This past summer I lost two pairs of copper colored Smith prescription sunglasses in two weeks. I’m hopeful one pair will magically reappear in my house someday, but I know for certain one pair was lost in the ocean. I’ve been wearing prescription sunglasses into the ocean for over 20 years but considering this is 2020 it only makes sense that a $400 pair of sunglasses got blown off my head by an ill-timed wave.
I’ve tried to concisely describe my awful experiences with Smith customer service, but no matter how much I try and edit it down I’m still left with five entire paragraphs of broken promises, missed deadlines, disappointment, misunderstandings and flat-out arrogance from a company that I feel cares not what the consumer thinks. To say their customer service was awful is the understatement of the year. On the flip side I did experience excellent customer service from Gateway Eye at Gateway Center, Building 3 in downtown Pittsburgh. I would most certainly recommend Andrew and Autumn and the entire staff at Gateway Eye. They did their best to help me maneuver through the Smith Customer Service minefield.
The Smith sunglasses I was forced to settle with was the Outlier 2 XL with Chromapop amber lenses. My journey to this final pair of rather expensive sunglasses was filled with highs and lows and disappointment. But it didn’t end there. Just when I thought I was going to be forced to settle for something, I was given the amazing news that Smith was going to comp me a totally free pair of prescription sunglasses in an attempt to make up for the huge misunderstanding of the previous summer. My thoughts of anger at Smith suddenly turned to thoughts of jubilation. In late January I picked up my Longfin glasses with Chromapop copper colored progressive lenses.
Autumn at Gateway was super helpful in walking me through the process. At one point we had discussed me going with Maui Jim sunglasses. Autumn explained to me, after many trials and tribulations with the reps from Smith, that Maui Jim sells more prescription sunglasses in one day than Smith does all year. Smith is indeed a boutique brand. I have to admit I’m extremely picky when it comes to sunglasses. Autumn never once lost patience with me during this process and I’m extremely grateful for her assistance. I’ve only worn the new Longfins a handful of times, but from what I’ve seen so far I’m extremely pleased. With the progressive lenses I no longer need to remove my glasses to work my camera and I think that will be a huge help. In addition, I’m looking forward to being able to tie a fly onto my leader without needing to remove my sunglasses. Progress indeed.