Q: The store named Cheaper Peepers in Squirrel Hill and Bridgeville took our money for eyeglasses for my disabled son on July 28. I was told the glasses would be ready in about two to three weeks. We went to pick up the glasses only to find that the entire store was gone. We got ripped off. They cashed the check and we never heard from them. I called only to get an answering machine telling me that the mailbox was full and I could not leave a message. Cheaper Peepers probably ripped off many more people, too. I would like this investigated. I am very angry about this.

HELEN MURRAY

Sheraden

A: There is some good news, Helen. There's no way to take back the days or weeks of frustration, but there is help in sight. You get your glasses and so do the other customers who felt ripped off.

The usual story is that once you see the store cleaned out and locked up, your chances of seeing your money or the product you paid for are slim or none. Sometimes we wait months, even years, to get pennies back on dollars lost.

Not this time, Helen. At least, that's not the plan according to Cheaper Peepers owner David Vincett.

"Everybody is going to get their glasses," he said. "Every single person is going to get everything they ordered."

Mr. Vincett is no newcomer to the eyeglass business. He's had his Squirrel Hill location for the past 10 years under the Perlman Eyecare name. About six months ago, Mr. Vincett decided to change his business plan, targeting those who don't have insurance or have little insurance for eyeglasses. Cheaper Peepers offered discount eyeglasses.

"[My business] grew very fast," he said. "It's because of such an overwhelming production problem that I literally could not keep up."

So what about customers who paid for products they never received? Mr. Vincett is teaming with well-known Eyetique to make sure customers get satisfaction.

"David is supplying the frames and Eyetique is stepping in and supplying the lenses," explained Eyetique Vice President Brad Childs. "We are going to be buying and paying for the lenses that his customers have already paid for."

If you are one of those customers, you can call the Squirrel Hill Eyetique location at 412-441-5300 to find out how to pick up your glasses.

Delivery can be a little unusual as well. Mr. Vincett met one Bridgeville customer on Steubenville Street in the West End and handed him his glasses. Mr. Vincett is delivering glasses to the homes of other customers.

Not all customers are happy. Hal Glick of Squirrel Hill said he didn't appreciate the way Mr. Vincett went out of business and the delay between ordering his glasses and getting his money returned. In the end, Mr. Glick did get a full refund of $135.98. Mr. Glick is one of a very few customers who will be getting money back. Mr. Vincett says most people will get their eyeglasses. It's not a perfect ending, but better than many store closings.

Mr. Vincett said for him it was about trying to do the right thing.

"It was about honor and it was about principle and it was about taking care of all those people who had taken care of me for all those years."