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Thread: frame adjustments

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    Master OptiBoarder DrNeyecare's Avatar
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    frame adjustments

    Just wondering.... where do you usually adjust your patient's frames?
    ie, do you have a frame warmer at the dispensing table and adjust in front of the patient (like Lenscrafters do), or do you take the frame to the backroom (lab) to adjust?

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    Redhot Jumper Dispensing table

    Quote Originally Posted by DrNeyecare View Post
    Just wondering.... where do you usually adjust your patient's frames?
    ie, do you have a frame warmer at the dispensing table and adjust in front of the patient (like Lenscrafters do), or do you take the frame to the backroom (lab) to adjust?
    On of the oldest rules of opticianry is that the dispensing table is the place to adjust a frame properly.They do it as well in Europe or in India.

    It should contain a frame warmer, a basic set of pliers and a file (to open up plastic and metal temples as well as cleaning materials.

    The patient should see what you are doing and very often a tiny small change can make the difference between hurting or not. If you have to walk to the back of the store to make the changes you might go again for that last little change. :finger:

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    Our frame warmer is across the room out of the reach of little hands that can be burned. I generally take my pliers to the dispensing table with me to adjust the pads etc. Then I take a peek behind the ear to see what needs to be done, excuse myself for a moment and when I return I have a perfect bend. Sometimes a patient will follow me over to the warmer to see what it's all about and that is fine. We let them in the lab occasionally to watch the process also. Retired guys love this. I do spring hinge screws over by the frame warmer so that they can't hear me whispering the f bomb.

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    I don't think I agree with Chris, (sorry Chris, but...)
    I went to Georgian College and they taught us to do the adjustments in the back. Largely due to the fact of how we handle the frames (which, if you're experienced with certain materials, you know the exact pressure to use) Customers see this and think "Wow, I can do that, that's easy!" Then the next time you see them, they have either broken a pad arm or a temple. So we have a large lab in the back of the store and I do most adjustments away from the customer.

    posted by Cocoisland58
    "Sometimes a patient will follow me over to the warmer to see what it's all about and that is fine. We let them in the lab occasionally to watch the process also. Retired guys love this. "

    This is so true, we do it all the time. People are quite impressed by the process.

    "I do spring hinge screws over by the frame warmer so that they can't hear me whispering the f bomb."

    Again...SO true!! LOL!!!:p

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    Manuf. Lens Surface Treatments
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    Redhot Jumper Model in other location..............

    Quote Originally Posted by renee1111 View Post
    I don't think I agree with Chris, (sorry Chris, but...)
    I went to Georgian College and they taught us to do the adjustments in the back. .

    The Georgian College teachers or professors must assume that every student has a super brain and magic fingers to adjust a temple exactly to the curve of the ear by doing it out of memory without seeing the back of the earlobe and out of location.

    To do it properly you have not only to bend behind the ear, but you have to follow the curve of the cranial bone. This is very fine and accurate work for which you have the head right there.......bend.......try it.......bend again ..try again until it is 100% perfect. I have seen hundreds of opticians doing adjustments that made totally no sense.

    Compare this to an artist making a sculptor of a model that is in an adjacent room, running back and forth to catch and copy the the details. :finger:

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    OptiBoard Professional Kyle's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrNeyecare View Post
    Just wondering.... where do you usually adjust your patient's frames?
    ie, do you have a frame warmer at the dispensing table and adjust in front of the patient (like Lenscrafters do), or do you take the frame to the backroom (lab) to adjust?
    Unless one has perfect tactile memory, there is no way to accurately adjust a frame without the patient being present. Additionally, frame adjustment involves much more than just a single bend. If you sit with the patient and take the time to ensure a proper anatomical fit, you'll be rewarded with fewer readjustments down the road and will instill far greater confidence in the patient. I do keep my frame warmer out of the reach of patients for liability's sake - it sits in the dark dungeon of my lab.

    Quote Originally Posted by cocoisland58 View Post
    We let them in the lab occasionally to watch the process also. I do spring hinge screws over by the frame warmer so that they can't hear me whispering the f bomb.
    If you're in the US, be careful allowing patients in your lab - you could be unknowingly violating HIPAA by having other patient orders within view.

    Regarding hinge screws...I close my solid core lab door, turn all the noise makers on and...bombs away!

    Kyle

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Ryser View Post
    The Georgian College teachers or professors must assume that every student has a super brain and magic fingers to adjust a temple exactly to the curve of the ear by doing it out of memory without seeing the back of the earlobe and out of location.

    To do it properly you have not only to bend behind the ear, but you have to follow the curve of the cranial bone. This is very fine and accurate work for which you have the head right there.......bend.......try it.......bend again ..try again until it is 100% perfect. I have seen hundreds of opticians doing adjustments that made totally no sense.

    Compare this to an artist making a sculptor of a model that is in an adjacent room, running back and forth to catch and copy the the details. :finger:
    Well of course it will take a couple of alterations to the frame before it fits perfectly, I just choose not to show the customers how it's done. And you don't need a "super brain and magic fingers to adjust a temple exacly to the curve of the ear" either, unless of course that person is terribly disfigured. A little practice, perhaps is really is what it takes to do accurate adjustments...

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    Optician Extraordinaire
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    It depends on the adjustment. Our frame warmer is not one the dispensing tables so if I need to heat the frame I don't do it in front of them. If the frame is terribly messed up I will take it away and straighten it out first.

    However, nosepad adjustments and minor temple adjustments I do right there in front of the patient.

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    Master OptiBoarder TLG's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Ryser View Post
    On of the oldest rules of opticianry is that the dispensing table is the place to adjust a frame properly....It should contain a frame warmer, a basic set of pliers and a file (to open up plastic and metal temples as well as cleaning materials.
    Couldn't agree less. I really like having the salt pan in the same room as the patient, but behind a short wall or counter that's my own space. It does lend itself to the curious who wanna watch too. You don't need to reheat the frame for every little bend you make, so minor tweaks can be done at the dispensing table.
    Quote Originally Posted by DrNeyecare View Post
    adjust in front of the patient (like Lenscrafters do)...
    Funny, I work with 2 past LC employees and I have never seen either of them even attempt to adjust a frame... :D

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kyle View Post
    If you're in the US, be careful allowing patients in your lab - you could be unknowingly violating HIPAA by having other patient orders within view.
    Kyle

    HIPPA schmippa. It's almost always someone we know anyway.

  11. #11
    Master OptiBoarder TLG's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cocoisland58 View Post
    HIPPA schmippa. It's almost always someone we know anyway.
    If you were sharing/exposing my medical information, it wouldn't matter to me if you were sharing it with your sister or a complete stranger. Not cool...

    I understand the general context of what you're saying, but be careful about being too casual about it.

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    Well, when I went to georgian college, we were taught to adjust the frame while the patient is still wearing the glasses. I have done it this way for years and it works the best. The patient never has to take the frame off.
    Also, why do you guys or gals warm the frames up? Most people say that their frames feel fine at room temperature. I am a little confused.
    Usually for little children who often bend their frames repeatedly, i have found that the best thing is a little glue behing the ears. I have some kid patients who have literally never taken their glasses off.

    I guess to each their own, c'est la vie

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    Master OptiBoarder Snitgirl's Avatar
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    Wave Halo Doc :D

    Hey Doc….


    Just some thoughts…

    Sometimes having things in other rooms can lead to theft in the office if your office is not staffed with someone always aware of what is going on in the dispensary.

    Example: If your frames are not locked up behind glass, its pretty easy for someone to walk in, grab a frame and head out the door if they are just on display with easy access to them.

    I am a bit “old skoo” when it comes to adjusting frames and consider it a work of art. One thing you can do is adjust the frames on the patient once they have selected the frame prior to lenses being made. This should be done even if you're not taking measurements for multifocals, etc.

    If you have a “great” lab, more than likely your frames will not come back totally out of wack and it will take less time to re-adjust them at pick up.

    Another thing when I adjust glasses, I communicate to the patient exactly what I am doing and the reasons why. I’m pretty sure no one at Lens Crafters is going to do this and your patient will remember this.

    Internal Marketing:
    Because you took that (little) extra time to educate them on what you were doing, they will know that adjusting glasses is just not some “simple” bend that is being done and they will keep coming back to you because U R the EXPERT. Unless of course there is an employee at Lens Crafters that I might have trained, LOL…

    Hope you are doing well DOC… and keep on with the questions…

    That is what this place is all about… :)

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    Master OptiBoarder optigrrl's Avatar
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    For me I like to keep the cutting, filing, heating and major damage repairs behind obvious view. No visitors in the lab because of HIPAA and minor repairs using pliers and screwdrivers at the dispensing table.

    And I am just good enough to eyeball a perfect bend on most days!

  15. #15
    bilateral peripheral scotoma LandLord's Avatar
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    Georgian

    I also went to Georgian. Here's the way I like it:

    Dispensing Table
    nosepads
    temple tips
    initial fitting
    adjustments
    screw

    Lab
    drill out
    change pads
    nut and bolt
    lens liner
    re-insert
    major cleaning
    repair

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    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Silver Supporter Barry Santini's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kyle View Post
    If you're in the US, be careful allowing patients in your lab - you could be unknowingly violating HIPAA by having other patient orders within view. Kyle
    No disrespect intended, Kyle, but...its thought pattens like these that oh-so-point-out why eyewear is really *not* medical in nature, at all.

    Ya know, I could employ a specially-designed, very-low power, afocal-binocular to "re-focus" most myopia and hyperopia (and spherical-equivalent) corrections to "20-20". Does this mean that a device used like this is *medical* in nature?

    I, for one, don't think so.

    Barry
    Last edited by Barry Santini; 01-24-2008 at 06:39 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TLG View Post
    If you were sharing/exposing my medical information, it wouldn't matter to me if you were sharing it with your sister or a complete stranger. Not cool...

    I understand the general context of what you're saying, but be careful about being too casual about it.
    We aren't casual at all. I'm always going around turning things over so no names are visible. I just take offense sometimes when the government decides it needs to tell me to do something that common sense already has.

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    Rising Star Optician Magician's Avatar
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    I happen to enjoy the interaction with my customers during adjustments (while explaining what I am doing and why). I find that having all my tools at the dispensing counter is a lot more productive than running back and forth several times to "tweak" the adjustment. In 10 years I have never had a child or anyone else touch my frame warmer, but I do not leave alcohol, acetone, or any of the sharper tools readily available. Snips and chemicals are kept in the lab. I consider adjustment a fine art, as I am sure we all do. I like to ensure an ideal fit with all of my customers and WHO KNOWS, I might find myself too lazy to walk back in the lab that one last time if the fit was "close", so I choose not to place myself in that situation. :bbg: The only right answer is, do whatever you feel comfortable with, To each his own!

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    Master OptiBoarder DrNeyecare's Avatar
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    hmmm... it seems we are differ on this by some degree.
    I think a good compromise would be to have the frame warmer, and the common tools, near the dispensing table but not directly at the table.

  20. #20
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    we keep all the tools in the back. It's not productive and we may change how we do things.
    I do lots of adjusting in front of the patient - using my hands. My favorite tool is my hands. It's too easy to damage a frame with tools. Or scratch a lens, especially with nosepad or other pliers.

    To each his own. The only thing I don't agree with is having files at the dispensing table. Never let a client see you place a file anywhere near their new eyewear. It's not a tool, it's a scratching device - in the client's mind. I'm sure the frames Chris R was talking about were made differently. But I don't know of any frames in my optical that need a file to ensure a proper fit.

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    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Silver Supporter Jubilee's Avatar
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    I keep most of my tools at the table. I have other co-workers who take them to the back. .but I will bring them back out when I adjust.

    I am not of the mindset of making them think it is hocus-pocus. I do agree that unless you have a way of seperating the frame warmer and sharper tools from the patients that it might be best to keep those in a different locale.

    I prefer to work in front of my patients for many reasons. Two main ones:

    One, I typically have some form of "chatter" going on. Be it about weather, the Colts, or some other topic.

    Two, since there are days (like today,ugh) where I run the office alone, I always want to be aware of who is walking in and out my door, and with what. Having a bank in the parking lot does nothing for my nerves, nor the plentiful walking traffic in an area where it isn't that common to be walking (along a major corridor without continous sidewalks.)

    Of course there are also times where I do take to the back just so I don't kill the patient who is driving me bonkers...


    Cassandra
    "Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland

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    Manuf. Lens Surface Treatments
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    Redhot Jumper Best post....................

    Quote Originally Posted by opti-refractonator View Post
    .................. i have found that the best thing is a little glue behing the ears. I have some kid patients who have literally never taken their glasses off.

    Now we all have learned the latest frame adjustment method. Please let us know which brand of glue is best for behind the ears.

    Contact Cement...UHU........or carpenter glue? Which one does the Georgian College recommend ?

  23. #23
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    Use Super Glue. It sticks and doesn't take long to dry.

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by chip anderson View Post
    Use Super Glue. It sticks and doesn't take long to dry.

    Good point!

    I would use Devcon Epoxy-Quick Set or Gorilla Glue!

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