone at Quattrocchi in Zinonos Pieridi in Larnaca, you made my week.