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More Dispensing Guidelines Why Are Online Prescription Eyewear Sales Proliferating?
As an example, here's a letter from a consumer after visiting our Web site, OpticianryToday.com. "I was 9 (*cough, cough!* an eon ago!) - I can't remember actually being "fitted" with my glasses in years and years. Thank you for this reminder that it SHOULD be done this way. Perhaps if dispensaries had continued these practices I wouldn't have felt so aggrieved at continually and gasp-inducing rising prices of eyewear. To such an extent, in fact, that the last pairs of glasses I've gotten, I purchased online. (Hope you were sitting down for that! I wouldn't want to be the cause of a heart attack. :-) ) No, I didn't get fitted, obviously, but I got exactly the same product - AND service - I would have gotten at any local shop, for so much less money that I was able to buy three pairs of glasses for about a third of the price I'd have paid in person. Anyway, thanks for sharing this." So, this consumer's experience suggests the reason for the proliferation of online prescription eyewear sales is not so much about lower prices as it is about adequate personalized hands-on-the-patient services.
I can see why the visitor to your site, OpticianryToday.com, felt no difference buying online rather than at a location. It angers me that the word "fitting" is not even recognizable to him. As Opticians, we need to man up and go back to basics before the Internet takes over what we alone are trained to do. Thanks for the eye opening. I will take it as an encouragement to keep doing my old-fashioned fitting and dispensing, and hope it does make a difference.
What happened over the last 55 years is that our markup used to cover our frames-lenses-lab costs, PLUS our professional service fees, including in-depth lifestyle interview; Optician-assisted frame-lens design and selection; HANDCRAFTED delivery of eyewear; and free lifetime adjustment and minor repair services. And while organized Opticianry, what there was of it at the time including the Guild, were fast asleep along with the other two Os, corporate interests seized on the marketing of fashion-only, unrelated-to-vision-healthcare, merchandi$ing aspects of the industry. Bigger and bigger corporate interests began promoting the selling of merchandise-only, i.e., minus most or all of the all-important vision care services. They pocketed the margins that we used to receive for our professional services, i.e., in-depth lifestyle interview; Optician-assisted frame-lens design and selection; HANDCRAFTED delivery of eyewear; and free lifetime adjustment and minor repair services. (What a ripe $ plum!) The downward spiral continued because larger and larger corporations, with bottom-line only considerations, would hire entry level only sales clerks to dispense their merchandise, while lowering their costs. With these actions coporations began replacing experienced Opticians, i.e., skilled Eyewear Healthcare Professionals, whereby they pocketed the margins that Opticians historically made as their income. Now, we have the phased and rapid movement of the industry into the Internet. (For me, this is deja vu all over, again! Nice effective corporate strategy, huh?) My point is that we have met the enemy and the enemy is us! The 3 O's have COLLECTIVELY created this market by becoming apathetic and by not taking care of business, i.e., the Patient always comes first. We lost our groove. We got too focused on things other than our primary mission, which is to serve the public, not to make lots of money. Not that making a good living is wrong, but that our mission of service must come first, and our income comes second. THIS IS OUR GROOVE. We got it backwards, and lost our groove. Now we face a long, painful road, but very simple truth, to get our groove back. It all starts with making the Patient king; in-depth lifestyle interview; Optician-assisted frame-lens design and selection; HANDCRAFTED delivery of eyewear; and free lifetime adjustment and minor repair services. Stay tuned. See DispensingGuidelines.com. See EyewearGenie.com. See OpticianryToday.com.
That consumers, even many long-time eyeglass wearers, are convinced that they can have their eyewear fit comfortably absent any human touch... "What a revolting development." But this occurs because WE have not been 'educating' the consumer, i.e., providing 'touch-and-feel,' Discovery, Design and Delivery of their prescription eyewear for several generations. I know, I know, I hear it all the time, "But we HAVE BEEN providing hands-on fitting services!" Yes, some of us old-school Opticians still exist, but our number is too small and our art-craft is disappearing. Our industry needs to get latter-day Opticians back to old-fashioned 'touch-and-feel' dispensing. Without it, we cannot offer the consumer a good reason to patronize our dispensaries instead of the Web-based eyeglass merchants. And we must stop whining, feeling sorry for ourselves, and ignoring the reality of our 50 year plus history of providing poor, or no-handcrafted fitting services. In a word, we have to resurrect CRAFTSMANSHIP. Give the consumer a reason to return to our dispensaries.
In the case of online purchasers that I'm aware of, consumers pay Web-based merchants less, i.e., minus the usual Optician's fitting fees, and any other qualitative service fees. (Some online purchasers pay higher prices online. Buyer beware!) Here's what I would do when online purchasers of prescription eyewear present themselves for services: Adopt a 'tough love' attitude. You are there to serve, but you're an Optician, not just to serve people, but to make an honest, living wage, as well. Question: Would you expect an auto mechanic, plumber, dentist, etc,. to donate their services simply because you chose to acquire service from somebody (a Web-based merchant) who is incapable of providing any follow-up services? Let's be real. The online purchaser, who gets a 'bargain' should not expect nor be given more consideration as to your time and expertise than your full-pay regular patron. And they are certainly not deserving of comparable, free lifetime services. However, in all fairness, if you choose to accept online purchasers at no charge, they deserve the best service you have to offer. I recommend charging online purchasers a fee commensurate with whatever you determine your time is worth. I recommend posting a high-visibility disclaimer briefly announcing a nonrefundable minimum fee of $25.00 (?) along with a giving a verbal explanation of your policy to each online purchaser disavowing responsibility for any unsatisfactory design of eyewear, any consequential lens chipping or frame breakage that occurs, or the discovery of any problematic Rx issues. Any repairs requiring additional time or expense to fix would be subject to extra fees. Furthermore, I recommend charging a $25.00 (?) fee for measuring a PD. These actions will hopefully help Opticians regain market share. The slow and steady decline in our service to the public has happened over several decades. It will take awhile to restore, but we must start somewhere.
"Hi, I'm an independent management consultant from the UK working with UK opticians and optical businesses. I stumbled across your site whilst researching a 'professional seeling' course Iam writing for _________ Opticians. I just wanted to say what a pleasure it has been to read your views and opinions on the challenges faced by professional opticians in light of the burgeoning Internet and 'bucket shop' optical market. We suffer the same problems in the UK as you report: devaluation of the profession, commercialization for its own sake, a focus on cost ratherthan value etc. I wish you the very best in disseminating your professional viewpoint, and hope that you are enjoying ever-increasing support from US professional opticians who truly understand the nature of opticianry. Kind regards, I. S." "Opticianry is defined by how well the eyewear makes contact with the patient.
Letter To Eye Care Professionals Customizing Prescription Eyewear Visit Points-To-Ponder Discussions More Hands-On-The-Patient Pointers Hands-On-The-Patient Delivery Defined
American
Board of Opticianry accredited and Florida
State Board approved CE hours DispensingGuidelines.com Grateful
appreciation is hereby expressed to More Web 'Sights' by
EyeWearProfessionals.com ![]()
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