I saw one thing pop up in a discussion a little while ago regarding ‘certificates of authenticity’ for various optical products. Some could be for frames, lenses, coatings, photochromics, or whatever else. These things seem somewhat innocuous, but have you ever stopped to think what their real purpose is? Let’s run through a hypothetical scenario, and see who these certificates … [Read more...]
Philly Eyeworks
As many of you have seen, online sales are becoming more and more popular. I don’t need to tell you that. However, some of the online retailers are also doing a little bit more in terms of ‘direction competition’ against smaller, local optical shops. One such case happened in Philadelphia with Philly EyeWorks and Warby Parker (WP). You may have read about this, as it was in … [Read more...]
Survival Guide: Coatings
Lens coatings have become as much of a concern as the lenses themselves, these days. There’s plenty of choices when it comes down to it, and you really want to know what it is that you’re buying, and what kind of performance you can expect from it. This is where it does make sense that the ‘brand name’ coatings are popular. They give you a better idea of what you’re going to be … [Read more...]
Survival Guide: Lenses
Let’s assume that you agree that you want to ditch the “Big Optical” lens brands and give something else a try. There’s a lot of things to consider since, at the end of the day, you don’t want to cause yourself more headaches than you solve. Your primary goal is to keep your business running smoothly, which means you need to be careful when it comes to switching … [Read more...]
Surviving the Opti-Pocalypse
War. War Never Changes. Seemingly stuck in an unending battle. People that were once friends have changed sides, and are now working for the ‘other side’. Brother against brother, with the larger side having an inescapable grasp around the throat of the opposition. You’re the opposition, by the way. At least, we hope you are. With all of the mergers going on, there’s a … [Read more...]
The E Files
“Backorder? What do you mean, ‘backorder’?”, Molder shouted into the phone, somewhat exasperated, “Fine, just switch it to that. I need this in my hands tomorrow.” He hung up the phone, missing the days when he could at least get the satisfaction of slamming down the receiver. “Problem?” Skulli asked, as she finished piling up job trays.“ “That was our lab. They said that … [Read more...]
Un-BEAR-able Doctors
I recently found out that my daughter (who was six at the time) needed glasses. While there’s nothing wrong with that, in and of itself, the way that it came about was certainly odd, to say the least. I want to go through what happened, and see if you can spot where things could have gone better. It certainly seemed like some education from a local optometrist would have gone a … [Read more...]
War of the Words
What makes you use a product? Is it because you woke up one morning, and decided that “You know what, I’m going to go find a lens I’ve never heard of, and just start using it”. Well, no, that’s not how we work. We like being made to feel comfortable. To feel safe with a product. We want it to be familiar. That makes it easier for us to use their products. That’s why you’ll see … [Read more...]
Where’s My Support?
So after going through an exam and spending the past twenty minutes hearing the customer's life story, it’s come time to take them out to see what eyewear they want to pick out. Then come the words you really don’t want to hear: “I don’t need glasses. Can I just have my prescription?” You’ve gotten this a lot recently. People just want the prescription - when you KNOW they … [Read more...]
Your Insurance Has Been Terminated
“I love dealing with vision insurances. They’ve helped me make more money, and make my business run more smoothly”- said no optical professional ever. If anything in the optical world is most aptly compared to Skynet, it would be vision insurance plans. They started off as a great idea to try and help people get eyecare. Over time, however, they seem to have morphed into … [Read more...]