a customer orders two pairs of glasses, pays half ( my policy 50% deposit ), i make both pairs , then comes and picks one pair. says " i'm coming next week to get 2nd"
it 's been six month since. i have almost 10 such people.how do you
handle this.
thanks for your comments.
the %50 deposit is good, just make the patient pay in full for both pair at time of delivery for the first pair.
Thank you.I just have to make it a policy. full payment or maybe at least 50% on the second pair at a time of dispensing the first one.Period.it is hard to " extract " the whole balance.Anybody else?
round figures --- both your glasses will be 500.00. We prefer payment in full but if that is not possible today we can accept half to get the glasses ordered. pt pays 250.00. at dispense pt only wants to pick up one pair Ok that is 125.00, but I already paid for that pair, no you paid half on two pairs. pt is mor likely to pick up the other pair and if not hopefully you have covered costs plus, having collected 3/4 of the total
A F E L
Always Forever and Even Longer.
Unfortunately the words only meant something to me.
Ditto to THE MEB,
We had to deal with this as well. We did 50% down as store credit. If it wasn't paid for in full after 3 months from Date of Purchase, bye bye credit, lenses trashed, frame back out on floor.
We did this so that we wouldn't have product sitting and weren't chasing people to come in and pay. We figured after 3 months, we "used" up the what credit that was left after costs were covered.
I didn't always agree with this policy, but it was the Dr's decision. I do admit, it was effective though.
Matty
EDIT: Almost forgot, we never posted anything about accepting a down payment. We said we collect payment in full. If it was an issue, we told them that we did have our policy as stated above, but never advertised it.
Last edited by Crazy-bout-Optics; 02-17-2008 at 11:27 PM. Reason: Left out info
It always works best to at the time of sale say "How would you like to pay for this today?" Generally you get full payment. If however you are in a situation where you have a pair of glasses that have been sitting around waiting for pick up for some time, this is what we do. We only keep them three months period. They get a postcard stating that their glasses will be held until the end of the month. If they don't come in(they usually do after the postcard)we take them apart, re-stock the frame and tuck the lenses into their record. I don't need trays sitting there for six months. At the beginning of every month I go through the trays and send the postcards. By the deadline I may have only one pair of glasses or a few boxes of contacts to deal with.
we used to say "How would you like to pay for your eyeglasses today?" but we fund saying "Mrs. Jones, your eyeglasses order comes to $700.00, will that be cash check or charge?" When we asked how they would like to pay for them, sometimes they would say I will pay when I pick them up, or "I will put $20.00 on them today" Telling them the amount, and implying that the full amount is expected on time of order allows them a lot less wiggle room. You will be surprised how many don't question you, but just pull out their credit cards. For those who question if they can put something on the order, you can then tell them that we require half to order on your custom made product, of which the balance to be paid upon time of delivery.
We just send them a billing statement after 3 months. Then they call upset that they don't have the glasses, so how can we charge them. We explain very understanding like that we had to pay OUR materials bill 2 months ago and we have essentially given them 2 months credit. They normally come in or promise to pay. ANd that is fine. We know that money situations change. We try to be understanding and pleasant, but firm. We even offer to mail them with a payment over the phone or a mailed check. We have a rural population and many travel 30+ miles, so mailing them can help.Originally Posted by cocoisland58
Regarding tHe policy about the "store credit" and losing it after 3 months. Of those peole that lose a "store credit", do you think they ever come back? We are in a small town that isn't growing. We can't afford to have someone not come back, and tell all their relatives that the store ripped them off $300.
Sure fire way to get people to pick up and pay for their (left here eons ago eyewear).
(This is after all the other stuff: Postcards, phonecalls, voicemails, formal letters with "drop-dead" dates):
Just "break-up" the order, put the frame back in stock, and dipose (or other) the lenses...and....
They come right in to pick them up!
Works 98% of the time.
FWIW
Barry
The Dr's reasoning behind using "Store Credit" is this. If we take a traditional down payment towards an RX, under AZ state Law (I believe) , they are entitled to receive their glasses whenever they come back to pick them up, eve if they are paid for in full. So this means Mr Smith can come in on Jan 2007, pay in full or 50% down, then come back Jan 2008 and demand his glasses. We have a box of RX glasses that date back to 2002. Some are paid in full, about 25% have a balance due.
If we instead have a store credit, that they can in turn apply to their RX order, the Dr can put an expiration on his Store Credit. This is in line with just about ever major retail establishment. Look on the back of any Gift card from Macys, Nordstrom, Dillards, etc, and I am sure you will find an expiration date on your credit.
So why should an expiration of credit be different for us, especially considering we are a medical retail establishment that supplies a custom made medical device?
When patients are told of our policy they can make 2 decisions. 1, accept that if its not paid in 3 months, they loose their credit, or 2, pay in full same day. We do not put a gun to their head, we don't force people to purchase from us. If they choose the store credit, it is a *Choice* the patient has made. In extreme cases, when we see the patient is in a dire circumstance, arrangements are made, as we all know rules can be bent, that is to say we do have a heart and are understanding.
To MarcE, while I would not consider Tucson a big city by any means, I can assume it more urban than where you reside, and dont think it appropriate to compare offices. Our office has been in the same location for over 20 years and pulls in a little over 1,000,000 a year. We sell High End, Cartier etc, and have a loyal client el. So the time it would take us to call and hunt down payments, go thru trays sorting out who owes what, mailing out a billing statement and post cards, we could be helping the paying patients who are in the store. Rarely have we had an issue with people "loosing" their credit, in fact it is such a *Deterrent* that most pay in full.
As an aside, we always say "Mr. Smith your total today for your custom eye wear is $xxx.00, what form of payment will you be using today?" This puts it in the patients mind that they are paying today, in full, for their custom eye wear.
~Matty :bbg:
EDIT: also, and not to be rude, but our office really doesn't want customers/patients that cannot pay off their eye wear in 3 months. We just don't want to deal with the hassle. As you yourself have pointed out, our bills were due 2 months ago, given a 3 month period to use their credit. With such high end eye wear, their credit usually just covers costs, services, shipping, and the Opticians time plus commission made by the Optician.
Last edited by Crazy-bout-Optics; 02-18-2008 at 09:02 AM. Reason: left out imp info
I was once told by collegue that the law reguarding "custom made items" which includes eyewear, tables, and prosthetic eyes that once made the customer is responsible for the bill whether picked up or not. Anyone know more about this?
Chip
"The trouble with America is Them! A. Bunker
thanks a much.with a little modification to THE MEB suggestion. I will carge the lens cost of the second pair since they're done.( then a pt. cane take one pair) + 90 days to pick. ditto!
Welcome to Optiboard! You will see lots of good advice above my post.
We also require a 50% down payment (except for certain old customers) and payment in full for both pairs at time of pickup.
How are things in Norway? I have a good friend that lives in Bergen.
DragonlensmanWV N.A.O.L.
"There is nothing patriotic about hating your government or pretending you can hate your government but love your country."
I don't know, but I think you (we) would win a small claims judgement on the matter.
The first step would be to send them a bill.
Dragonlensman, thank you for invitation, but it's Bergen county, NJ.
Crazy,
Tuscon is HUGE and urban compared to us so you are right, it isn't appropriate to compare. You can pick and chose your clients. You are also right in that regard. We need all of them in this town.
You obviously sell more high-end stuff than we, so money shouldn't be as much of an issue. Again you are correct.
If your competition is doing it, then you probably should also. Again, you are right.
In our practice we always try to be keen on constantly evaluating our policies from a client's point of view. Firm and steadfast policies that are meant to reduce abuses by the few are seen as mistrust and red-tape to many others.
I wasn't questioning your policies any more than I would question our own.
That's OK.:D
Did you know there was a Bergen, Norway?
DragonlensmanWV N.A.O.L.
"There is nothing patriotic about hating your government or pretending you can hate your government but love your country."
I would know if they had good beer.:D
So they pay 1/2 down on two pairs, pick up one pair and not pay for the rest on that pair? So the other pair ends up not having any deposit on it?
When they pick up the first pair they must pay for the rest of it. They will still have 1/2 paid down on the second pair.
If they don't pick them up within a certain time period and after a couple of phone calls, return the frame to stock and put the lenses in a bag with their chart. The half down should at least cover your cost on the lenses and a little more. If it doesn't then you need to make sure the deposit is higher to start with.
MarcE, I know you weren't questioning our policy, I just get a little long winded ;-)
To Kergudu, where in Bergen county are you? My family is from Upper Saddle River. You near there at all?
Matty :-)
Fezz II :D
Welcome to OB!
To MarkE. Hackensack, it's about 10 miles.
That's exactly what I was thinking, I was curious why our beer aficionado didn't chime in earlier.
BTW great advice given in this thread, we do 50% and on pick up they pay the remainder on both or wait for the other to get done to pick both up entirely up to them. I also don't like to dispense one pair and still be working on the other since often they will find reasons why they don't like the first pair when they come back to pick up the second. This sometimes creates the revolving door effect where we always have one pair or the other for one reson or the other so when ever possible we hold the first pair untill the second is ready and then call for both pair.
Why do virtually all of you accept anything less than full payment at purchase?
Convenience to the customer...How? If they're unhappy with what's delivered, it is no more or less of a hassle getting 100 bucks back than 200.
Customer can't afford it at time of purchase...So they'll be wealthier a few hours or days later?
By accepting a deposit, you're inviting the customer to want to change frames or lenses at delivery since in their minds they haven't really purchased the glasses yet (and they're right!).
The advice for places that take deposits, of saying "How would you like to pay for that?" or "Charge that for you?" is great, but it's even better to simply demand payment.
Wal-Mart demands full payment (no, I don't work there), and I wouldn't think their customers are swimming in cash--yet they seem to be doing quite well.
Of course it's always a judgement call, especially with long-time customers, but I really wish we'd stop accepting less than full payment at purchase.
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