GlassyEyes

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PD, Frame inventory, Costs -- Another (anonymous) optician speaks out

13 comments Posted by Ira at Thursday, October 23, 2008

I got another comment from a practicing optician. It started in much the same way requests pour from the lips of my three children:

I know you will more than likely NOT post my comment.

It's always obvious to me when I get a comment from someone who hasn't spent any time looking at the content of the site. NOTE: This site is littered with comments from people on all sides of this issue. Comments like these are gold. Of course, I'm going to post it.

It continues:

I've read your edit. I'm sure you've been bombarded by hords of us in the industry. What you need to understand is that we're fighting for our jobs. I'm a licensed Optician. I have been working in the industry for almost 20 years.

Then hopefully you were smart enough to plan ahead and sock away some of that money you were making on my $400 glasses. People, by the thousands, are learning about this site -- and the reasonably priced options over there to the left -- each day.

On to his first gripe:

Nothing makes me more upset than having to use MY inventory of frames, MY knowledge, MY time to help people buy their glasses online.

I tend to get worked up when I discover I've been getting screwed for years and not even knowing it. Hundreds -- thousands of people have been walking into your store for the past 20 years shelling out ridiculous sums for the privilege of being able to see. We're not coming in to buy shiny knick-knacks for the mantle, we can't see and you've had us over the barrel for it. You'll excuse me if I don't worry too much about someone taking back a dollar or two of your time.

And the gouging continues:

The practice I work at, we do not release pupilary measurements at no charge. We have a fee associated with that information. It is not included in your routine eye exam.

Yeah, you should definitely charge extra for that. That's an extra inch or two the optometrist might have to bend down to read that little number on the refractor. Do you think this is a still a secret? The cat is out of the bag.

Let's toss in some fear:

My big quandry is this....where do you go when you need your glasses adjusted? What happens when you need a nosepad? Or a screw has fallen out? How are you sure that your glasses have been made properly? Do you then seek out your optician and expect him/her to help you out? Really, what do you do?

I don't have a problem with paying for any of these services if I feel I need them -- and some truly do. I'm not, however, going to pay an extra $350 for what equates to a half-assed extended service plan. It doesn't take a "rocket surgeon" to pop a new screw in or replace a nose pad. Heck, even other adjustments aren't impossible (there are all sorts of videos online -- from opticians -- explaining how this can be done at home with no special tools).

And the summary:

I want patients to LOVE their glasses. It doesn't matter to me how much you spend or don't spend. It could be $100, or $1,000. I don't make commission. I'm proud of what I do. I don't want to see my job go through the window because it's been outsourced to the big manufacturing shmoes. I'd love to read a response from you. I'm not trying to bash what you're doing, I'm only stating my case. I think everyone should hear both sides of the story.

I appreciate that you take pride in your work -- it's a horrible thing not to be able to do so. I also hope that you understand that the economics of the situation have changed. I expected the price of eyeglasses to come down when Lasik began to pick up steam -- oddly the inverse has been true -- at least as far as the traditional eyeglasses stores are concerned. I also expected to see fewer eyeglasses stores -- that has been the case. One of the only things propping up this business model is consumer ignorance (and complacency) and an aging population.

Some would look at this as an opportunity.

It's a new world out there, we're all dealing with jobs leaving the country. This isn't something isolated to the optical industry. I'm a software developer, maybe you've heard how that's been going for the past few years.

I don't have any ill-will towards you or anyone in your field. It's business -- but it's changing. I'm thrilled to now be able to afford eyeglasses, and many thousands of others are too.

We all need to adapt or we're going to "die".

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