Danang: Custom Prescription Glasses with Tea Time in Old Optical

From glowing recommendations to eye surgery: the real cost of a mistake at Khanh Hung

A month ago, I left a 5-star review on Google Maps for this optical shop. Today, I am deleting it. If you have a complex prescription and value your eyesight, read this to the end. I ordered highly customized, expensive lenses: Nikon Rx AS Viewfit 1.67 XTRA BROWN. During assembly, the lab made critical errors: they misaligned the vertical optical centers by almost 5 millimeters (setting the fitting height to 29-30mm instead of my required 25mm) and got my pupillary distance (PD) wrong. In optometry, this is not a slight margin of error; it is sheer incompetence. When I picked up the glasses, I felt immediate discomfort, but the staff assured me I just needed time to adapt to the aspheric lenses. I spent two weeks in Korea trying to adjust. It was two weeks of relentless headaches, severe eye strain, and blurred vision. My vacation was ruined by the constant stress of knowing I had spent a fortune on a defective product, that no Korean optical shop would legally document another store's mistake, and that I could only confront Khanh Hung a month later. Wearing such severely misaligned lenses caused extreme muscle spasms in my eyes. This constant tension worsened my dry eye syndrome, blocked my tear glands, and set the perfect stage for blepharitis. Sitting under an air conditioner just once was enough for the inflammation to turn into a solid chalazion, which I eventually had to have surgically removed. The staff at Khanh Hung later claimed there was no connection between their faulty lenses and my chalazion, citing "their doctors." The surgeon who operated on me confirmed the exact opposite: chronic muscle spasms from incorrect glasses directly trigger gland blockages. Do I admit the possibility that my eye condition wasn't caused by their bad workmanship, and my surgeon was just reaching for an explanation? I do. But in my 37 years of life, no matter the weather conditions—and I am an avid hiker who has endured mountain storms—this has never happened to me. Regardless of what the wind blew into my eyes, I never faced such consequences. But even if we assume there is no connection, it doesn't change the fact that the optical work was done terribly. It was painful to wear these improperly made glasses every single day. My eyes hurt. My head was splitting, and no painkillers helped. Back in Da Nang, I went to the specialized eye center of Dr. Hoang Huu Khoi. My deepest gratitude goes to the specialist there: she carefully measured my glasses on a lensmeter and gave me an official report documenting the centering errors. Only with this proof did I return to Khanh Hung. To their credit, the staff were polite. To prove their initial measurements were "correct," they showed me the layout photo they took of me. In that photo, I am clearly looking up. You don't need a medical degree to see it: when a person looks straight ahead, there cannot be that much visible white sclera below the pupil and absolutely none above it. Seven years ago, I ordered glasses online and had my sister measure my PD with a broken ruler. It used to be a mystery to me how someone completely unrelated to medicine could measure it perfectly, while the specialists at the "oldest optical shop in Da Nang" failed miserably. After they proudly showed me a layout photo where I am literally looking at the ceiling, that mystery was finally solved. They offered to remake the lenses, but the thought of trusting their lab again terrified me. I demanded a refund. They refunded the lenses. However, I had bought two identical frames (one as a backup). I asked to return the second frame—completely new, unworn, in its original packaging. The shop refused. My final toll: a month of pain and stress, a ruined trip, $67 wasted on useless frames, and over 1,100,000 VND spent solely on surgical chalazion removal. I feel exhausted and robbed. Most of all, I feel deeply ashamed before a tourist couple I met in this shop on my second visit. They were hesitating about ordering a complex prescription here, and I enthusiastically convinced them that this shop was the best. Please forgive me for that advice. I sincerely hope your eyes didn't suffer. Perhaps I was just unlucky, and the technician was having a bad day. One could say that everyone has the right to make a mistake. But when the price of that mistake is your health, your vision, and a month of daily pain... I strongly do not recommend this place. Being the "oldest optician" means nothing. Look for modern clinics with precise equipment and competent doctors, even if they have fewer reviews online.

Response from the operator: Hi Veronika, My name is Ben, and I only help with the store’s Tripadvisor page. I do not check it very often, but after reading both this review and your Google Maps review, I felt that I should reply to you personally. I read everything carefully, and honestly, I understand why you are still angry. Getting a refund for the lenses cannot take away the headaches, the stress during your trip to Korea, the chalazion surgery, or the feeling that nobody took your concerns seriously enough at the beginning. I also understand why you feel it was unfair that the lenses were refunded, but the unused second frame was not accepted for return. I am really sorry this happened to you. I do not want to argue with you about your pain or make you feel that your experience was not real. You came to the store expecting professional care, and in the end, you completely lost trust in us. I understand that. People make mistakes. A difference of 4 mm may sound small, but when it comes to someone’s vision, it can make a big difference. The glasses should have been checked again as soon as you said something felt wrong. You should not simply have been told to keep wearing them and wait to adapt. The staff should also have followed up with you, asked how you were feeling, and listened more carefully. Looking back, there are many things that should have been done differently. There are many “ifs,” but sadly, none of them can change what already happened. Saying “everyone makes mistakes” is not enough when the mistake involves someone’s eyes. About the chalazion, I am not a doctor, so I cannot honestly say what caused it. I also do not want to dismiss what your doctor told you. I only hope you understand that the store cannot confirm a direct medical connection between the glasses and the chalazion without clear medical evidence. Whatever the cause, I am relieved that the surgery is now behind you, and I sincerely hope that your eye has healed well. I am sorry that you had to go through it at all. You have every right to share your experience, even though it is difficult for the store to read. I know that refunding the lenses cannot make everything fair again or undo what you went through. Still, I believe your review can help the store look honestly at what went wrong and improve. Sometimes a painful experience forces people to see problems they had previously overlooked. I hope the employees involved learn from this, become more careful, and understand how important it is to listen immediately when a customer says something feels wrong. In Vietnam, people often try to use gentle words when talking about problems so that everyone can remain comfortable and avoid conflict. I understand why people do that, but sometimes politeness alone does not solve anything. There is no real harmony if the problem is still there and nobody learns from it. That is why I prefer another Vietnamese saying: “Bitter medicine cures the illness.” Your words are painful for us to hear, but they are necessary, and the store should learn from them. I am truly sorry that your experience with Khanh Hung Optical went from excitement and trust to such deep disappointment. That is a huge change, and I understand why you feel let down. Customers have the right to speak honestly when they feel that a business has failed them. The store now has the responsibility to listen, reflect, and do better. From the bottom of my heart, I wish you good health, peace, and better experiences in the future. P.S If you allow, I would also be willing to pay your chalazion surgery expense from my own money. That is the thing that Danang people could do for tourist. Should you wish to accept this offer, please contact the store privately and provide the relevant medical invoice for that. Just tell them that you want to get a small thing from Ben to Veronika ;) Ben Khanh Hung Optical

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I like this place

I have been getting my glasses made here since 2025. Every time we travel to Da Nang (which is every 6 months), we come back to get new pairs. The store is well-equipped with high-quality machinery, and the staff's attitude is genuinely excellent. Highly satisfied and would definitely recommend this place to everyone.

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Highly recommend if you want good quality, great value, progressives glasses

Great experience- brought my prescription from the US- and targetted getting new glasses from here. Had some pre-arrival emails and arrived Friday night. They double chekced my prescription and then we sorted some frames and lens quality for my new glasses. Chose the middle of road Varilux- could have gone way cheaper but devciede to stiicj to my US standard. It was a still; 1/3 cheaper! Got hooked up to a machine that I have never done to guage where my progrogressive lenses would sit on my glasses. Pretty modern and fancy. I received my new glasses Tuesday afternoon so about 4 days. All worked out. Great service, great price, great English, great options, not pushy at all. Thanks for all the help Bunny, maybe I'll get the Raybans next time! Highly recommend!

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Best place for new glasses in Da Nang

Brilliant place to get new glasses from. We brought our prescriptions from Australia and had two pairs of prescription sunglasses ready in 30 minutes. Excellent staff. Very good prices. Would highly recommend.

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Eye exam & new glasses

Professional & helpful assistance for eye exam & glasses selection. Very prompt service. I am delighted with the results.

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