Do you still charge those fees if they purchased their current frame from you a year ago?Originally Posted by EyeCare Rich
Do you still charge those fees if they purchased their current frame from you a year ago?
I do charge the "pattern fee".
I thought I came up with the 'pattern fee' idea...I should probably charge you a fee for using it!!!
If the patient/customer comes into my optical dispensary with my frame they get the works; ultra sonic cleaning(frame is taken apart for that), acetates receive an oil rub down, adjustments, nose pads at no charge and no pattern fee for new lenses. I just don't promise a ,"happy ending", that I leave to other profession.
I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it. Mark Twain
Patents TEdFitz, Patents, haha. That's a great service Paul, I would imagine not a lot of your patients walk out on you as well. Great job!
Gee, I went out for a beer at lunch....cost $6.50......Checked out the local liquor store....Can get the same beer for $2.00....Do you think the restaurant will refund the difference?
No, I wouldnt refund anything.....The difference in selling cost is to pay for the service and business overhead .....I would tell the customer that your cost of providing the frame is higher than the onliners selling price when you factor in your costs (of doing business)...And leave it at that...
Contrary to what Chris seems to think, we dont have to give our services away, in an attempt to keep the online business...Ill survive without it......I would rather have higher margins on the product I sell. than give things away and have to work twice as hard for the same net.
So you are actually charging for your services if the customer had purchased the frames elsewhere. That seems to be the way to go.
.................I never order a Pizza
Johns, I would never even had thought of looking on-line, I wanted immediate service, and got it for a price. I paid for a service provided.
.................I never order a Pizza. I buy a frozen one at the Super Market and then top it off at home with all the goodies I like, from Swiss cheese to meat and veggies and bake it in my oven.
See if you can find some Tortilla Land raw flour tortillas at a grocery store (http://www.tortillaland.com/Find-a-Store). Need to dust them with corn meal on the bottom so they will slide on to a baking sheet. Much better and cheaper than the cardboard crusts used for frozen pizza.
I think the "online" vs B&M label is a red-herring. What if someone placed a phone call to the frame store that happened to have a webpage (just like you would with most plumbers). Would you actually visit the plumber B&M store, or just call them to arrange for them to come out and give you an estimate? Also, most plumber websites have a place where you can request a quote or additional information online. Then there are websites like Angie's List and HomeAdvisor where you contact contractors online, or they will contact you after you post your requirements online.
There are also a lot of pizza stores that have no eat-in area and only exist for delivery, usually based on phone or internet orders. Yes, they have a B&M location to make a pizza near you, but online sites like Amazon have many B&M warehouses to make sure they can get goods to you in a timely manner.
I recommend pitas for your pizza crust. Delish.
I'm Andrew Hamm and I approve this message.
You are right about the delish part, but too many carbs for me compared the much thinner Tortilla Land tortillas.
In both cases though, you eventually deal with a B/M...not so w/online optical.
Ophthalmic Optician, Society to Advance Opticianry
Really Chris? You are suggesting that we change our business practice to cater to the 4% of the market that's online.
That sounds like the way to go for sure! Well maybe only in your mind it is.
You are very frustrating sir.
Regards,
Golfnorth
Not sure what you mean. Online Frame Stores have B&M operations or warehouses.
I do believe it is appropriate for the shop that does the fitting and adjustment on a frame purchased elsewhere to charge a fee for that if the patient brings in their own frame. As of about 6 years ago, I heard that Walmart charges 10% extra for lenses when customer bring in their own frame (or used an old one), but not sure of their current policy. Of course, if an optical is making $400 gross profit on high end progressive lenses, then maybe they might be willing to cut a customer some slack if they purchased the frame elsewhere, but obviously every shop has to decide that policy themselves, depending on whether the patient may go elsewhere if they don't.
There is a way, if you want: "We don't supply lenses for frames we didn't supply." You can't buy a muffler at PepBoys and take it to most mechanics to install it. They'd say "We don't work with other people's parts. We couldn't guarantee the work." And you'd say "Yeah, that makes sense."
(Maybe your cousin Bennie would do it, but he's really just a shade tree mechanic, after all.)
DO YOU WANT TO BE A SHADE TREE OPTICIAN? DO YA? HUH?
The simplicity of this post makes me happy.Gee, I went out for a beer at lunch....cost $6.50......Checked out the local liquor store....Can get the same beer for $2.00....Do you think the restaurant will refund the difference?
No, I wouldnt refund anything.....The difference in selling cost is to pay for the service and business overhead .....I would tell the customer that your cost of providing the frame is higher than the onliners selling price when you factor in your costs (of doing business)...And leave it at that...
Contrary to what Chris seems to think, we dont have to give our services away, in an attempt to keep the online business...Ill survive without it......I would rather have higher margins on the product I sell. than give things away and have to work twice as hard for the same net.
If someone came and said "Hey, that frame I just ordered is online for $xx less", I'd say "That's for just the frame. You paid for the frame plus our services." And if he went any further with it, I could hit him over the head with this tuna:
Carrying the most reliable and stylish inventory from a world of questionable choices
Frame styling assistance
Ability to try on frame in person
Frame fit advice from a professional
Quality control by a pro
Warranty you can believe in
Included adjustments for the life of the frame
Interacting with a human not a robot
Hot cup of Java!
Last edited by drk; 10-30-2014 at 05:56 PM.
Midas Muffler or a new car dealer may not do it, but I guarantee there are plenty of other independent shops who will do it, and I would not characterize them as "shade tree." Besides, I would much rather have an independent mechanic work on my car than Midas Muffler.
This thread is about profits, not about the quality of a frame that is purchased elsewhere. If someone brings in their own frame, and you don't feel there is enough profit in the deal without them buying the frame from you (only the lenses), then either charge them a fee for the frame fitting/adjustment or decline their business.
Are we talking about a patient's old frame? If so, I do think that we provide a service there, too. 1. We inspect it for decreipicy 2. We judge its suitability for whatever new Rx use 3. Heaven help us if we do lenses only--mucho servicio! 4. If we are comfortable with the patient, we'll tell them "No way your wife is going to like you with those frames, AGAIN". 5. Then we adjust the dang thing at dispense and forever.
I think that is valuable. As such, we should charge, but let's face it, we don't (maybe we do the pattern fee thing).
You are completely right...all that service given away. Why not give it away for a new frame purchased from "Anteojos son nosotros.com"?
Maybe they should all be charged a service fee.
Well Said drk! That's a mighty big can of tuna to slug em with. It pretty well sums up why we do what we do.
Without question, for those that don't charge for such services or don't know how to breach the subject, it's a simple equation, time spent multiplied by services rendered. Keep in mind that they are coming to you; warm office, lights, beverages, furniture, rent or mortgage, business taxes, employee wages, CE's and License renewal fees, a warm body with the experience to do the work, if I left anything out add it to the list and multiply it by the time you spend with the individual. After presenting them with these service charges explain to them that all these things and more will be provided to them if they were to have purchased the product directly thru you, then ask them if on line will match your services.
I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it. Mark Twain
This thread makes me sad. While our gut always says no in these situations, these are the exact cases where yes turn a one time sale into a customer for life. I usually say something like "Our policy is not to price match but since you've already fallen in love with this pair, I will go ahead and match it for you THIS ONE TIME" I also remind them that our customer service and personalized fitting process takes much longer than throwing a frame in box, but in an educational not condescending way.
Bully for you, and when they come back asking for the same deal, what say you then?
I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it. Mark Twain
To each his own Paul, I won't do it twice. My goal by doing it once is to show them what a great optician can provide. Every offers different levels of customer service, I once refunded a woman $400 for glasses she'd bought three months prior for her son who died unexpectedly. No one else would have. Her entire family and extended family come here and have bought several thousands of dollars in product from me. Well worth the small up front cost, hell some advertising costs $500 per patient!
I think that is a mistake. Just tell them you will need to charge them more than the online price (for reasons you should be able to explain), but give them some discount from list price (maybe split difference between online and list price). I suspect most customers will be happy with that.
I don't know why this is such a big deal, because most opticals have sales at least some of the time.
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