EZ Frame Fixer
2308 E. Cesar Chavez #A
Austin, TX 78702
512-391-9900
For various and uninteresting reasons, I needed to do something about my prescription glasses. And I wanted to do something relatively cheap that didn’t involve new lenses, since I plan to go see my eye doctor in the near future and will probably wind up with a new prescription.
Lenscrafters doesn’t make the frame I need any longer, couldn’t repair the existing frame, and told me they couldn’t move the lenses to another frame since they were sized specifically for that frame. (I would have figured that frame sizes are pretty standard, but..)
They gave me EZ Frame Fixer’s number and suggested I give them a shot.
Thing #1: When I called and asked if they were open today, the guy who answered the phone said, “I can be.” It appears their “official” hours are Monday-Friday 10 AM to 5:30 PM, but the guy (“Christino”, I think, according to their business card) basically told me, “I live eight blocks away. Come on down, call me when you get there, and I’ll come over and open up.”
Thing #2: So I got down there, and he was already at the shop. Went in, laid the glasses on the counter, showed him what was wrong (the arm on one side had come detached from the hinge)…
Me: “The guys at Lenscrafters said you might be able to solder this, but the hinge may not fold any more. I’m okay with that…”
Him: “No, when I do a job, I do it right. (Emphasis added- DB) It’ll work.”
And it does. He fixed the glasses for me while I waited, charged only $30, and they work perfectly. You can’t even tell they’ve been repaired.
I suspect most people just throw away their broken frames. Why bother getting anything repaired any more, when you can just get cheap crap online and throw it away? But it is nice to find somebody who can do this kind of work if you need it, who will go out of the way to help you on the weekend, and has that old world sense of craftsmanship.
I don’t know what your other choices in Austin for eyeglass repair are, but if you need frames repaired, give EZ Frame Fixer a call.
Thanks for the tip. I had LASIK a while back, but my wife still uses glasses. This is good to know.
Thanks, roadgeek. I really do enjoy pointing out these little businesses that do good work and don’t get a lot of publicity elsewhere.
I always hope (perhaps delusionally) that my blog entry will be the difference between a “For Lease” sign and not being able to sleep at night because the $100 bills in the mattress are making too much noise…