Do you charge for nosepads?

[HarryC]

I cannot think of any other type of store that you can walk into and get a free service like the nosepads I must give away day in and day out. Someone out there has got to be charging customers for this service. Are you charging for nosepads? If so, how much is a fair price? Do you only charge people who did not purchase the glasses at your location?
Are there any other types of stores you know of that offer free services like we do? lol

[BobV]

We have never charged for nosepads wherever I have worked, except for LC when silicone pads first came out.

We take it as a service that should be done. And, with the prices of pads as low as they are, it really isn't a strain. we might change five pair a week.

If someone charges for pads in the Kansas City area, they probably will not receive any business.

Bob V.

[hcjilson]

No charge.....

Part of our responsibility should be to provide whatever service is required to keep the spectacle frames we see in serviceable condition. Our pricing usually reflects that. I tell my customers that they are paying for that service up front, they might as well take advantage of it. I encourage them to come in at least once a year to change the pads.

When I am dealing with someone who is not a customer...depending on the circumstance I either charge a nominal fee, or NC.

If I told you you could obtain one new customer for the price of 10 pair of nose pads, wouldn't it be worth it???

hj

[Excel-Lentes]

If someone comes in who did not buy glasses from our store we charge $5. If they show interest in purchasing from us in the future, we will give them a business card with $10 off on their next complete pair of glasses.

For our current customers, we do not charge for nosepads. Not charging for nosepads (and other items & services) just cheapens what we do and does not assign value to our goods and services. Most people are very willing to pay us when they feel the big difference of new nosepads and a properly adjusted frame.

[CME4SPECS]

I'd like to know where all of you get those FREE pads from? Customers are willing to pay for things folks...YOU are afraid to charge for them! Some one finally comes up with a pad that needs to be replace from time to time and what happens, you turn it into an expense, instead of an opportunity to make a few bucks.
I'll never forget something I heard Bob Bieber say 20 years ago. He said somone finally comes up with a lens (CR-39)that scratches and needs to be replace once in awhile and you dummies put a coating on it to protect it! Think about that one!
Don't get me wrong I am the most service oriented people around, I just do not give things away. I have a store...I sell stuff!
Terry Agin

[hcjilson]

You can argue both sides....

In days of yore I have been quoted as saying
A service given away for nothing is worth exactly the price paid!

HOWEVER,

In my cost to retail price ratio I factor in the cost of the service required when I do that. Most, according to the markups I've seen from one end of the USA to the other, do the same. I therefore have come to the conclusion that the customer has paid for the service already.

If you are low balling the product, I would expect you to charge for service, and so wouldn't your customers. If you get top dollar, deliver top service.

So I think the answer to the question posed in this thread is........It all depends!

[chip anderson]

I can't tell how many pairs of new expensive spectacles I have sold because someone stoped in and I replaced nose pads, adjusted glasses, made other minor repairs and spent time with the patent for free. Many of these patients will leave thier home town O.D. with the Rx and make one or more trips of some distance to see us because we were "nice."

Chip

[Joann Raytar]

We don't charge for generic nosepads; however, we do charge for manufacturer's nosepads or a nosepad we must special order. The same goes for temple covers.

[Ruth]

I'm in complete agreement with Chip. We don't charge for nosepads, adjustments, or even "spare parts" temples (you know, the ones we stripped off the broken frames when someone bought a new pair).

We get lots of people who come back to do business with us because "you were so nice". But if we only got one of those a year, that one sale would easily pay for all the nosepads we gave away.

Then there's the word-of-mouth we get from that satisfied customer, sending their friends, bringing their family.

So, if you're my competition, by all means, make your whopping profit off your nosepads...I'd rather wait for the real profits!

[dfisher]

CME4SPECS said:
I'd like to know where all of you get those FREE pads from? Customers are willing to pay for things folks...I have a store...I sell stuff!
Terry Agin

At the price of nosepads today, the actual time involved in entering the information at the POS computer probably costs more than what most of us would charge for replacing pads.

Just think of the marketing costs related to getting a consumer in your shop; yellow pages, coupons, newspaper, direct mail, radio and/or TV, etc.

When you offer a service that costs you so little, you are getting far more effective advertising and positive public relations than from any of the usual marketing methods.

And, finally, the one thing that makes an optical establishment stand out is Service...being better than the other guy and taking better care of your patients/customers than your competition.

[CME4SPECS]

So, Do you also give away tint?
It takes about the same amount of time to do a light tint, as it does to unscrew a pair of pads, and scrub all of the crud off of the pad arms, and pu the pads back on!

[dfisher]

Tinting lenses is usally a retail lens option rather than service on an existing product.

Have I ever given away a tint? You Bet!

I've never charged for touch-ups like darkening or lightening a tint. If someone complains about a mysterious glare or reflection, I offer a light tint @ no charge to see if it helps their problem. And sometimes I've even offered to tint a customer's old lenses when they buy a new pair to close a sale.

Bottom line is I take care of my customers and they take care of me by referring their friends and family.

[Judy Canty]

As a rule, I don't usually charge for minor things like pads and screws, however I do post a price list for those and other services so that I can charge if I need to and so that customers know that the service they receive has value. That being said, I did charge the gentleman who followed me into the store as I was opening. Not only had I never seen him before, he wanted new nosepads and "about a half a dozen more to keep at the house". He even bragged about "forcing one of those 1-hour places" to put new lenses in his rimless drill mount while he waited because he doesn't need to have two pair of glasses. He had to wait for 4 hours, but that was better than having to go a week with no glasses. Customers like that I'll charge just hoping they won't come back.

[Cindy Hamlin]

Judy Canty said:
As a rule, I don't usually charge for minor things like pads and screws, however I do post a price list for those and other services so that I can charge if I need to and so that customers know that the service they receive has value. That being said, I did charge the gentleman who followed me into the store as I was opening. Not only had I never seen him before, he wanted new nosepads and "about a half a dozen more to keep at the house". He even bragged about "forcing one of those 1-hour places" to put new lenses in his rimless drill mount while he waited because he doesn't need to have two pair of glasses. He had to wait for 4 hours, but that was better than having to go a week with no glasses. Customers like that I'll charge just hoping they won't come back.

Judy,
I wonder if this was my same No. Va. patient that came in every year asking me to commit insurance fraud? Sounds like his same old, same old.....

[Joann Raytar]

CME4SPECS said:
So, Do you also give away tint?
It takes about the same amount of time to do a light tint, as it does to unscrew a pair of pads, and scrub all of the crud off of the pad arms, and pu the pads back on!

Actually, we do give away free tints if you purchase a complete pair of glasses. We also do free touch ups. In the case of touch ups we use that opportunity to recommend getting polarized lenses next time around.