Tales of Unreasonable Expectations

[optilady1]

Oh yeah. I LOOOOVE the phone call from the husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend the day after ordering glasses complaining about the price and demanding that the order be canceled...

You can always say it's a HIPAA violation to speak with them about the patient and hang up.

[optilady1]

My Faaaaavorite unreasonable question is having a patient order a free form 1.70 in a drill frame, have them pay, and as they are standing up to leave say, "I'm leaving for Florida on Sunday, will they be ready by then?"

I've been told I do a poor job of masking my emotions, so I wonder what my face looks like after they ask.

[AngeHamm]

I've been told I do a poor job of masking my emotions, so I wonder what my face looks like after they ask.

You and me both, sister.

[Optixx]

Who comes inside and looks in a mirror before photochromics have a chance to lighten?

Women check themselves in the mirror throughout the day, dude. Hair, lip-gloss, etc. At some point she had to see herself with dark transitions. Obviously taking the glasses off and looking at them would also have been a fine example.

ONe thing's for sure, "a little bit of knowledge {from your friendly walmart eyewear consultant} is indeed a dangerous thing". It's also especially frustrating for the rest of us!

[chip anderson]

There are no-line trifocals?

[Wes]

ONe thing's for sure, "a little bit of knowledge {from your friendly walmart eyewear consultant} is indeed a dangerous thing". It's also especially frustrating for the rest of us!

Is that right?
The thing to remember is when you stereotype a group and indicate that members of that group always/never, all/none does this or that you lose credibility.
It could be the case that "a little bit of knowledge {from your friendly (insert retail chain subject to ridicule here) eyewear consultant} is indeed" NOT a dangerous thing. In fact it may be more insightful than that which you could provide.
Think about it.

[chip anderson]

Wes: You jus doan unnastan. If you bad mouths otha folk it make you look so much bedda!

[Wes]

Oh yeah. I forgot about that Chip.

[OptiChick21]

Very likely. However, her attitude was one of "these glasses don't work in the magical fashion I imagined that they would." And she had zero interest in trying a different product or getting an additional pair of sunglasses; she just demanded a refund. She never asked questions, never sought clarity; she just came in to complain and make demands.

Anyone who comes back and won't listen to reason or offer a better solution has buyer's remorse, 100%. The reason for the remorse could be one of many idiotic reasons (I really dont have this much money, my spouse yelled at me, my friend called me ugly in these, my car broke down today...etc) but no matter what if they dont want to try to fix the issue then they just want cash back.
We created a sign off we have patient's sign to place a glasses order. Basically says all our glasses (like ANY glasses) are custom made to your Rx and cannot be returned for a full refund once they are ordered. IF they are defective we will remake them or POSSIBLY offer in house credit.
Not that any sign off paper would probably hold up in court but at least they know what they're getting into!

Go to Walmart/LC (who are probably in cahoots anyway) if you want to change your mind daily!

[charan]

i had one good one yesterday, lady bought transitions and she's the one who asked for ' can i get those lenses that go dark in the sun' ok no problem, i explain her how they work under the sun and blah blah, she picks them up a week later, and says, 'i'm putting them under the light bulb inside my house how come they dont dark'?

and then i died

[chip anderson]

Charan:. Shudda tol her to change de bulbs to black light

[charan]

we need an optician's Video like this

[chip anderson]

Chartan: You should have my artificial eye patients. It's Thursday and I have eight full hours of no-show so far this week.

[Wes]

No wonder you've been posting all day...

[Mizikal]

I get people that ask me "how much are your contacts". My reply is always "what kind do you wear now"? IF they wear them they usually mispronounce acuvue. If they don't I give them a ballpark figure something like $18.00-$60.00 a box plus the cost of the exam. I had one lady tell me I was no help and she hung up on me. I tell them that its like going to a car dealer and asking how much is a car?

[Wes]

Yeah I get the random phone rants too. "How much glassex is?". Or the guy screaming and cursing how were "out to get him cause we don't stock his lenses".

[tdj]

I had a woman call me while filling out Acuvue's rebate form.... I ended up spending half an hour walking her through the damn thing, because I am far too nice.

My favorite part was "ESS PEE AITCH? What do I put under ESS PEE AITCH?!" I told her to look for the number on the end of the box that was either followed by a plus or minus sign. She says okay and puts it in. So far so good, right?

"WHAT IS SEE WHY ELL?"

"Okay, are you wearing the regular Oasys or the Oasys for Astigmatism?"

"I don't know what that means."

"Look on the front of the box. Does it say just Acuvue Oasys or does it say Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism?"

She proceeds to read every word on the front of the box, down to Johnson & Johnson. Ooookay. They were regular Oasys. "Okay, leave SEE WHY ELL blank. Also, if it says AY EX or Axis, leave that blank, too."

"Okay.... hey, what is BEE SEE?"

"On the end of your box, it's going to say BEE SEE, a colon, and then numbers that are either 8.4 or 8.8... put in the 8.4 or 8.8 number."

"Wait... I don't have the box in front of me." After she had just read me the whole thing???

I damn near told her that rebates are designed not to be easy to fill out so they don't have to give money to stupid people and hung up after that... but my car insurance is due next week and I need this paycheck. :D

[AngeHamm]

I had a woman call me while filling out Acuvue's rebate form.... I ended up spending half an hour walking her through the damn thing, because I am far too nice.

My favorite part was "ESS PEE AITCH? What do I put under ESS PEE AITCH?!" I told her to look for the number on the end of the box that was either followed by a plus or minus sign. She says okay and puts it in. So far so good, right?

"WHAT IS SEE WHY ELL?"

"Okay, are you wearing the regular Oasys or the Oasys for Astigmatism?"

"I don't know what that means."

"Look on the front of the box. Does it say just Acuvue Oasys or does it say Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism?"

She proceeds to read every word on the front of the box, down to Johnson & Johnson. Ooookay. They were regular Oasys. "Okay, leave SEE WHY ELL blank. Also, if it says AY EX or Axis, leave that blank, too."

"Okay.... hey, what is BEE SEE?"

"On the end of your box, it's going to say BEE SEE, a colon, and then numbers that are either 8.4 or 8.8... put in the 8.4 or 8.8 number."

"Wait... I don't have the box in front of me." After she had just read me the whole thing???

I damn near told her that rebates are designed not to be easy to fill out so they don't have to give money to stupid people and hung up after that... but my car insurance is due next week and I need this paycheck. :D

I'm going to deliver this story as a monologue next time I have an audition.

[Optixx]

Had a contact lens patient w/GPC today, myope (of course) who "hadn't bought glasses in years cause he doesn't need them" College kid. Parents paying for glasses. I ensure we have his poly basic a/r lenses in stock, tell him choose a full frame so we can complete his order today (our in house lab doesn't edge for semi-rimless (nylor) frames.) I educate him on the importance of non-glare and the a/r demo material and show him some value frames as he has no insurance and suggest he put the available monies into the lens and get a more modest frame. This Young'un informs me that he "Cant wear just anything with what he does everyday." So, I bite, and ask, what are you studying in college? Turns out to be Performing Arts... for crying out loud. This kid ends up wanting a zyl nylor $500.00 frame, no a/r I explain to his parent over the phone that a/r is important to his Rx. They don't want to spend the $60.00 for it. Really. But the $500.00 frame is important.... Priorities anyone?!?!?!?!?!?!

[Optixx]

Is that right?
The thing to remember is when you stereotype a group and indicate that members of that group always/never, all/none does this or that you lose credibility.
It could be the case that "a little bit of knowledge {from your friendly (insert retail chain subject to ridicule here) eyewear consultant} is indeed" NOT a dangerous thing. In fact it may be more insightful than that which you could provide.
Think about it.

Wes, I do wish you could listen to some of the confused people we get that have been to "insert optical chain to ridicule here". These poor patients are so confused. I wonder if you"ve ever had to unravel a bunch of misinformation and expalin it properly to anyone!

[k12311997]

Wes, I do wish you could listen to some of the confused people we get that have been to "insert optical chain to ridicule here". These poor patients are so confused. I wonder if you"ve ever had to unravel a bunch of misinformation and expalin it properly to anyone!

I think Wes's point is that someone doesn't have to work at a chain to give misinformation and because someone works in private practice they aren't automatically a good optician. I believe Wes spends a part of his time in said ridiculed chain and although I have no firsthand knowledge of his abilities his posts apear to show knowledge and the alphabet soup in his signature should imply some level of abilities.

[Wes]

Wes, I do wish you could listen to some of the confused people we get that have been to "insert optical chain to ridicule here". These poor patients are so confused. I wonder if you"ve ever had to unravel a bunch of misinformation and expalin it properly to anyone!

All the time.
Sadly, in licensing states (where I live) it is often the patients coming from DRs offices that need clarification. The Drs often won't pay licensed opticians any more than $10-12 an hour, where the chains will pay $16-24. Why would they? The DRs have a license already and often just want someone out there $elling. The licensed opticians go where the $ is, and that's usually the chains and independents.

I have heard it's quite the opposite in the states that don't license their opticians. The horror stories from unlicensed states abound...

Back to my locale, I see the lenses poorly surfaced with swirls under the coatings, the lint in the coatings, the cheap AR, the segs too high or low and often crooked, the poor fits, the "why did the DR prescribe that contact lens?", and so forth from DRs offices and chains, but rarely from an independent optician. Bottom line, its pretty bad all around here, not just the chains.

I part-time in a chain, about 10 hrs a week, because it's one of the few places that work around my lab and school schedule, and pay enough to make it worth my time and helps pay for the Master's degree I'm working on. I know many other extremely qualified opticians who do so as well for their own reasons.

Now do you suppose that a little bit of knowledge from me or anyone I would consider a highly qualified optician is a dangerous thing? Maybe not always. I didn't find those ABOM, ABO-AC and NCLE-AC certificates in a crackerjack box.

Perhaps the local chains in your area are a disaster, but that doesn't mean there are NO qualified opticians in any of them worldwide.
Blanket statements and absolutes = no-no.

[gmc]

I think Wes's point is that someone doesn't have to work at a chain to give misinformation and because someone works in private practice they aren't automatically a good optician.

There are incompetent people everywhere in our business, even at the places where we work!

Another licensed optician where I work took an Rx written by one of our ODs for a post corneal transplant patient with the following prism: OD 2 diopters BO, 2 diopters BD, OS 2 diopters BO, 2 diopters BD. That is possible, but not likely. That optician didn't question the doctors staff, just made the glasses with the Rx as written.

I noticed the yoked prism during final inspection and had one of the techs pull the chart. Sure enough, the vertical prism in the OS was supposed to be BU. I don't think the other optician still quite understood the problem as I explained it to them.

[finefocus]

Blanket statements and absolutes = no-no.

Let's all say that to ourselves a few dozen times.

[Wes]

There are incompetent people everywhere in our business, even at the places where we work!

Now THAT'S the truth!