Rude Patients

[EyeCare Rich]

revival of an old thread, but I'm so annoyed!!!!!!!

A woman just came up to me and talked for like 10 minutes about how "she can't believe the price of the frames. they are so expensive. Don't I know how much progressive lenses are? Glasses are going to be over $400??"

seriously, I don't set the prices, if you don't like it, go somewhere else.

she's also been in about 5 times, and we have the same conversation every time. Hence my extreme frustration!!

I'd hate to see what she thinks of the price of gas, or how she talks to the gas station attendant!

[becc971]

I'd hate to see what she thinks of the price of gas, or how she talks to the gas station attendant!

i can't wait to be a grouchy old bat too.

and in regards to the dooby ... thats not legal in Maine YET

[rbaker]

and in regards to the dooby ... thats not legal in Maine YET

Ahhh, Appleton Gold, back in the early seventies.

[CCGREEN]

i can't wait to be a grouchy old bat too.

and in regards to the dooby ... thats not legal in Maine YET

becc971

when the wife and I get to that point in our life we will invite you to come talk shop with us at our cabin on North Pond just south of Bangor. About an our drive for you. No doobys but plenty of rum will be there.
We will pull up this thread and reminisce. Between the three of us im sure there are some good stories to share.

[becc971]

becc971

when the wife and I get to that point in our life we will invite you to come talk shop with us at our cabin on North Pond just south of Bangor. About an our drive for you. No doobys but plenty of rum will be there.
We will pull up this thread and reminisce. Between the three of us im sure there are some good stories to share.

lol absolutely! my hubby is a killer grill master, and he's a restaurant manager so he will fit right in with some excellent people stories

[Dustin.B]

I had one of these myself recently. She wasn't that bad off to start with but after about a half hour of talking and picking out frames and lens options I gave her the estimate. And that's when the flare lit up, she lost it. Going off about how a gal at our local walmart told her that she could get her glasses for $40 grand total and proceeded to berate me on my prices. Now a little background, Low power myope progressive wearer wanting transition lenses in a rimless frame... I cut her off, ten years of retail experience and bowing down when needed and I cut her off with a smile. Lol... I explained in no uncertain terms that that quote was for the absolute bottom barrel single vision no quality ugly scrap metal framed glasses you could make. And if she really wanted the absolute lowest options I could undercut their prices by another $6. But what I was offering was the best balance for both her eyes and her wallet
That's when the conversation changed, I had her attention then, and the rest of our time passed well. I even got a compliment out of her for explaining that.

I guess what I want to say is that you don't have to take every hit they throw. The key is to smile and to listen, maybe they misheard something, maybe they're having a rough week, they will tell you even if they don't say it directly. Just don't be rude, don't be snarky, you would be shocked at how many aggravated customers I've salvaged by hearing them out. Some still stormed out, but I'd say about two thirds of them returned to purchase, they know who's going to be civil towards them.

[Tallboy]

Great post Dustin, Bravo way to deal with the situation!

[becc971]

I had one of these myself recently. She wasn't that bad off to start with but after about a half hour of talking and picking out frames and lens options I gave her the estimate. And that's when the flare lit up, she lost it. Going off about how a gal at our local walmart told her that she could get her glasses for $40 grand total and proceeded to berate me on my prices. Now a little background, Low power myope progressive wearer wanting transition lenses in a rimless frame... I cut her off, ten years of retail experience and bowing down when needed and I cut her off with a smile. Lol... I explained in no uncertain terms that that quote was for the absolute bottom barrel single vision no quality ugly scrap metal framed glasses you could make. And if she really wanted the absolute lowest options I could undercut their prices by another $6. But what I was offering was the best balance for both her eyes and her wallet
That's when the conversation changed, I had her attention then, and the rest of our time passed well. I even got a compliment out of her for explaining that.

I guess what I want to say is that you don't have to take every hit they throw. The key is to smile and to listen, maybe they misheard something, maybe they're having a rough week, they will tell you even if they don't say it directly. Just don't be rude, don't be snarky, you would be shocked at how many aggravated customers I've salvaged by hearing them out. Some still stormed out, but I'd say about two thirds of them returned to purchase, they know who's going to be civil towards them.

thats why i turn to optiboard, its a lot better than punching them and trying to get work to pay for my bail.

and if she was having a bad day then she only comes in on her bad days, because she's literally done this 5 times haha, its just tiring.

[MrOptician]

Not rude.

[EyeManFla]

I've been in this business way too long to get upset with stupid customers. What I will NOT accept are incredibly rude people savaging my staff!

[newguyaroundhere]

Years ago we had a patient who had been coming in for exams, glasses and contacts to us and every visit he was extremely rude and abrasive to the doctors and staff. One day he came in with his usual attitude towards everyone until the doctor finally stood up to him and said "I don't care who you are or who you think you are, but if you are nasty towards me or my staff one more time, I will slap the sh!t out of you and I don't care who sees it"

Not exactly the ideal approach but the patient had been nothing short of an angel since.

[Tallboy]

Years ago we had a patient who had been coming in for exams, glasses and contacts to us and every visit he was extremely rude and abrasive to the doctors and staff. One day he came in with his usual attitude towards everyone until the doctor finally stood up to him and said "I don't care who you are or who you think you are, but if you are nasty towards me or my staff one more time, I will slap the sh!t out of you and I don't care who sees it"

Not exactly the ideal approach but the patient had been nothing short of an angel since.

Conan the Optometrist

[newguyaroundhere]

Conan the Optometrist

The doctor was a woman who stood roughly 5'4 or so versus a patient that was roughly 6'5"

[Tallboy]

The doctor was a woman who stood roughly 5'4 or so versus a patient that was roughly 6'5"

Thats fantastic

[rbaker]

Best part comes a few weeks later. He comes in with another Rx from the prescribing Dr. He's diabetic, and doesn't really even try to stabilize his blood sugar!

Bearing in mind that probably over 15% of the customers that cross your threshold are diabetic, either diagnosed or undiagnosed this is not an uncommon problem. The examining/refracting provider should routinely ask the customer if they are diabetic and it might just be prudent in some cases to check the blood glucose level. Refraction should be postponed until the blood sugar is stabilized between 80 and 130 mg/dL, otherwise the Rx is a crap shoot. All diabetics should be referred to an appropriate Ophthalmologist as diabetic retinopathy is the cause of 20% of all adult blindness.

When the customer come in to pick up their new glasses and their blood sugar is significantly different from what it was on refraction you most likely have the situation you described. Just wait a few years and you can sell him one of those nice red and white canes.

[OptifiedNikki]

She did you a big favor! Now YOU don't have to deal with her. It would probably be YOUR fault when he loses them or breaks them.

Yup, it never fails. Some parents do not like to take responsibility over the child's behavior or ability to take care of the things (expensive or not) they buy for them so they blame everyone else instead of "whooping that behind".

[OptifiedNikki]

years ago an older man was shopping for glasses and he came in on a mission, ranting and raving about price and selection. He belittled everything that i would say or do. I got tired of it and looked him right in the eyes and said to him "but first you need to qualify to be one of my customers, i don't accept customers that are rude and unappreciative" he shut up...ordered glasses and i never had another problem with him!

love it!!!

[colem84]

I got a good one for you guys. Lady picks up her new progressive rx and comes back a week or so later complaining of the distortion. I tell her we can remake into lined bf or reading glasses. She said she just needs them for reading, so we remake.

She calls this morning saying how she can't see when she looks up from her book and it's giving her headaches, but her reading is nice and clear. "Why can't we make the lens with the same in the top and bottom?" she asks. Cue my "WTF" face. Luckily she wasn't in store. I tried and tried to explain to her that when we remade the lenses into reading only, they are the same Rx all around the lens. Up, down, left, right, middle, etc. It is the same power.

She apparently has some old glasses that she can wear up close and still see someone walk in her office. I don't know how because she's a +1.00 for distance and these were like +2.00, but she claims she can see fine from them. She thinks we are lying to her and I guess believes there is still a bifocal, even though we made them into nvo. She just can not/will not comprehend.

[Uncle Fester]

I'm not reading where you emphasized before the redo of the loss of distance.

My guess is the old pair worked because she still had enough accommodation that the office focus was still there with a not noticeable strain.

I also think one week was too soon to give up on progressives. Admittedly I don't know how much time was spent with her. Sometimes some extra hand-holding does the trick!!!

[CME4SPECS]

I agree...REDO...it's FREE!! Trouble shoot people come on.

I'm not reading where you emphasized before the redo of the loss of distance.

My guess is the old pair worked because she still had enough accommodation that the office focus was still there with a not noticeable strain.

I also think one week was to soon to give up on progressives. Admittedly I don't know how much time was spent with her. Sometimes some extra hand-holding does the trick!!!

[Quince]

One of my favorite methods is silence. When people keep interrupting me I just stop talking and stare at them as if to say 'are you done yet?' This works especially well on the phone because I think people get concerned you've hung up on them! When I'm dealing with someone who refuses to be happy with anything you've done for them, I like to bring out the "what would you like me to do for you?" In other words, what will get you out of my store?! But really what this does is make them stop and think of what to ask for instead of just complaining. You are having them help you think of a solution. If they can't think of anything, they tend to shut up. Works for me

-kk

[colem84]

I'm not reading where you emphasized before the redo of the loss of distance.

Sorry, I didn't type all of that out. I made sure to explain what she wanted and how she would be able to see with just reading glasses. She agreed that is what she wanted. She kept iterating that she only needs them for reading, not anything else, and I can't figure out how to get her to understand that she won't be able to see far off in these reading only glasses. She doesn't grasp the concept of distance and focal points and how your eyes need different powers to see clearly at different distances. She keeps saying "I just want what's at the bottom at the top." And then she doesn't believe us when we tell her the lens has the same power all over.

My guess is the old pair worked because she still had enough accommodation that the office focus was still there with a not noticeable strain.

That's sort of what I was thinking too.

I also think one week was too soon to give up on progressives. Admittedly I don't know how much time was spent with her. Sometimes some extra hand-holding does the trick!!!

While I agree with you, sometimes you have to just go with what the patient requests. Usually I'll try to get them to keep at it for minimum of 2 weeks, before we make any changes, but this patient was adamant that we go ahead and change them to NVO.

[Robert Martellaro]

Hello colem84.

Low hyperopic, moderate presbyopic, part-time eyeglass wearers can be a real challenge. Your client's old eyeglasses are likely underplussed, enough to make the mid-distance not too blurry, but with just enough plus to be adequate for near tasks, apparently without symptoms. Cutting the plus may be the only way to give her the overall visual comfort that she is accustomed to, even it it means slightly compromised vision at near.

Hope this helps,

[smallworld]

colem- Your patient seems more confused than rude. Some people need different approaches to understand. I usually try to explain things with different methods. I draw a lot of pictures. I use trial frames. With your patient I would first read her old glasses to get that prescription. Say it was a +1.00, I would go in my drawer of reading glasses and get multiple pairs from +1.00 up to +3.00 and have her try them on while experimenting with different focal points. This might "explain" the function better.

In fact just last week a man couldn't see out of his post cat surgery glasses to read. He said his pair before surgery worked better. (new add +2.50, previous total add power +4.00) My doctor brought him to me after the recheck confused. We asked the patient what he was reading, turns out he was tying fly fishing lures. So I brought out all my reading glasses and I let him experiment with them. He ended up keeping his new glasses and purchasing a second pair of glasses for fly fishing.

[cowboytelemark]

. He ended up keeping his new glasses and purchasing a second pair of glasses for fly fishing.

So did you sell him reading glasses for tying flies, or polarized multifocal sunglasses for when he is actually fishing? Or both?