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An
optical dispensary is a health and wellness
facility where Opticians
practice 3-D
Dispensing, conscientious
Discovery, Design, and Delivery
of prescription eyewear, and where the
Patient's needs always comes first.
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Many
optical outlets are 'ready-to-wear' stores
where
eyewear merchants sell 'one-size-fits-all'
merchandise.
This environment has prostituted the practice
of Opticianry.
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POINTS TO PONDER
All Opticianry is local. ![](/Images/hsRedArrow.gif)
"What do Dentists, Manicurists, Hairstylists and Opticians
all have in common? They have to make personal, direct,
tactile contact with consumers while dispensing services.
When Opticians do not touch the consumer at the time
they dispense their eyewear, they're acting more as
unskilled eyeglass merchants than as Opticians."
"When
Opticians relate to consumers as Customers,
it often has an adverse impact on the relationship.
When Consumers order their prescription eyewear, they
should invariably be served as Patients, never Customers.
Patients receive healthcare. Customers receive merchandise."
"The real challenge for any Optician is to handcraft a symmetrically
4-point squared device to fit an asymmetrically shaped surface."
"Opticianry
is ultimately defined by how well the eyewear makes
contact with the Patient, not by the number of customers
served.
Therefore, a conscious, precise, and personalized
process of frame
selection,
lens design,
and in-place, hands-on fitting is required. In too
many cases unrealistically excessive sales goals override
the Optician's
mission of providing professional healthcare, whereby
the personalized,
custom fitting of eyewear is given only the most minor consideration,
if any."
"Dentists, Manicurists and Hairstylists make direct, tactile contact with the
consumer. Likewise, Opticians must make direct contact with
the Patient.
Hands-on-the-Patient Opticians, can determine by sense of touch how a
frame feels even in lieu of asking the Patient. Only an eyeglass merchant
routinely hands over prescription
glasses with no hands-on assessment,
nor the appropriate ‘touch and feel’
required to custom fit the eyewear."
"The closer providers are to the Patient, i.e., laying hands directly on
the Patient, the more professionally they tend to act in the interest
of the Patient. The further providers are located from point of
service, the less likely they are to act in the Patient's interest."
"Today's
Retail Optical paradigm needs a long overdue shift to the point
of serving Healthcare Patients, as opposed to serving Retail Customers.
Only then can Opticians be seen as Healthcare Professionals, instead
of mere merchants. When we relate to consumers as Customers it has
an adverse impact on our relationship. When consumers get prescription
eyewear, they should invariably be served as Patients, never as Customers.
Patients receive Healthcare. Customers receive Merchandise. Just making
this simple, basic change in our mindset will have a very positive impact on
the way we deliver our Healthcare services. See ServingVersusSelling.com."
"Man's purpose is to serve. Service is an intrinsic value, not a
value
to be added. Those institutions that are
of the Piscean Age
persuasion whereby success is measured by money
must now adopt
the Aquarian Age paradigm, 'To
serve is to succeed,' or soon disappear."
Factoid
Patients deserve a pleasant experience.
Patients deserve as much
time as they need.
Patients deserve custom fitted prescription eyewear.
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'Professional Egotism'
There are a number of conflicted forces at work within the ophthalmic dispensing industry, which keep us from making progress. The two biggest are:
.) We have not yet effectively dealt with the reality that the majority of current dispensers are woefully under trained and extremely challenged when it comes to handcrafting prescription eyewear. For instance, I know senior Opticians who attend Optical Workshops who are unable to adequately customize eyewear directly on a Patient. (The number one complaint by prescription eyewear consumers is they are unable to acquire well-fitting eyewear.)
.) There's also a lot of what I call professional egotism and shaktipad (see NOTES* below), whereby many 'Opticians' are unable to admit, either through ignorance or antipathy, that they really do not know how to adjust eyewear, i.e., handcraft eyewear directly on a patient. Many only think they know and take umbrage when challenged. They have convinced themselves that they need no more training because they've been adjusting frames for years, and they see no need to change.
Regarding this 'professional egoism' issue, we suggest that we ask this question of those dispensers who claim they already know how to fit eyewear, and those who claim that they have been working as an Optician for several years. "Have you had any formal training in handcrafting eyewear directly on the consumer?"
The problem is that many folks are self-taught, and most of those who came up as apprentices were taught by dispensers who have had no formalized hands-on the consumer, frame-adjustment training.
This decades-old history is the main reason, not price, that Opticianry as a profession has lost, and continues to lose market share.
Therefore it is incumbent on those who know to teach those who do not know. And it is incumbent on those who do not know to surrender their ego. OpticalGuidelines.com
*NOTES:
EGOTISM is the feeling or belief that one is better, more important, more talented, etc., than other people.
SHAKTIPAD is a state of egotism in which an optical dispenser is far less experienced, knows far less than they think they know, and who fails to acknowledge it. The worst case scenario is the optician who falls into the trap of convincing themselves and others that only they know the best way, and that the old ways need to change. Beware of the 'tiger's bite'! Shaktipad is a consequence of 'riding the tiger' of pride. One must ever be alert to the signs of shaktipad in order to take appropriate action. In the case of an optical dispenser in the state of shaktipad, the remedy is to seek out practical training with the attitude of a perpetual student, i.e., one who surrenders their ego, realizes that learning never stops, and that one can always improve their skills. See Ego Eradicator. |
PREFACE
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"The eyecare industry needs to strike a better
balance between sales goals and healthcare delivery."
OpticiansForThePeople.com
is devoted to the principle that the prescription eyewear
Consumer is best served only when they receive competent, 3-Dimesional Dispensing services, i.e., in-depth Discovery, bias-free Design, and
hands-on Delivery of eyewear from a skilled Dispenser. In
other words, Consumers deserve a) a full discovery in-depth lifestyle interview, b) comprehensive design of lenses and frame, and
c) hands-on, in place, on-the-face delivery
of service including multi-dimensional, handcrafted, form-fitted eyewear.
Anything less is unacceptable. See Letter to Eye Care Professionals.
Independent Opticians Do It Better
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Corporate retailers refuse to repair eyewear.
Their policy: Replace. Do not repair.
Too
many retail optical stores owe their allegiance to stockholders,
not Consumers. Ophthalmic consumers are better served in most
cases by Independent Optical Dispensaries, whose Opticians
tend to be more caring and experienced, more flexible with
their policies, and more inclined to put service ahead of
sales, and prudence ahead of profit since they serve the consumer
directly with more accountability for their actions. See GlassesOnlineWarning.com. See Common
Complaints and Causes. See 50 Things On Line Sellers Simply Cannot Do. See Find
a skilled Optician in your area.
As
senior, independent Ophthalmic Healthcare Providers, we are
interested in sharing our experience as dispensers of prescription
eyewear. If you are a Consumer who recognizes the decades-old
decline in dispensing skills and you need any assistance,
please contact us here.
The
Open Letter to the American consumer, which follows, presents
a 'Bird's eye' view of a) the business model in use today
by many Retail Optical Dispensaries; b) the conflicted relationship
between experienced Opticians and many Retail Managers and Executives; c) the retailing practices, which have led
to a steep and steady decline in the practical design and up-close-and-personal,
and on-the-face delivery of custom-fitted, prescription
eyewear; d) practical
remedies.
The opinions and conclusions are based first, on our direct
observation and experience, and second, on the first hand testimonials of Patients
with whom we have had the opportunity of serving. And they
are presented with the hope that consumers will resonate and
be inspired and motivated to demand improvements in the training
of Opticians. Note: An abbreviated version of the Open Letter
appears in the November 2009 edition of Eye
Care Professional Magazine.
Open
Letter To Consumers
First, a brief personal history about Hari Singh Bird, Optician,
the author of this narrative. Mr. Bird's career as an Optician began following active duty with the U.S.
Marine Corps and his subsequent employment with an American
Optical Company Branch Laboratory in 1958. He spent more than
2 years in all phases of Laboratory operations as a Lab Technician,
which included hand surfacing, power generation, hand stone
and automatic edging, bench work, finishing, final inspection
and hands-on-the-Patient custom
fitting.** (At that time AO and B&L, Bausch and Lomb,
laboratories dispensed eyewear to the public at the request
of eye care practitioners, i.e., MD's
and OD's. See OpticianryToday.com for additional background.) Mr. Bird then became the Manager
of an AO Branch Laboratory, and later a Sales Rep for American
Optical lenses, frames, and ophthalmic instruments. He subsequently
returned to Ophthalmic Dispensing with a joint MD-OD practice.
He holds active Dispensing Optician licenses in Florida and
Arizona. He is also ABO, American Board of Opticianry, and
NCLE, National Contact Lens Examiners, certified. He is a
current member of POF, Professional
Opticians of Florida, and he has several years experience
as the owner of an independent, privately operated Ophthalmic
Dispensary, and more recently as a Licensed Optician for a
retail optical chain. See DispensingGuidelines.com.
MAIN ISSUES
.) Many Optical Retailers are well positioned in the marketplace,
but few are ready to be America's 'Premier' Vision Care Provider.
Many of them employ a business model that works well for marketing
general merchandise. But an Optical Dispensary is different.
Like a Pharmacy or Health Clinic, an Optical Dispensary is
a Healthcare Facility where prescription eyewear is designed,
fitted and serviced. It is not a strictly mercantile sales
facility. The comparison can be likened to the difference
between a retail outlet where only stuff is sold to Customers
versus a Health and Wellness Eye Care Dispensary where prescription
visual devices are designed and custom-fitted on Patients.
(The concept lost in today's retail optical market is that
an Optician's mission is more for the purpose of Serving than
for Selling. See ServingVersusSelling.com. See To serve
is to succeed.)
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"Once today's Retail Optical paradigm is upgraded to
that of serving
Vision Care Patients, as opposed to just serving retail customers,
the
Optician becomes Health Care Provider as opposed to mere merchant."
An
aspiring 'Premier' Vision Care Provider must focus on a) ongoing
practical training of Staff, b) highest standards of care
for Patients, c) inclusion of qualified Opticians in upper
management positions, d) sensitivity to Patients' eye care
needs, and e) realistic sales goals.
Consumers
expect Opticians to be more Health Care Professionals than merchants.
What professional health care delivery would you expect to find at this online store?
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"When's
the last time you saw or heard a retail optical
store promote the custom fitting of eyewear? Could this
be because they don't know how to custom-fit eyewear?
Could it be that the staff only knows how to sell glasses?"
.) There is an acute need for many Optical Dispensaries, including
those associated with US government agencies, to acquire 1)
adequate workspace and staffing, and 2) the expanded and ongoing
training of staff that includes practical, i.e., Hands on the Patient training, which includes a) the Full Discovery Lifestyle
Interview; b) Customized
Frame Fitting and Adjustment Techniques; c) familiarity
with both the lensometer and a wider range of dispensing hand
tools; d) working knowledge of optical laboratory operations,
e.g., Layout, Surfacing, Finishing and Final Inspection practices;
e) working knowledge of the Ophthalmic Refraction, and f)
adequate training in contact lens care and Patient
compliance.
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"Many
Retail Optical Executives and Managers have no
experience in Opticianry or Ophthalmic Dispensing. In one
organization, only 1 of 43 Regional Managers is an Optician.
In contrast, the CEO of Walgreens Drugs is a Pharmacist."
.)
Some corporate Executives and Managers within the retail optical industry, some with MBA's as their
only prior experience, tend to make decisions that adversely
impact an acceptable standard of vision care. Some are focused
too exclusively on their career advancement as Managers, while
promoting unrealistically excessive sales goals and requiring
interminable amounts of paperwork and reports from subordinates.
This in turn interferes with the practice of Opticianry, and
the delivery of quality healthcare. See 1Plus1Equals11.com.
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"The
conflicted relationship between Professional Opticians and
Retail Management can be likened to the current relationship
between Medical Practitioners and Insurance Industry HMO's."
Retail
Managers who are absent Opticianry skills need sufficient
training, possibly even in-house certification, in subjects
such as the Lifestyle
Interview, Optics and Lens Design, and Custom Fitting
and Delivery of prescription eyewear, including contact
lenses, BEFORE they assume any policy-making or supervisory
roles. Currently, most get on-the-job training only, and their
actions and decisions reflect their inexperience to the detriment
of acceptable service. Again, providing professional vision
care, i.e., designing, measuring, and custom-fitting prescription
eyewear ON PATIENTS requires much more technical expertise
and people skills than what is required to service mercantile
CUSTOMERS.
"The
customized fitting of eyewear involves far more than just
adjusting
a nose piece or bending a temple. It has to include reshaping,
bending
stretching, twisting, aligning and sculpting of the frame
components
in order to personalize the eyewear. Anything less will most
likely
compromise the Patient's visual comfort and long term wearability.
The difference between simply adjusting and customizing is
what's
different between today's Dispensers and yesterday's Opticians."
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"Patients deserve custom fitted prescription eyewear."
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Contact
lens fitting and Patient compliance requires attention to details.
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"The most perfect prescription can be compromised if
the
eyewear does not provide comfort and long term wearability."
Example: Newly purchased eyewear, including contact
lenses, is routinely and casually handed over to Patients
without any custom fitting of the frame directly ON the Patient,
or without sufficient instructions regarding contact lens
wear and Patient
compliance.
Number-one Patient complaint
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"Nobody
adjusted my glasses. They just handed them to me."
TESTIMONIAL
Having
you fit my glasses to my face, ears, and nose with exquisite
care and attention to detail, making minute but essential
adjustments was the best experience I have ever had of having
glasses fitted to my face, during my lifetime of wearing glasses.
The first time you did my glasses and your wife suggested
to me that I also have my lenses tinted to gently soften the
lines around my eyes was a very memorable experience. I have
shared the story of the day in your Optician Shop very often
whenever I try to get ‘new’ glasses. Most opticians
are surprised to hear the story and also amazed that having
that care and attention to detail as a part of having glasses
fit properly made such a difference in my life. Having my
glasses not hurt and having them fit properly was an incredible
blessing. Having my glasses fit gracefully and painlessly
under my turban was
nothing short of a Godsend. I can honestly say that no other
optician ever did such an impeccable job as you did.
I
once tried to get new lenses in the glasses that you had adjusted
for me. I came back to pick up the glasses and someone said
to me that the optician had straightened out the bent side
pieces! I was so upset! I made the optician come out and I
explained what you had done for me, why you had done it and
what a terrible disservice he had done by ‘straightening’
my side pieces and that he had to re-bend the side pieces
back to where they had been. Needless to say, those glasses
never fit the same again! After that I never changed lenses
without speaking directly to the person making the lenses
and making sure they knew not to change or adjust the side
pieces. If you lived where I could get my glasses adjusted
properly that is where I would go...![](/Images/hsquoteright.jpg)
Every
Patient deserves a fully personalized design and fitting of
their eyewear. The fact that the frame lies on a flat surface
squarely should never preclude fitting the frame directly
on the Patient. This becomes obvious when after fitting a
Patient with facial anomalies, the frame no longer fits squarely
on a flat surface. Facial
structure, the positioning of each eye and ear, the mastoid area behind each
ear (see photo), all of these differ with each person. See Common
Complaints and Causes. See GlassesOnlineWarning.com. See also The
Final Fitting.
"For
many Consumers, the personalized fitting of eyewear
by a skilled, hands-on Optician is an unfamiliar experience."
Example: Experienced Opticians are required by inexperienced Managers to reduce or even by-pass the time necessary to conduct life-style
interviews, design appropriate lenses, and custom-fit prescription eyewear directly on the Patient. See How
To Manage An Optical Dispensary.
"Just
as a Dentist cannot practice dentistry without direct Patient
contact, the
Optician cannot effectively dispense without tactile contact
with the Patient.
An unskilled eyewear merchant routinely hands over prescription
glasses
with no hands-on assessment,
nor the appropriate ‘touch and feel’
required
to custom fit the
eyewear. Hands-on-the-Patient Opticians however, determine
for themselves by sense of touch how the frame feels in lieu of asking the Patient."
Again,
fitting a vision appliance on a Patient involves a different
level of technical knowledge and people skills. Dispensing
prescription eyewear includes many elements of craftsmanship,
artistry, and Patient-Dispenser interaction along with significant
technical skill and finesse in their application. All of these
are key to the success of any Vision Healthcare Facility.
A
well-known optical chain's list of expectations for
the purpose of recruiting dispensing staff members.
1)
Greet Customers in a friendly manner and
ensure high quality Customer service.
2)
Maintain a continuous effort to obtain
company
objectives.
3) Create and maintain a retail environment
that
is fun, educational, and professional.
4) Ensure all visual merchandising is
implemented
and maintained.
5) Ensure all Customer service complaints
are handled effectively and efficiently.
6)
Show and recommend frames and explain
product
features and benefits to Customers.
7)
Take optical measurements for Customer eyewear.
8)
Meet and-or exceed pre-established sales goals.
From another well-known optical employer.
1)
Drive profitable store Sales by fostering a retail selling
culture
by practicing and role-playing effective retail sales skills.
2) Develop professional business relationship with other Staff.
3) Fill ophthalmic eyeglass prescriptions and fit and adapt
lenses and frames, utilizing optical prescription.
Notice
that these Merchandisers rank Retail Sales over Skill whereby
'Customers' are the focus. In contrast, a Vision Healthcare
Facility emphasizes Skill over Merchandising whereby 'Patients'
are the focus, which produces higher levels of Patient satisfaction,
fewer remakes and refunds, and subsequent profitability due
to increased referrals.
And
here's a personal profile submitted
online by a latter day Licensed Optician.
"Licensed
Optician focused on converting patients
with malfunctioning (structural integrity) and outdated
eyeglasses (quality of vision) into a sales opportunity.
Specialties: Sales, sales reports, sales goals, quality
control, insurance filing, insurance analysis, training, word
processing, building professional relationships with clients."
Again,
the focus here is on a selling opportunity not a serving opportunity.
Of course, merchandising is an important and necessary service,
but all too often the healthcare delivery component of the
Optician-Patient equation becomes secondary to the act of
selling, i.e., in too many cases unrealistically excessive
sales goals override the mission of providing professional
healthcare, whereby personalized, custom fitting of eyewear
is given only minor consideration, if any. The reality of
this issue is clearly demonstrated by a steady albeit unfortunate
number of unhappy Patients and the subsequent loss of revenue
by way of return visits, remakes, refunds and fewer Patient
referrals. See Testimonials. See Common Complaints
and Causes. See ServingVersusSelling.com.
"Serve
people well, and more will follow."
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Well
trained, hands-on Healthcare Professionals
make for satisfied and happy Patients.
Closing
Words
"Of
the over 67,000 Opticians designing, manufacturing and
dispensing eyewear - less than half have any formal
certification or licensure." -- U.S. Department
of Labor
Several
well-known Retailers have a history of financially supporting
all kinds of community activities and philanthropic gifts.
Their investment in the ongoing training and advancement of
their Opticians is a gift that will keep on giving.
"Due
to their market share, the largest Optical Retailers are
in a unique position to lead the industry in the direction
of re-humanizing the delivery of prescription eyewear."
Legacy
Much
of the optical industry, as reflected in the media, is obsessed
with commentary on things like frames, lenses, and sales
promotions; how to pump up sales; how to sell extra pairs,
etc. Very little of the mainstream media has much to do
with issues like service; how we put People first; how we
put Serving before Selling.
In other words the industry's emphasis is too much on THINGS,
NOT PEOPLE. Because Opticianry is a very People-centered
art and science, Opticians and Managers have to be devoted
to giving People conscientious and caring service. See Shift Happens.
"Hands on the Patient
dispensing is a soon-to-be lost art. If the trend
to the narrow and strictly retail approach to ophthalmic
services continues,
a) the marketing of ready-to-wear, over-the-counter and
Web-source eyewear
will continue to flourish; b) hands-on-the-Patient dispensing
skills and services
will disappear; c) Patients will continue to suffer from
substandard quality of
service; and d) Prescription Eyewear will continue to
be delivered by an ever
increasing number of unskilled Dispensers. The fact is
that many of today's
eyewear Dispensing and Delivery outlets require major
upgrades in services."
For
a free consultation on ways to acquire the hands-on delivery
of prescription eyewear, click or call OpticiansForThePeople.com here or at 855-410-2700. We
welcome consumer feedback. See our Privacy
Statement.
See well.
Hari
Singh Bird, Optician
NOTES
"Not
all doctors are healers.
Not all healers are doctors."
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A)
A special note re Hands-on Custom Fitting: It seems the term
'hands-on' has different meanings among members of the optical
community. Click here for our definition. For an example of what we call hands-on-the-Patient,
old-fashioned design and custom fitting of prescription
eyewear, click here.
And for those consumers who are looking to acquire a higher
standard in hands-on delivery of their prescription eyewear,
please contact us here.
B)
Too many retailers have a 'bottom-line-is-all-that-matters'
mind set along with an attitude in which they exist only
to serve company goals, not the needs of the consumer. They're
not alone. Corporate America, in general, must soon deal
with some heavy karma due to the public's current anger,
and the public's demand for the return of more qualitative
and thoughtful service with less emphasis on profits. The
hope is that Optical Retailers can upgrade their thinking
and focus on becoming genuine Healthcare Providers. Find
a skilled Optician in your area. Check out the Eye Library With Videos.