What you look for in a wholesale lab

[bbatts]

I am considering opening a small wholesale lab on the east coast. I would like to get some feedback on what you think makes a great lab and what makes a horrible lab.

bbatts

[Jacqui]

Haveing someone like me working there would make it a GREAT lab. Honestly the staff is a major part of it. The other important parts are service and quality.

[cocoisland58]

It is simple and should be obvious. A great lab has great service and goes above and beyond. No garbage passes inspection and gets sent hoping no one will notice. A great lab has at least one person who does custom work. Jobs get done as promised and if there is a delay an immediate phone call is made. Every effort is given to ensure consistent quality, on time delivery and personal attention to detail. The lab we use is very good at all of the above.

[karen]

always remember you get what you pay for.

[LENNY]

You have to open a big Lab!
You will never survive as a small lab! (At least in our woods)

[Jubilee]

always remember you get what you pay for.

Exactly, we dont' pay bottom dollar for our lab work. The main labs we use cost as few dollars more a job, but we do get the consistency, in quality and service.

1) Great quality
2) Good Turnaround
3) Excellent service (that phone call when a job is running late, the willingness to let me send patients to the lab for a rush job, the ability to work with us to solve issues)
4) Price is a consideration. I am willing to pay more, but I am not going to pay 2x the U&C...

[Kyle]

BBATS,

A lab should consider itself an extension of my office with as much responsibility to my patients as I have; I do not just pay you for lenses. Your employees should accept this as part of their core value system - patients come first.

If there is something that affects my patient, I should both know about it and have a say in how it's dealt with. If a lab is either incapable or unwilling to put themselves in the shoes of my clients, they have no reason to approach me. If they stand their fiscal high ground and refuse to be flexible when a warranty is slightly expired, I kick them out.

Additionally, a quality lab will help me to both understand market trends AND keep me up to date on current and upcoming technology and be willing to work with me on special projects. Marketing assistance is a plus - If you can tell me my numbers faster than I can, you've got a chance; if you can help me improve upon those numbers, you've got talent.

As with any business, you get what you pay for. If you put in cheap labor, you get cheap quality. Maybe proper salaries are impractical for some labs, but I don't do business with them. I want to trust my lenses will be precise and free from defect of any kind. Moreso, I want to trust that if there ARE defects, they aren't passed on to me as a matter of saving you money, "just in case I don't notice".

A horrible lab is one that doesn't consider itself or its employees accountable to the team effort that is the entire prescribing/fitting/manufacturing/dispensing process.

Finally, nearly 80% of satisfied customers have no problem at all leaving a practice and going elsewhere. That's because satisfaction is expected. To excel is golden and is what builds loyalty and referrals. To merely "satisfy" is to settle for mediochrity.

...and by all means, give Jacqui a job!*

*standard disclaimers apply. Poster makes no claim as to the quality of said future employee. Tax tag and title due upon hire. Warranty void if tamper evident. Optional non-tax-deductible donation to be paid as finders fee to: ...

[Johnny Eyes]

I am considering opening a small wholesale lab on the east coast. I would like to get some feedback on what you think makes a great lab and what makes a horrible lab.

bbatts

Labs are great when they first start because all thier equipment is new, so the optics are right on. It's when you go 6 months to a year down the line when the stuff starts to wear. Then the optics become wishy-washy. Are you willing to put the money in to maintain your equipment? Also, I left a lab because of it's poor quality AR. I need good AR with long guarantees. Crizal Alize, Zeiss etc. Mega Bucks. And PS, are you willing to put up with us.!? We're here because we're all there.

[Dougfir8]

A lab does need someone to do custom work. Your lab software probably isn't able to handle Aire-0-lite +23 base lenses or someone's 15 diopter prism. Having someone in your lab who can make a myodisc for a -18 would be a money saver too!