"Today, consumers can go online to get the same dehumanized service they
receive from eyewear merchants for less cost and with more convenience.
We must re-humanize the consumer's experience in order to get them back.
Skilled and experienced Opticians 'take charge' of the dispensing procedures
whereby they can anticipate adverse visual and fitting issues with direct hands-
on-the-patient eyewear design and frame fitting skills before the Patient has to
endure them, thereby avoiding the necessity and inconvenience of return visits
and-or possible re-do's, or worse, refunds, and the adverse notoriety that comes
thereafter. When the eye care industry as a whole returns to this practice as the
dominant paradigm in today's market, consumers will return to brick-and-mortar
dispensaries for their eyewear purchases. Unfortunately, as things stand, many
consumers have little reason not to make their eyewear purchases online."
Hari S. Bird, Optician

        
Patients deserve custom-fitted prescription eyewear.

PREFACE

The narrative, 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; and d) practical remedies including transformational Hands-on-the-Patient Workshops.*

*Note: American Board of Opticianry accredited and Florida State Board approved workshops for Intermediate and Advanced Level Opticians in Hands-on-the-Patient Frame Fitting are currently being offered under the sponsorship of POF, the Professional Opticians of Florida. See OpticalWorkshops.com. Those professionals interested in attending similar Workshops should inquire here, or call 407-628-4443 to arrange a Workshop session.

The genesis of the Open Letter below occurred after an optical retailer's outreach to its Staff for ideas about creating "America's ‘Premier’ source for Vision Care." What follows is based in part on a written response by a staff member, along with some additional observations.

The opinions and conclusions that follow are based first, on our direct observation and experience, and second, on the first hand testimonials (see example below) of Patients with whom we have had the opportunity of serving. And they are presented optimistically with the belief that owners and managers, whether they are independent Eye Care Professionals or optical retailers, will resonate and be inspired and motivated to make appropriate changes to their business model in order to advance the status of Opticianry as a profession while enhancing their other objectives. Note: An abbreviated version of the following letter appears in the November 2009 edition of Eye Care Professional Magazine.

Testimonial

"Having you fit my glasses to my face, ears, nose and turban 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..."

A Special Note from Opticians For Change

"The eye care industry needs to strike a better
balance between sales goals and health care delivery."

Today's retail optical model favors the marketing of one-size-fits-all merchandise unlike an Optical Dispensary, which is like a Pharmacy or Health Care Facility. An Optical Dispensary is where prescription eyewear is designed, custom fitted and serviced with skill and excellence. Opticians For Change aims to restore that excellence. Opticians For Change is devoted to the principle that consumers are best served only when they receive competent, 3-Dimesional Dispensing services, i.e., in-depth Discovery, objective, bias-free Design, and hands-on Delivery of prescription eyewear from a skilled dispenser. In other words, a) a full-discovery lifestyle interview prior to discussing frame and lens options, b) a comprehensive design of lenses and frame without bias as to style and-or cost, and c) a hands-on, in place, on-the-face delivery of their eyewear including multi-dimensional handcrafted frame and lens adjustments. Anything less is unacceptable.

Note: As senior Ophthalmic Health Care Practitioners, we are interested in sharing our experience. If you are a Practitioner who recognizes the decades-old decline in dispensing skills and you are in need of additional training or consultation, or you need assistance in order to regain market share and improve the profitability of your practice, visit OpticianryToday.com and OpticalWorkshops.com, then contact Opticians For Change here, or call 407-628-4443.

Open Letter

To Whom It May Concern:

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. He is currently a Dispenser Training Consultant and conducts Hands-on-the-Patient training courses accredited for continuing education by ABO and the Florida State Board of Opticians, and sponsored by POF. See notes below.

                                                                   Main Issues                                                                              

1) Many Optical Retailers are well positioned in the marketplace, but few are ready to be America's 'Premier' Vision Care Practitioners. 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 Health Care 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 Service where precision-made, by-prescription-only optical devices are designed and custom-fitted on Patients. (The concept lost in today's retail market is that an Optician's mission is to also maintain an appropriate balance between Serving and Selling. See also The Coming Humanization of The American Economy and To Serve Is To Succeed.)

Points To Ponder

Success always follows good service.
Any action, which genuinely favors the
Patient, always improves the bottom line.
We need to focus on caring for Patients.

If you do not touch the consumer at the time
you dispense their eyewear, you act more as an
unskilled eyeglass merchant than as an Optician.

Patients deserve a pleasant experience.
Patients deserve as much time as they need.
Patients deserve custom-fitted prescription eyewear.

What are the chances of today's eyewear consumers getting a
hands-on, customized fitting of their prescription eyewear? If you
answered this question correctly, you know why they buy online.

Opticianry is ultimately defined by how well the eyewear makes
contact with the Patient, not by the number of Customers served.
For the truly skilled Optician, the standard of care must include a
customized design and hands-on fitting of eyewear on each Patient.

Today's Retail Optical paradigm needs to be upgraded to that of serving
Vision Care Patients, as opposed to only serving Retail Customers. Then
Opticians will be seen as Health Care Practitioners, instead of merchants.

An aspiring 'Premier' Vision Care Practitioner 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, which allow for excellence in the dispensing of eyewear.

Consumers expect Opticians to be more
Health Care Professionals than Merchants.
What kind of professional health care delivery
would you expect to find at this online store?

Does anybody ever advertise custom-fitted eyewear?

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?

2) 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.

"Many of the Retail Optical Execs 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 Registered Pharmacist."

3) Some 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 training and practice of Opticianry, and the delivery of quality health care. See 1Plus1Equals11.com.

"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, and Trial Lens and Frame use 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. Again:

"The customized fitting of eyewear involves more than just adjusting a nose
piece or bending a temple. It has to include the reshaping, bending, stretching,
twisting and artful 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 wear-ability. The difference between adjusting and customizing is
what's different between today's eyewear merchants and yesterday's opticians."

Contact lens fitting and Patient
compliance requires attention to details.

"The most perfect prescription can be compromised if the
eyewear does not provide comfort and long-term wear-ability."

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.

            More and more eyewear is being purchased online.                 

The number one complaint of brick-and-mortar store patrons ...
"Nobody adjusted my glasses. They just handed them to me."

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.
Customers purchase merchandise. Patients receive health care.

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-contour (see example) behind each ear, all of these differ with each person. See Common Complaints and Causes. 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 Health Care 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 chain.

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 Eyewear Merchants rank Sales over Skill whereby 'Customers' are the focus. In contrast, a true Vision Healthcare Facility will emphasize Skill over Sales whereby 'Patients' are the focus, which produces higher levels of Patient satisfaction, fewer redos 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 health care 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 health care, 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 Free Frame-Fitting Course.

Serve people well, and more will follow.

Well trained, hands-on Health Care Practitioners
make for satisfied and happy Patients.

Closing Words

Many Optical Retailers need to make significant changes if they hope to acquire anything like America's ‘Premier’ Vision Care title. Their business models and the services they provide fall short due to deficiencies in practical training and depth of dispensing experience. Much more investment in the training of people and in resources is needed.

Example: In-house training manuals lack the practical experience that direct hands-on-the-Patient tasks afford. For an eye care facility to rely on manuals for training a Dispenser is like trying to teach an aspiring Surgeon how to become skilled in surgical techniques in the absence of a Patient. In addition, many dispensaries lack adequate dispensing tools, and visual aids, as well as sufficient training in their use. For instance, nose pad replacement is a frequently requested service. Many unskilled Dispensers use a snipe nose pliers to replace nose pad screws. Using this pliers requires excessive time for such a simple procedure. A practical solution is a specially designed self-closing tweezers that reduces the task to a minimum of time. The use of this tool alone can save an amazing amount of time for both Dispenser and Patient.

Now, here's an idea!

 
Make your own Optical Hand Tools!

We urge Retail Executives to support certification and licensing of Dispensers, the funding of training schools, and higher wages in order to retain a well-trained staff. Note: Senior Dispensing Opticians are available to assist in the practical training of Dispensers and to explore pathways to more profitability. Click here for free consultation.

Factoid          

Of over 67,000 opticians designing, manufacturing
and dispensing eyewear, less than half have 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."

Optical Industry Legacy