Helmus & Helmus

The new building

Location

353 Second St.

Hours

Mon-Friday 8:00am-5:45pm

Sat 9:00am-3:00pm

Phone

(530)758-2122

Website

Official Website

Drs. Mark and Joann Helmus are optometrists who both graduated from UC Berkeley School of Optometry.

Dr. Alex Baker is an optometrist who also graduated from UC Berkeley School of Optometry. He joined the practice in July '09.

This business accepts VSP Vision Insurance (the vision coverage provided through UC Davis, SHIP).

One of the neatest signs in Davis

The old building that was replaced

To find out about other optometry practices in Davis, please visit our Optometrists page.

Medical Professionals are limited by HIPAA as to what information they can make public about their patients, including who their patients are. As such it is very hard for Doctors, Dentists, and Psychiatrists to respond to negative comments on the wiki. Please keep this in mind while reading any comments.

What was your experience with Helmus & Helmus?

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2005-10-25 08:37:06   Dr. Mark and Dr. Joann are great and their staff is very professional. They were voted best optometrists in Yolo county a year or two ago. —MyaBrn

2007-06-04 18:05:40   I just had my first appointment with Dr. Joann. She was so nice and really took the time to talk with me. The whole staff was very kind and helpful— absolutely great customer service. I was helped very shortly after I arrived, and everyone knew what they were doing and was kind in helping me. —NicoleD

2007-08-20 13:51:14   Dr. Mark is one of the best optometrists I've ever seen. He was personable and thorough, and I got new contact and new glasses prescriptions, as well as the contact fitting, all in one sitting. No pressure to buy certain glasses, or any pressure to buy contacts (I prefer to buy them online). Pretty satisfying selection of frames as well. —BryceEsch

2007-09-19 21:54:59   The whole front of their building it torn up. Have they relocated to another spot? Thanks for the info if you know. —JoRo

2007-09-20 08:42:35   The new building in their old parking lot is their new home. —JimStewart

2008-01-26 15:39:15   The hours are listed incorrectly. Mon-Fri 8-5:45 Sat 9-3:00. The picture is also out of date, the new building is in the same location, but is now a two story orange building... with 3 giant ceramic eyes platered to the sides, you can't miss it!
There is a small parking lot available with four spaces plus one handicap reserved space. —sgtmcgillicutty

2008-04-06 19:59:52   This is an expensive optometry shop that doesn't except majority of Vision Health Insurances (specifically not those for students and postdocs) or offers a discount. Dr. Mark did the eye exam very professionally, however he prescribed me very thick lenses without explaining that they are not actually made from glass but just cheap plain plastic. I am visiting Postdoc Associate at UCD, coming from Europe, and I never had a problem to get thin lenses (-7.0D) for my frame there. So, I was shocked to learn from him that it is not possible to obtain such lenses here. Finally, when I got my glasses, I was completely disappointed. It looks to me that I was treated like a one-time customer which would never come back again. I bought a sunglass frame with the prescription lenses there. The lenses were so thick that I was ashamed to wear them, since they looked so ugly. Also, I have a feeling that I overpaid for what I’ve got (tinted plastic lenses with only UV protection, without a polarization or anti-glare coating). Later in other optometry shop for approximately the same price, I replaced these lenses with high index glass lenses (very nice and thin one).

—Dragan

2008-04-09 14:04:11   I had been a patient of Dr. Joann Helmus in 2004 and was very happy with their service/expertise, but went to the "big box" store, sure the prices were better there (at least on contacts)- but you definitely give up customer service and ease of use. I just got back from my check-up, this time with Dr. Mark Helmus, and couldn't be more happy. My questions were answered and I ordered some lovely frames. I am fortunate to have VSP which they accept and most things are covered and there is no hard-sell to purchase extra items. I am happy to be back as their client and to be supporting local services. —PilarRivera

2008-06-17 10:15:37   Avoid this headache. Went in last year for new prescription glasses they put the wrong prescription lens on one side, took 3 weeks to fix. Went in again last week, the new staff was completely incompetent after I told them my insurance they refused to call, so I had to call myself and explain that the provider was too incompetent to call. After this was sorted out I got my new glasses after 3 weeks and they had put a transition coating in one lens of the glasses and nothing on the other. Avoid yourself the bad service and the unprofessional staff —ledzeppelin

2008-06-24 12:46:55   I was there for 20minutes looking for frames and no one greeted me or helped me :( Most of the staff was in the back. —ILikeToEat

2008-06-25 08:36:42   I've never had a problem here. I have been coming since I was about 10. However, i have noticed that Dr. Joan snaps regulary at staff and there also seems to be high turnover for techs/office staff. I have always enjoyed coming though- everyone is always helpful and friendly. —MyaBrn

2008-06-25 11:52:27   Dr. Mark is the best optometrist I've ever had. His exams are comprehensive and he's willing to work with you if you need something a little out of the ordinary. He made me a phenomenally good set of night driving glasses and has helped with getting my computer glasses just right. The prices for glasses aren't cheap but the quality has been good, with my frames lasting several years. —JimStewart

2008-06-25 14:01:14   I have been coming here for years and always had a great experience with Dr. Mark Helums. I recently brought my girlfriend and her son here as well and they both had a wonderful experience. —loneshark

2008-09-30 20:04:14   I've been going to Helmus & Helmus for a few years now. I see Dr. Joann Helmus who is very personable and caring. She takes a lot of time to make sure that I get the correct prescription. The new building is very nice with ample parking. Even though they sell glasses in their office there is no pressure to purchase them there. —Trena

2008-12-11 08:32:34   I have been going to Dr. Mark Helums since I moved to Davis 4 years ago and have always had a great experience. Also, one of the previous posts states that they do not take student or postdoc Vision Health Insurance. This is not true. They have taken my student (graduate) insurance every time I have gone. —WalleyWorld

2008-12-16 12:32:46   The above posts by Dragan and ILikeToEat are highly suspect as they only give negative reviews to this optometrist and of course RAVING reviews to Angel Eye Care, a competitor. Not only that, but the comment above that they do not accept insurance that students and postdocs would have is FALSE. They have VSP coverage, I know because I just called and scheduled an appointment and had them check my plan (VSP!). —DrWang

2009-1-12 I had the same problem as Dragan. I am very near-sighted and have always been able to get very thin lenses made even for my strong prescription, but for whatever reason the "thin" lenses they offer at Helmus are thicker and crappier looking than those I've received elsewhere. The eye exam was good and the optometrist seemed thorough and professional, but I am very disappointed with my coke bottle glasses, which were more expensive than what I've ever paid for glasses before.

• Did you go back and explain your problem to them? My experience, at least with Dr. Mark, is that he will do whatever it will take to make me a good set of glasses. If you didn't at least give him a chance to fix the problem, you ought to let us know —JimStewart

2009-01-12 13:09:04   Just a reminder to some of those who ended up with glasses they didn't like, you are under no obligation to purchase your glasses from them. You can get a copy of your prescription and shop around for who fills it all you want. —AlexMandel

"2009-2-2" I had the same experience as ILikeToEat. I literally could not believe how neglected I was as a costumer as the staff chatted and gossiped with another costumer's wife for 20 minutes without a single glance in my direction. Not even the feeblest attempt to recognize my existence, let alone help to actually purchase anything was the treatment I got from floor staff. I was going to buy two new pair of glasses, held both frames in my hand for literally 15 minutes in plain sight before I finally walked out with nothing. They definitely lost any current or future business they would have otherwise gotten from me. The frame selection is decent, and I can't speak for their optometrists who may be fantastic, but if you don't care about feeling like a valued costumer, Helmus and Helmus is the place to go. —TylerFelix

2009-03-10 10:01:18   I just called to make a first appointment here- and the receptionist was not very friendly. Rushing me, asking too many times if I had a certain day in mind, etc....I've made several appointments by phone to various places and this is by far the most stressful. I'm thinking about canceling because that was just too stressful!! —christineang

2009-04-08 17:16:59   I had an extremely BAD experience with Helmus Optometry. The service was terrible. The staffs were not helpful and not friendly at all. I chose Helmus Optometry to have my eye exam and contact lenses fitting. The first three pairs of trial contact lenses were not fitting very well. For the third pair of contact lenses, I had waited for almost a MONTH. One of the staffs told me she had no idea why it took so long for my trials to arrive. I asked her whether she could check it for me. She just said she would contact me once my contact lenses arrived. I had waited for another week, but no one contacted me. I called them again. They did nothing and said the same thing to me!!! I was so angry and I told them I could not believe I had to wait almost a MONTH for just a pair of trials. Finally I got my third pair of trial, but it didn’t fit very well as well. The doctor ordered one more pair of trial contact lenses (the fourth pair) to me and asked me to fit for a few weeks. When I was on my fourth trial, I received a bill from them. The bill mentioned that I needed to pay for the insurance co-pay, and also the contact lenses fitting fee which supposed to be covered by my insurance. I called back to the office. One of the staffs said since I didn’t order any boxes of contact lenses, the fitting fee would not be covered by my insurance. I explained to her that I was still on my trial. She said once I order my contact lenses, the fitting fee would be covered by my insurance. However, when I went to the office to order my contact lenses and checked whether everything would be covered by my insurance, they said I had to pay for the contact lenses fitting fee because it was done two to three months ago, and it would not be covered even I ordered contact lenses now. It really pissed me off! It was absolutely not my problem but theirs! I didn’t get the correct prescription contact lenses to fit; I needed to wait for a month for just a single pair of contact lenses; I was told to fit my trial contact lenses for a couple weeks before ordered. It took me almost 3 months to finally get a pair of correct and comfortable contact lenses. However, they asked me to pay for that contact lenses fitting fee because I didn’t order contact lenses 3 months after the contact lenses fitting. How can I order contact lenses if the contact lenses could not be fitted very well? It doesn’t make sense to me. I have worn contact lenses for 5 years, but I never had such bad experience like this! Finally, they didn’t need me to pay for that fitting fee, but their attitude was extremely bad! They never apologize to me. They thought it was MY problem but not theirs. Seriously, their service was terrible and not professional at all!!!! They don’t care about their customers. Yes, they have a very beautiful office, but the service was suck! I WILL NEVER GO BACK. —kikokiko

2009-07-28 22:03:43   The staff here was great. I had Dr Baker and he was really nice explaining to me more specifically the status of my eyes rather than just saying I needed new glasses to sharpen things up. I switched from a place in Dixon where the receptionists weren't too friendly and the lady helping me with frames really didn't have anything constructive to say. Here on the other hand they didn't have the frames for the eyeglasses I wanted, just sunglasses, so to better get a feeling for what they might look like she just grabbed a pair of sunglasses and popped the lenses right out so I could try them on. Then there was a little problem with the catalogue.. it was new but contained frames that weren't available in the States or had some that never went into production but she was extremely patient with my pickiness as well as the inadequacy of her materials (which clearly wasn't the fault of the practice). I think the whole frame choosing situation took about 45 minutes because of me, but the girl helping me, April, was a trooper and was great the whole way through! go here. —hitobito

2009-08-08 15:13:35   Anybody know how much you pay out of pocket for an exam and glasses with the UCD Student health vision plan? We know professionals don't like to tell you these things up front... —LouisM

2009-08-24 21:46:17   They definitely accept UCD Grad Students' Health Insurance. The place is nice and the staff try to be helpful but it seems there is different staff every time I go. The main thing I didn't like during my eye exam is that they perform on every patient an additional 'high-tech' scan test and do not give you the results of this scan unless you accept to pay extra $40 dollars. The nurse does the usual tests and the extra scan to all the patients and the Dr. receives the scanned image immediately but she will not open the image and interpret it for you unless you agree at the moment to pay the extra $40. The nurse spends quite a time selling it to patients and the practice seems extremely cheap and unethical to me. With this test the Dr. can supposedly make a deeper review of your eye and predict potential problems. Despite the scan is made to everybody, they will not read it for you unless you agree to pay the extra. So, even though they have the input to make a more detailed interpretation, and predict other potential conditions, they will not open the image and review it, unles you pay extra money. That's completely cheap. It seems they are trying to get as much money as possible to pay for the remodelation. —Maga

2009-08-25 08:19:39   I've been going here for a few years and service has been okay. The doctor switched me to a new type of contact a few years back that are supposed to give your eyes more oxygen. Within a few months they were very uncomfortable and they were also much more expensive than the contacts I was wearing before. I had my old eye doctor call over there and ask if I could be swithched back to my old type and they allowed that. They've let me stay in this brand, but give me a hard time when I come in that I need to be using the "latest technology" in contacts. I recently went in and saw Dr. Baker instead of Dr. Helmus and he was fantastic. He let me keep the contacts I like (and that I can afford!) and even changed my prescription a bit so I could wear the same contacts in the right and left eyes. I left the office happier than I have before and I think I might ask for Dr. Baker next time. —AmLin

2009-11-18 12:18pm: I was seen just this past Monday (the 16th) by Dr. Baker. He was very personable and took time to get to know me. I have never had glasses before and he took a very long time showing me the difference between having lenses and not. Even though my prescription is very low, the difference was remarkable. Dr. Baker also knew the benefits from my insurance (VSP, provided by GSHIP insurance) to a detailed level, which was very impressive. Afterward, I shopped for my frames with (I think) Julie who was very helpful. I asked her to keep me near the price covered by my insurance ($130) and she never once pressured me to buy outside of it. For me this was a very positive experience. The insurance covered $130 for frames, the basic lenses ($70), part of the visit ($75) and gets you a 20% discount on anything else. So I left with brand new, very fashionable lenses for only $129 including the Dr. visit. I would recommend Dr. Baker at Helmus Optometry to anyone. — Raechel

2009-11-19 16:17:35   To follow up with my last comment: I was told I would receive my glasses in 7-10 days. Imagine my surprise when they called today (only 4 days later) to say that my glasses were in the store. Also, they sent me an e-mail notification. Very thorough. I went in and tried on my glasses and they were a perfect fit. And, as before, all the staff were prompt in helping me and kind. —Raechel