Interior of Garrett Leight California Optical's La Brea store

Meet Our Retail Heroes

Words: Denise Shon

While most of our retail stores remain temporarily closed to walk-in foot traffic and are accessible by appointment-only, our team of licensed opticians are still showing up every day to fulfill prescriptions and blue light orders, provide lab services, including repairs and customizations, and take orders via phone—all with free shipping or curbside pickup—to make sure you're getting the best possible customer experience. Get to know our retail heroes:

photo of Jason, GLCO's Director of Retail

Jason, GLCO's Director of Retail

Which frames are you living in?

Ace in Black Glass and custom Naples in Black, turned sunglass.

What are you listening to?

Just received the Monophonics 'It's Only Us' LP in the mail. It's so good, it hurts.

What do you need when you need a mood boost?

Make music. I've been making beats with my daughters, on Garageband. It gets very LOUD but it's a nice activity which feels creative and silly.

Which businesses are you supporting?

The Win-Dow burger joint in Venice is amazing. I'm frequenting, possibly too much. Also, our favorite Mexican spots in Long Beach.

What's the best customer interaction you've had?

A woman recently came by to pickup her boyfriend's Blue Light lenses. They weren't quite ready; we ended up just chatting outside while they finished. She was so eager to be out of the house that we just chatted about life, how we're both dealing with quarantine, anxiety, etc. It was a super nice and personal exchange between two complete strangers and hopefully a sign that people will be more open when we're out of this.

Photo of Khoa, store manager of GLCO La Brea, Los Angeles

Khoa - GLCO La Brea, Los Angeles, CA

Which frames are you living in?

Right now I'm living in my Black Naples. Both in my script and custom sunglass. Not enough of you are wearing this frame, come see me about it.

What are you listening to?

Sticking to classics from The Beatles, Beach Boys, Radiohead, The Clash, some post punk, and reggae. There's an album I've had on repeat for a few years. It's called "Darker than Blue: Soul from Jamtown 1973-1980". It's a compilation of old American R&B hits like "I'm Your Puppet," covered by various old Reggae artists like John Holt and Jimmy London.

What's the first thing you're going to do when this is over?

Well I've had to cancel two trips to Japan, so the first thing I'm doing is taking my girl to Japan.

Which businesses are you supporting?

I've been supporting my local comic shop, a lot of mom and pop toy retailers, and a few artists who create incredibly detailed custom toys. I also support markets like Mitsuwa and H Mart. Those are Japanese and Korean markets. They have the best stuff like Korean BBQ meats, Japanese candy, chips, and soft drinks. They're also clean and never crowded.

What's the best customer interaction you've had?

Best customer interaction were all my curbside car appointments that came on the last day of April. A lot of familiar faces I've known for a few years now, and a few new ones! It was a hectic day, but was such a pleasure seeing everyone healthy and excited to get out for a little bit.

Photo of Brian, store manager of GLCO Grand, New York

Brian - GLCO Grand, New York, NY

Which frames are you living in?

Living in Mr. Leight Marmont in Grey Crystal.

What are you watching?

Balancing The Cuomo Show every morning with a nightly Curb Your Enthusiasm binge.

What do you do when you need a mood boost?

Ice cream cake. I highly recommend investing in an ice cream cake (or three). Not only does it provide a mood boost but every forking is an emotional band aid. (must eat with fork for best results).

What's the first thing you're going to do when this is over?

The first thing I am going to do, after a team of Oompa Loompas roll me out of my apartment, is find the most packed train and twirl!

What's the best customer interaction you've had?

The best interaction I had was helping a teacher who accidentally stepped on his only pair of frames (which had a super high Rx) and we were able to coordinate a same day repair. He couldn't believe that even in a pandemic we were able to provide such high level customer service.

Photo of Amber, store manager of GLCO Austin, in Texas

Amber, GLCO Austin, Austin, TX

Which frames are you living in?

For blue light lenses- Club House (discontinued) and Mr Leight Rei; for sunglasses- the new Clare V. Nouvelle in Ébène and Mr Leight Go in Black (discontinued) as well. Always a sucker for a dark sun frame.

What are you listening to?

Fiona Apple's new album (!!!) Kim Gordon's No Home Record album, and pretty much every band signed to Minimal Wave Records. That French 80s Synthwave stuff really has a hold on me.

What's the first thing you're going to do when this is over?

Definitely will be hitting up Barton Springs for a healing swim.

Which businesses are you supporting?

I've been making an effort to support my friends' small businesses during this time. Have been buying a lot of custom tie dye tights from my best friend Amberlee! Best things to be wearing during this weird time. Makes me smile to just walk by a mirror wearing them! Tons of restaurants because we have not been good at cooking during this quarantine. Ramen Tatsu-ya is a weekly hit up spot for us.

What's the best customer interaction you've had?

I had a customer call me about getting a new RX frame but didn’t know how we could do it since she couldn’t come in the store to actually try on. We FaceTimed and talked about what kind of frame she would want and picked out a few frames for me to send her to try on and ship back with her final answer. We had so much fun picking out the right colors and frames for her face. She FaceTimed me again when she received them and we came to a decision. I got them ready for her and shipped back out. She emailed pics of her wearing them and was so happy. She even stopped by the other day to show me how they looked through our window. It felt so good to be able to have that customer relationship develop even through the phone. I definitely miss our customers in the shop!