Deavers, James

I have been seeing Dr. Deavers for about 15 yrs now. Started taking my daughter to him when she was around 6. Great experience everytime.

I took my 7-year-old to Dr. Deavers for his first eye exam, and after having been around the doctor for about ten minutes, I have to conclude that he either doesn't like children (or maybe people?) at all or he just has no idea how do deal with their concerns. He told me before he began that my son's pupils may need to be dilated and that if they did, it would cost $35 (on top of the $60 exam fee), and after about a two-minute exam (I'm rounding up), he declared that they did indeed need to be dilated because his eyes were spasming. My son was very nervous about getting drops in his eyes (he asked, "Will it hurt?" while the doctor was still speaking, and he replied, "If you'll let me finish, I'll tell you about it"), and when I expressed my own reservations (I didn't remember getting charged for dilation at my own exams over the years), he pointed to the sign on his wall that listed the prices and announced brusquely that I was welcome to Google the test and come back. Of course I want my son to have a thorough exam, but there was something about the way he went about "selling" it (and not very well); it reminded me of the way the oil change guys push air filters (but they do it with a smile). The whole thing (his manner especially) didn't sit well with me, and we left mid-exam and went to the Wal-Mart on Rivers. Guess what? They don't charge for dilation (which they pretty much recommend for everyone), and the doctor (whose name I can't remember) was very sweet to my son and courteous to me. But as it turns out, she said we could skip the dilation, I think because he didn't need glasses and his eyes appeared healthy upon close inspection (and because he was nervous about it). My recommendation to Deavers is that he ditch the $35 fee (because he just can't bring it up without getting defensive--I definitely got the feeling people had questioned it before) and try being polite and understanding with his patients and/or their parents. And I'm sure being nice will come more easily when he's not worried about having to begin each exam with an explanation of the dilation fee.