Moment of PANIC!!!! etc.

[kl_whitney]

I broke a temple tip while adjusting, and not just the plastic part, I broke all the way through the metal. I'm so %&*(^% angry at myself, and I'm freaking out that my boss will be even more angry than I am! At least the patient was understanding, and at least I was able to replace it from a demo frame. I'm just really freaking out. My boss is SCARY when she's angry. Not that she ever yells, it's just that she gets really scary. I think the worst thing that has ever happened at work was when the hot sand fell over (not my fault, I swear! I was a whole yard away at the time, and nowhere near the cord!) and I got blamed. It's not that I minded cleaning it up, it's just that I was so humiliated when my boss angrily told EVERYONE that I did it.
No, I don't hate my boss, I actually really love working for her, love what I do, it's just my own personal issues. I really freak out when anyone gets angry at me. Yes I know I need to learn to deal.....;)
Just had to get my thoughts out. I'm really super stressed, cause we're doing an Altair inventory....guess who got the assignment? My high stress levels probably resulted in the break, cause the last time I broke something was during an altair inventory too.
Well, talk to everyone later.
Katherine Whitney, Non-Certified Optician

[Fezz]

No need to stress!

Come on...

Step#1

Take a deep breath.........exhale

Take a deep breath.........exhale

Another deep breath........exhale

See......its only life, don't stress!!!!

If that don't work: Proceed to the next step

Step #2

Stand in front of a mirror.......I prefer to wear my birthday suit

Proceed to evaluate the person in the mirror

If you still feel stressed after you stop giggling......you may need some real help!!!

Don't take things so seriously! It could always be worse.........you could look as bad as I do!

Hang in there!

;):cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::D

[Jacqui]

I know you said that you like what you're dong, but have you considered doing it somewhere else?? My first lab manager was this way and working with him actually made me physically ill in the end.

[Judy Canty]

I was thinking the same thing. Life's too short to be that stressed at work.

Also, Fezz's STEP 2 is probably not a good thing to do in the office.

[Fezz]

Also, Fezz's STEP 2 is probably not a good thing to do in the office.

It would sure take attention away from the broken temple!!!

***LAUGHS***!!!!

:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

[spazz]

You may want to consider whether working in this environment is worth it.

[bob_f_aboc]

I was thinking the same thing. Life's too short to be that stressed at work.

Also, Fezz's STEP 2 is probably not a good thing to do in the office.

It would sure take attention away from the broken temple!!!

***LAUGHS***!!!!

:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

I think I have just changed my mind about meeting Fezz.

Seriously though, once you realize that all the yelling, screaming, taunting and teasing in the world is just a defense mechanism for the person doing it; you will be able to walk away from the encounter with your head held high knowing they are just insecure in themselves. The best managers don't need to raise their voice.

Just remember, "Don't sweat the small stuff. It's all small stuff."

Finally, Fezz's second step may be a good team building activity for the entire office. It's really hard to yell at someone when everyone is giggling at you.:p

[Lachrymator]

Everyone breaks a frame at some point in their career, and it really doesn't matter how long you've been an optician... Poop happens. I would try and see if you can get any sort of credit from the manufacturer, and try to be more careful next time. With our altair inventory, we stopped selling the frames off the board and just ordering to be drop shipped to our lab as they get sold. Makes that inventory deal a whole lot easier to work with. Also we only have one board full of altair, and we try to keep them on that one board. Hopefully your boss will be understanding. :o

[hcjilson]

In yesterday's Cape Cod Times there was an interesting article that surprised me. I thought that it had been written with me in mind! It is about people who seem to worry about everything. I provide a link to it here:http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pb...301/-1/ARCHIVE

I think a lot of what we "worry" about has more to do with us as individuals and what we perceive rather than what actually is. (pardon preposition) I found this article most helpful, give it a read.

[Lachrymator]

I think a lot of what we "worry" about has more to do with us as individuals and what we perceive rather than what actually is. (pardon preposition) I found this article most helpful, give it a read.

I think it's unhealthy to worry all the time about everything (especially things that don't matter). But if you were a business owner, I think you would want to know that your optician is worried about his/her mistakes. Imagine if you were working with someone who didn't care about the mistakes they made. I've worked with people like that before, and I have to admit I often wondered if they even cared about the business at all or if they were just in it for the paycheck. I think kl_whitney's boss should be proud to have an optician who cares and puts pride into their work, and her worrying about it shows just how much she cares.

[Barry Santini]

Everyone breaks a frame at some point in their career, and it really doesn't matter how long you've been an optician... Poop happens.

Hey, I *still* do this, even after 35+ years, and I should know better! So, I keep a small-sized, single-portion box of "Wheaties" out of sight, near my dispensing desk. And when I commit the "crime", and the client excliams in astonishment "What happneed?", I take out the box, and reply:

"I guess I ate too much Wheaties this morning"

And it completely defuses the situation, almost every time. Of course, I make good on it, no matter what.

And if I sense that their is a loss of client confidence in my skills, I simply offer up "Even Joe DiMaggio didn't get a hit every time at bat. That didn't make him a bad player, does it?"

You get my point.

Barry

[kl_whitney]

Thanks! I actually feel a lot better about working than it sounds like in my first post. My boss and I usually get along pretty well, except when I do something dumb, or during inventory, usually the two go hand in hand cause I get stressed over inventory and then do something dumb.
IDK, I often really freak out when someone gets upset with me, even if no yelling is involved. It's just one of my quirks, at my previous job I would be in tears after any of my coworkers offered even a gentle correction. Yes, I'm very sensitive. Not as bad as it used to be, but still very sensitive, and I'm very harsh on myself. So half the upset in that post was me being mad at myself.
Thanks for all the support after my little episode of sheer panic.
-Katherine Whitney, Optician

[Kattb]

Who ever has not broken a temple please respond to this site. Haha

Part of the job and expected once in a while. The patient just doesn't know

that.. I get upset for about 1 min. and then it is off to the next patient

adventure. :D I love this job Kattb from SB

[Johns]

If you don't break something, you're not working hard enough!:D



Brother Fezz,

Are you talking about a dispensing table mirror, a hand-held mirror, or like a pair of mirrored sunglasses?

I tried the dispensing mirror on the front counter, but I had to stand on a chair, and it has the wheels on it, and I tryed to steady myself and look in the mirror, and it's seems a little dangerous to me.

I'd try the hand-held mirror, but I can't find anyone to hold it. (the mirror)

Anyway, now you've got me worried about what the staff thinks of me (as a person), what the lady that ran out of the office thinks, and why the DHL drive threw the package accross the room. I'm also worried that I may have put my socks on inside out.

Thanks,

Brother Johns

[OpticianVlad]

Knock on wood... ........ . . . . .. . .

I haven't broken a frame in a few years.
I learned my lesson once. I once broke a Cartier frame
as I was adjusting it right in front of the patient. I worked at LC at the time.
The bad part is that I dropped the F BOMB as soon as I did it.

I still have nightmares about it. :)

anyway..... Since that point on, I have a disclaimer that I use with all patients....

I will try my best to fix this frame. Anything I do will be in goodwill, I don't want to damage your frame, But I need to apply the same amount of force to fix it, as you applied to it to bend it out of shape. I will do this repair at your own risk.

I have never had anyone react negatively to that statement. They see that I'm being sincere, and that I want to help them.

[OpticianVlad]

Whitney...

Fact is if we had a dollar for every frame we've broken in the past,
we would all have enough money to retire!

[MarcE]

You replaced the frame, right? No problem. It's not even worth apologizing. "Congratulations, You just won a NEW FRAME!!" It's all in the wording.

If you worry that much, You might want to consider medication. Also, get rid of the salt pan and replace it with a hot-air heater. One less headache, one less mess to clean up.

[optigrrl]

And speaking of wood -

broke a Gold and Wood. Split right at the endpiece/temple join.

Good thing it was rimless! Put the lenses in a temp frame and off they went until I got the part replaced!

I always tell opticians they aren't pro's until they break something!

Knock on wood... ........ . . . . .. . .

I haven't broken a frame in a few years.
I learned my lesson once. I once broke a Cartier frame
as I was adjusting it right in front of the patient. I worked at LC at the time.
The bad part is that I dropped the F BOMB as soon as I did it.

I still have nightmares about it. :)

anyway..... Since that point on, I have a disclaimer that I use with all patients....

I will try my best to fix this frame. Anything I do will be in goodwill, I don't want to damage your frame, But I need to apply the same amount of force to fix it, as you applied to it to bend it out of shape. I will do this repair at your own risk.

I have never had anyone react negatively to that statement. They see that I'm being sincere, and that I want to help them.

[OpticianVlad]

Not for the faint of heart. :)