I don't know why I expect any better

So, yesterday, Saturday, I finally got the pair of prescription sunglasses that were meant for Jamaica. Never mind that we returned from Jamaica 3 weeks ago, or that I ordered the glasses 2 weeks before going to Jamaica. It's been one big ball-o-fun trying to get these damn glasses.

Two weeks before going to Jamaica, I ordered prescription sunglasses at the SpecSavers near my house. They checked my eyes and all, though I had hoped that wouldn't be necessary, I thought they could just get the measurement from my normal glasses. But whatever, this guy did the measurements, he didn't seem to mind speaking English and he seemed nice enough. I paid for them and the girl who was at the register told me that it'd be about two weeks. I mentioned that they'd better be done in two weeks since I leave then for a holiday and that's what the sunglasses are for. She said something about making a note of that to try to speed them up.

Two weeks later I had no call from them to tell me to pick up my glasses. So I went in the day before we left for the holiday and the same girl and guy were there. My sunglasses, however, were not. The guy mentioned something about them possibly coming in that day still, so I went back near closing time to check. He got a little pissy with me and said they'd call when the glasses come in, and they hadn't called yet, had they? Well, no, but you guys don't have the sunglasses I need for my holiday. So I explained that I was leaving the next day, and I thought they'd be done by now. He suggested having them mailed to me during my holiday, but um, besides the fact that I don't know anyone in the area who would like to pick up some glasses for me and mail them, I think with the laid-back nature of Jamaican mail, I'd be lucky if they arrived before Christmas. Regardless, nothing was going to get my glasses finished before the next day, so I had to accept that. The guy (who I believe was the manager) at least offered 45 euros off the price for the inconvenience. Which was good since they were costing me much more than I had planned to pay.

So we go to Jamaica and to protect my eyes from the sun, I bought a fisherman's hat in the resort's gift shop that had a nifty Jamaican flag patch on the front. O thought it was cute and I got used to wearing it and got to take a nice souvenir home. So I wasn't so angry about not having sunglasses, except out of principle of them not having the glasses ready after two bloody weeks. I mean how long does it take to make them anyway?!

After we returned home, I popped once again into the SpecSavers to see if the sunglasses were ready (they hadn't called me in all the time we'd been gone). They were ready, thank god. And as the cashier girl pulls them out, I look at them confused and ask "These are sunglasses?!" Because she is handing me glasses that only have the lightest of brown tint. I put them on and you can still easily see my eyes though them. I'm so baffled and angry that I can hardly think about the other issues, like do the frames indeed look ok as sunglasses and can I see clearly. I mention that I had asked for sunglasses and these seem too light, but apparently they put in extra thin lenses in the frame and the extra thin lenses cannot be any darker than what they had given me. Don't ask me why, it makes no sense whatsoever, but they said that's the way it is. This also angered me since I hadn't wanted the thinner lenses anyway, I wasn't that bothered, so I was pissed that by them giving me something they only assumed I wanted, it now made my "sunglasses" worthless. I told them I was not happy with the glasses at all, I wanted proper dark glasses, I don't care if that means using thicker lenses. So, back to the lab with my glasses.

I got a call from SpecSavers this week and went in yesterday to pick the glasses up. All is good, they are something that will actually protect my eyes from the sun now. Well, I wouldn't be surprised if, out of spite, they ordered any UV protective coating to be left off. So I now have some sunglasses that look pretty ok and won't be used for at least another 4-5 months. And the slimmer lenses thing was such complete bullshit anyway, since the lenses they have now don't stick outside of the frames at all, even though they are rather thin frames. So all that thin lens business cost me a lot of trouble for nothing. Oh, and the story isn't over yet, since I still do not have the promised 45 euro refund in my bank account, even though the manager guy in the store yesterday said it had been requested Monday morning, and usually bank transfers move faster than that. And I realize now I should have asked for more money back because what I received changed, the thicker lenses should cost less than the thin ones. At this point though I can't be bothered. I just really hope I'm not making another visit next Saturday to demand the money once again. I would very much like yesterday to be the last time I ever set foot in their shop.