How about refunds .....................................

22 Ways To Deal With Optical Refunds

July 13, 2017 By Cathy

Issuing optical refunds continues to be a topic of discussion. What do you refund, the lens? The treatments? The Frame? Should you do an exchange only? How long does the patient have? Do you post a refund policy, like you have to do in New York, which is a state law?

It is a tricky situation, you have put in the time and money in good faith and now they want their money back? Will you lose a patient and any referrals? Do you even want that patient? Should you make exceptions?

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what do you say .....................

My official stance is you are paying me for a solution to your visual issues. I will do whatever it takes to get that done. In those extremely rare instances where that is not able to be achieved "I refuse the opportunity to continue to dissapoint you" and refund the money to the client. (that line is 100% lifted from Optical 24/7 here)

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Originally Posted by Tallboy

My official stance is you are paying me for a solution to your visual issues. I will do whatever it takes to get that done. In those extremely rare instances where that is not able to be achieved "I refuse the opportunity to continue to dissapoint you" and refund the money to the client. (that line is 100% lifted from Optical 24/7 here)

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Oh! I like that!

We have a similar set up. Customer satisfaction means that they leave with a product that works for their needs. Maybe 3 refunds a year for those ones we Just. Can't. Solve.
Other than those, it's no refunds unless same day. Period.
Most people understand that lenses can't be reused and that it took time and energy to produce something whether they want it or not. That all costs money.

It is a necessary evil. We do have a 24 hour (buyer's remorse) policy in place. Being an HMO, some of our patients feel that they get a better value elsewhere. However, most do return to us after shopping around.

Other refunds are due to a myriad of reasons, from delays of delivery, VA not good enough, RX issues due to refraction, etc. Most of you know all of this.

From a lab standpoint, we try very hard to meet patient expectations. Breakages do affect refunds, unfortunately. Some of this is under our direct control, eg human error, but many are not. Back orders on frames and lenses, outsourced order delays, refraction errors, order entry errors, POW errors, equipment breakdowns, etc.

We are a closed lab, meaning that we only provide services for our clinics. We take QA seriously, and understand if a refund is done due to our error. However, I do take exceptions when we provide services per order and the clinics fail to provide the proper products. Regardless, as an entity, I accept and understand our responsibilities to our patients.

Disappointing patients is never good, regardless of our manufacturing error, or our clinics' error. Refunds are a necessary evil in these cases. However, we do charge a restocking fee for cancellations after 24 hours, and we will not redo outside RX changes for free. Our clinic supervisors do have the final say so, and if this doesn't meet our patients' needs, it will bubble up to the area managers, or our director.

The good thing is, I am always willing to work with our center supervisors to reduce and/or eliminate these type of refunds. And agreeing with the article posted, many of our patients will return to us after seeing the quality available at some our "discount" competitors.

A note to dispensing opticians, refunds are in your direct control. Do it right the first time, and as long as your lab and OD does it right as well, refunds will be minimal. When dealing with "I can get this cheaper elsewhere", you need to make your patient confident in your services and understand the pricing policies at your place of business. You need to communicate this to your patients to gain their trust. Value is never base on price, but in your expertise and services that you provide, along with the products that you provide. Listen very carefully to your patients' needs. Provide the products that meet your patients' needs. You are the expert, and your patients do ultimately trust you. Once you break that trust, you are done, and refunds will fly.

We refund in the event we don't live up to our stated obligations(s) and/or promise time if requested.

We have "No Refunds" signs at each desk and also printed on the invoice. By doing so, we are in no way legally required to refund due to "buyers remorse" or "cold feet" per Florida law.

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Originally Posted by scriptfiller

We refund in the event we don't live up to our stated obligations(s) and/or promise time if requested.

We have "No Refunds" signs at each desk and also printed on the invoice. By doing so, we are in no way legally required to refund due to "buyers remorse" or "cold feet" per Florida law.

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We can always thank Luxilor/Essilux for the 30 day no hassle refunds.