6 times more expensive than Specsavers!!!

I went to see George about 12 months ago. I needed some glasses for both screen work and also to read documents. He recommended bifocal lenses which turned out to have a tiny area which was in actually in focus when I looked at a screen. If I looked left or right at the same level text got burred very quickly. It was also very high up in the lens so I had to tilt my head down when using the eyes which is a very unnatural posture.

The frames he recommended turned out to be far more than I wanted to spend and he never asked what my budget was.

The whole experience cost me $850 for glasses that I never use.

A fortnight ago I went to SpecSavers, had a very thorough examination and discussion of my requirements and picked my own frames. They had a special on where the lenses were free so I only paid $149. Glasses are perfect for my needs.

I wanted to support a local business but in this case it backfired on me.

Approximate cost: $900

Pros: Location, pool, architecture, size.

Cons: Dirty, expensive, incredibly lazy gym staff, complacent centre management,

Overall: I've been a member of this gym for over 3 years, which is managed on behalf of the City of Sydney council by the YMCA, and have watched in dismay as the once excellent centre has been run down by poor management.

Maintenance and cleaning are both extremely poor - coffee spills on the gym floor carpet remain for months, mould in the shower cubicles is never removed, broken locker doors take months to be repaired.

You'll never see the gym staff, who are basically just personal trainers and obviously driven by commission, unless they have decided to have a workout themselves or you've paid for a PT session - they're busy hiding in the office and FaceBooking they're mates and only ever send out the trainees to tide up equipment.

Complaints to current and prior management and the YMCA, go no where.

Basically the people who manage and work at this gave up caring a long, long time ago.

My advice - find a better, cheaper gym that is run like a professional business.