Originally Posted by optilady1
Hey........a subscriber!!!
The 2013 calendar should be out in next months edition!
Hey........a subscriber!!!
The 2013 calendar should be out in next months edition!
+1. I wish I had a dime for every client that went elsewhere, only to come back. Most left to try a (supposed) lower price point, only to return as *lifers*.
Another +1. No way can you provide superior service without a face to face. DCD's will never be able to compete in the "total package" of best form eyecare delivery.
Lastly, anybody that thinks they can compete with online on price, and complains about them undercutting you....There are B&M's, probably just down the road from you selling product at net type of prices! Where's the outcry on them? Just because the guy across the street is selling cheap doesn't necessarily make him competition. And if you think "everybody" will be buying glasses off the net; Go research what percentage of consumers buy their CL's off the net and get back to me. After almost 20 years of entrenchment, millions spent on TV, radio and print advertising ( who's not heard of 1-800?) a very small percentage purchase them that way, and that's for a commodity!
Woo Hoo!Hey........a subscriber!!!
The 2013 calendar should be out in next months edition!
I can finally get rid of my Edward Cullen calendar!
Racoon skin and shot guns here I come!!!!
In the customer's mind it is.
I think that's the problem that most of "you" (used it advisedly...) have with this idea. I agree that there is a huge difference in "quality of vision" between an on-line pair and an in-person pair. BUT the big but is that I don't believe the customer really cares about that. Do they care that they can't perfectly read a billboard on the side of the road 3/4 of a mile away? No. They wait until it's a 1/4 mile away IF they are interested in what it says.
The mindset of the on-line customer is almost ALWAYS on saving money. They buy their books and even groceries on-line because it is more convienent and because they've been sucked into the idea that the on-line experience is going to save them money. How many people here have iPods or Kindle's or whathaveyou that you down load music or audio/e-books on? Why aren't you going down to the local music store or the local book store to buy the CD or the printed book? It's exactly the same thing with eyewear. If they can buy it on-line, they will, first, because it's available, and second, because there is the appearance of it being less expensive than going to the optician/dispenser. AND they can do it at 2AM in the morning.
Barry, I totally understand where you are coming from. If I lived anywhere near you, I'd come to you to get my glasses done. Because I know the end product will be a perfectly finished pair of spectacles that will exceed my vision requirements. But I know you, and your reputation. I know the inherent value of an excellently made pair of spectacles, and I would gladly pay you for your expertise.
That being said IF you had to operate a dispensary on-line,what would you do to minimalize the amount of unprofessionalism and maximize the quality of the end product? Surely these people who purchase on line can see with their purchaseed eyewear. So we know that is possible.
There are no absolutes...only varying degrees.
My position is we deliver the Best lenses, service, fit and vision. And we "hug" you.
And further, it's our position that you will only be able to get this HERE in the store.
Kinda like Mama's Fish House in Maui...nowhere else.
B
You are right Barry but only to a dwindling extent.
You can do an Online Professional Quality Job !
Would you have thought a custom frame could be made while the patient waits for a 3 d printer to produce or replicate it ?
that is easy , very easy . use a remote accufit kiosk or tele-video accufit equipped with frames data base , virtual try on software.2009= People purchase eyewear on-line....repsponse "that's a fad, it will pass"
2010 =Even more people purchase eyewear on-line.... response " that's not my market"
2011=Even more STILL purchase eyewear on line....response "I'm a professional.I do opticianry better than them. That's not my market"
2012=On-line market for eyewear continues to grow even at the $95.00 price & technology gets more sophisticated...response "the 'bottom feeders' are not my market"
FAST forward 12 years.... "Hey, where did my market go?"
OK Optiboarders. Here's your mission IF you choose to accept it: Realistically .How can we as optical professionals move into the on line market ,still maintain the integrity of what we do and the functionality of the products that we would dispense? Lets assume that we cannot fight this. How can we join in and offer a GOOD outcome at an attractive price to the consumer AND yet STILL earn a GOOD living? This post will self destruct in 10 seconds
In Ontario the pharmacy laws were changed to allow tele - video automatic drug dispensing machines , there are many in place but the one that comes to mind is in Sunnybrook I believe.
The same will work for opticians and your income will be geared to how many of these measurement/frame selector vending machines you own and place in good locations.
Once opticians start placing these machines in malls and factories they will regain some of what they have lost to onliners in their local circles of influence.
Keep in mind though that you won't be the only contender. A smart frame distributor will have his own ! And your local lab will too .
Last edited by idispense; 10-04-2012 at 12:35 PM.
Another way to participate in online is to place frame vending machines in high traffic areas . Load the machine with the most popular frames and priced with minimal margins . the ypay with a credit card and the selection A-12 is now dispensed . Yes they only have the frame but now they can send it to the lab themselves and the lab mails it to you for verification and you call in the customer or mail it to the customer after check out.
....of course this vending machine would have a 3d picture of Barry hugging them .
I guess that Idispense did not want to come out with it fully, and seeing from the other post's we get all the same type answers " you can't see" but for a few more bucks you can.
I will start a new thread on the subject, maybe now is the time.
We need to demand that all eyewear, before dispense by any means, be inspected by an optician licensed in your state and held to specific quality standards.
The biggest defense we have against online sales:
1) Carry only optical branded frame companies that don't allow online sales, in any means
2) Provide incredible expertise in picking out and fitting eyewear, frankly, some opticians are very mediocre.
3) Become lens experts, not just frame experts. We need to know what progressive lenses work best with what lifestyles.
Without reading 5 pages so this may be in one, I saw this: http://www.facebook.com/warbyparkerjoke
I'll keep an open mind on the whole 3D frame printer thingy. But, having already done close to two years of custom fits with TD Tom Davies frames, I can tell you that 3D printing of frames is not the savior some might think it is. There's so much more than cordinate points for a truly bespoke fit.
B
If I were in charge of, say Warby Parker, they'd be a whole lot more of a threat than their inexperienced, small thinking principals in charge are now. There's quite a bit that could be done to make operations like WP more than a joke to experienced ECPs.
But they'd still not be able to deliver at the highest level. However, they would redefine and raise the bar for what would be considered good enough/adequate. And what most eyewear dispensing in B&M's passes today for as adequate would swap places with the joke that some think WP is now.
Fact.
b
I doubt the current 3 d printer technology is good enough yet except for non critical parts such as replicating PD sticks , however it is very interesting and has potential that we have not dreamed of yet.
BTW I meant "you can do an Online Professional Quality job" as being in a class by itself and not the same as a in person quality job.
The last time I did see a job purchased by a friend on-line was 2 years ago. I checked it and there was nothing wrong with it.
I have perodically checked on the internet on complaints about on-line opticals but can not find any recent ones, they all date back 2-3 years.
Have they gone worse, or maybe not ..........................
Also when advertising on the internet one can give a personalized professional service we do it all the time, no shopping cart, you ask we answer.
Why don't we concentrate more on what we are doing instead of wasting time fretting over what others are doing?
Ground breaking idea...
If there is a significant shift in they way eyewear is to be ordered and delivered and at what price point ,shouldn't we be trying to figure out how we will fit into that new business model?
Who would have thought that people would trust their vision to retail chains and yet they are everywhere. Change happens... change is comming. Lets not complain, lets adapt. Barry sounds like you might have SOME ideas. What is it that we do not like about on-line? How can we join online and take away those issues that we do not like? At any rate lets be a part of the change and not just try to catch up later.
What do you consider significant? As far as price, do you live around San Antonio? Open your Sunday funnies. Full page add by a national chain, "2 pair of PAL's complete for 79 bucks". How much cheaper are they on the net? I'm tellin' ya, you have price competition already with B&M's around you. As Fezz says, it's best to worry about what you are doing and how to connect with your market.If there is a significant shift in they way eyewear is to be ordered and delivered and at what price point ,shouldn't we be trying to figure out how we will fit into that new business model?
Ok. Get some Parade frames, Image lenses and there you go. Cost is less than (wholesale pricing removed)and denote on that patients chart something that differentiates them from the other patients who pay $300 to $1000 retail for 1 pair. React and adapt.
Last edited by Fezz; 10-05-2012 at 10:03 AM. Reason: Wholesale pricing removed
In b&m, you're not just selling products...you're selling you!
Just how cheaply will you go?
Q: r u worth anything???
Sheesh!
B
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