The customer is always right!

[AdmiralKnight]

Side question: Does Ontario expect you to submit a claim for the patients on social assistance or is that the patient's responsibility?

Basically, they get approval from their case-worker, a forum. There's a grid system that determines how much they're covered based on type of lens etc. We then submit said forum for payment. Our office treats them BETTER than everyone else. Lower lens cost (we actually loose money on SV 3/4 times), and lower dispensing fees. I don't understand it myself, and quite frankly think it's very unfair to not only the business, but everyone else who decides to purchase from us... but that's another thread alltogether.

[renee1111]

About three months ago my store got a new awning and new signage. We've been using the same sign company for a number of years now, and know the owner quite well. So his wife comes in the other day, to pick up two pairs of glasses, she ordered 4 days ago. I advised her that her sunglasses were ready but unfortunately there was a problem with the AR coating on her other pair and that we would complete them first thing Monday morning. (which, in reality is pretty quick turn around for two sets of lenses to have been coated...anyway) I told her that we had left a message on her machine the day before. But she gets mad anyway...Her tone auomatically increases and the *itching starts! She calls me a liar, saying "you told me you manufacture everything on site!" She's getting louder and louder...people in my store are turning around to see what the commotion is. I'm trying to explain..but to no avail. After ten minutes of abuse, I start to sweat, hearts pounding (hands trembling just a little bit) I respond quickly, trying to catch my breath "I just don't know what else to tell yah...your glasses aren't here, I wish they were but unfortunetely I'm no magician." then exclaim "let me adjust your new sunglasses, while you calm down." I hurry to the back where I quickly calm down and think, wait a minute my business has just spent over 6 grand with this womans husbands company. I am the customer, damn it!! So I non shallantly walk back the dispensing table and calmly ask her "so how's your husband?" She answers...puzzeled no doubt "umm, good" I reply "his company has done all our signs. We send him alot of work." She immediately got the picture, and changed her tune pretty quickly.

[wolfman]

Does your mother know you act like this?

LOL - When I used to work in debt collection one of my coworkers said this to a customer who was just coming unhinged about everything. The call didn't end well, as you can imagine. We all had tears in our eyes from laughing so hard.

[chrome surfer]

Those that call every five minites for days wanting to know "is it ready yet?" Pay through the nose. Those that are ugly to me pay even more.
Chip

I once charged a nuisance fee for a lady that wanted her glasses ASAP w/ar because she was leaving the country she was very rude. I smiled which hurt agreed and told her I would try to speed things up but NO PROMISES. 7 days later her husband pick up her glasses and mailed them to her. A few days later I recieved a package from FTD with a nice floral arrangement, chocolates and an appology with a big thanks. I felt sorry for the fee I charged her. But I have learned that nice hurts more than the reaction you really want to give them.

[Ginster]

I worked with an optician that used to say " it's his/her world, where just living in it.

:cheers::cheers::cheers:

[Dave Nelson]

Someone, years ago, to me that customers can have:
A) cheap glasses
B) fast glasses
C) quality glasses

Now, customers can have any 2 from the 3 things.
Want cheap, fast glasses? Won't be quality.
Want fast, quality glasses? Won't be cheap.
And so on.

[bob_f_aboc]

Someone, years ago, to me that customers can have:
A) cheap glasses
B) fast glasses
C) quality glasses

Now, customers can have any 2 from the 3 things.
Want cheap, fast glasses? Won't be quality.
Want fast, quality glasses? Won't be cheap.
And so on.

On the same note, I have a sign posted in the finish lab of my office. It helps keep me sane sometimes.


The time frame quoted only applies to other patients.

We suggest you call daily to ensure the fastest possible turn around time.

:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

[jediron1]

I worked for a short time at a chain before opening my store. At the chain, we were told that simply we have to take the abuse and make sure the customer is happy.
At my own store however, I simply hand the rx or frame back to the customer and tell them to leave.
Very recently had a women on social assistance come in with her forms and wanted a pair gucci glasses in a progressive all for what the ministry covered (about$180.00). Told her it wasn't possible with that type of frame. She went on a rant about how I am treating her like a second-class citizen and that i should respect her more. Thought to myself for a minute, I can sell her something differrent and try to make money or I can tell her to go somewhere else. chose the latter option and was happy to get rid of her.

Anytime you work for yourself, (or a chain) the best thing you can do is minimize your potential headaches. It is about the money, but the money sometimes isn't worth it.

This is off the subject but my wife works for a neurologist and they used to take a few medicaid people to help out until they found out that the taxi service that brought the people ( at least in our area ) gets $75 per trip. The doc an MD 11 years of training and schooling gets $9. Doc said forget it why should I do a 45 minute to hour and half work up to be paid $9 when the taxi service gets $75.
Unbelievable but true!

[SarahMP584]

Unfortunately we have "members" and they are even WORSE than customers. Management basically says "well, they pay to shop here so they can abuse you."

[cityconnection]

We had a real jerk come in today and when one of the opticians went to answer the phone he through a fit and started yelling. He called our owner and told him that the optician was on his cell phone on a personal phone call for 15 minutes. He was on the office phone for just a few minutes actually. We told him he could just take his RX and go somewhere else. Our owner took up for us and told him to hit the road. I was wondering if your bosses allows you to refuse to serve someone like that or is the customer always right? I'd like to hear your stories of people you refused if you are able to.

The customer is always right....UNLESS they are wrong. Everyone has their own opinion on this matter

BUT, I applaud your boss for sticking up for you. He just won himself the respect of another employee by showing that he cares about his employees. :)

[C.Arno]

I had a patient several months ago who, who insisted on getting a refund/remake at no cost because the lenses were scratching. My first attempt to resolve the issue was to utilize the scratch warranty they had, but he came in again with the lenses scratched several weeks later. After replacing them again I tried to find out what he was doing with his glasses to get the lenses so scratched up and it turns out he is using them for safety glasses in the lumber mill he worked at. I told him that his lenses were not intended for safety wear and that he should probably get a pair of safety glasses for work only. He got rather huffy- taking what I said to mean "your glasses aren't safe you need new ones." He wanted me to make them for free and he'd keep his current ones since he had already paid for them. I told him that we'd have to charge him for safety glasses but would be happy to give him a discount for his troubles. The guy had a fit, stormed over to the doctor's office and made a scene, saying that we had swindled him, gave him dangerous glasses, etc.

Ultimately, we calmed him down remade his lenses in safety glass upon his insistance- (he had been in a plastic with Crizal Avance), free of charge. He refused any additional lense treatments because he felt that they made the material weaker and were part of the whole "swindling" aspect.

He got the new lenses, wore them for a week and came back in to complain that now he had all this weird reflection and glare in his lenses- and that we put it in his lenses on purpose. You just can't win.

[chip anderson]

C. Arno
Where you screwed up was putting AR on a pair of lenses for someone who works in a lumbermill. Don't you take any history on these people before you make them lenses?

Chip

[C.Arno]

Actually, we do take history. The man originally ordered his glasses with his wife. She uses an A/R because she had trouble with glare while driving at night in the past. She sold him on it. On top of that, original patient documents indicate he was driving truck at the time he ordered (due to the season aspect of the timber industry in this area, I'd imagine) so an A/R for a truck driver would seem quite fitting to me.

[Uilleann]

and of course, as EVERYONE here knows ;), Crizal Avancé has far better scratch resistance than plain CR , Trivex or poly alone. So that was a completely appropriate approach. Since there is NO SUCH THING as a "scratch proof" lens, that was by far the best option, both concerning optics, durability, speed and cost. Apart from a thourough education for the patient, which, one would hope, would create a reasonable expectation concerning the durability of his eyewear there is not much else to be done. Some folks just don't get it.

We had one just yesterday. Came in a year ago. +1/2 NS cataracts OU, and best corrected VA was a shaky 20/20 OU. Put her in a progressive, which she'd had before. However, she was in some huge rush at the time, and ended up going to a local lab here in town to wait for her lenses to be edged. She did this, and yet never came in to see us for a final fit and adjustment of her eyewear. And according to her claim, "they were just never right.

So she goes to renew her License at the DMV. She fails. She gets a suggestion from the DMV guys to see an eye doc. She goes to the office they suggest. She gets a new script. Cataracts are now a +2-3 OU with BCVA's demonstrating a pretty poor 20/30 at best. Needless to say, with her rapid cataract formation, her SRx changed a bit as well.

She came back in to our office and demanded a refund after all that.

I offered to remake her glasses into her new script, and carefully spent over an hour with her explaining in detail all of the things that were going on with her eyes, and the changes and exactly what they meant. Showed her both sets of chart notes. Offered to call and personally speak with the other doctor etc.

Sadly, after all that, the owner still decided to give her a refund. At the end of the day, it sucked...but we won't go broke on it. At least she didn't raise her voice. Silly old people! :hammer::hammer::hammer:

[tdj]

Actually, we do take history. The man originally ordered his glasses with his wife. She uses an A/R because she had trouble with glare while driving at night in the past. She sold him on it. On top of that, original patient documents indicate he was driving truck at the time he ordered (due to the season aspect of the timber industry in this area, I'd imagine) so an A/R for a truck driver would seem quite fitting to me.

not necessarily -- some truck drivers do nothing but drive, sure. Others are responsible for moving, installation, loading etc -- and you need to ask about occupational hazards in that case. My fiance is a truck driver with moving, installation, loading and unloading duties -- had a holding strap snap back in his face and lacerate his cornea once. Had he been in specs with glass, a CR-39 or other plastic, it certainly would have ended up with shards of lens in his eye -- always worth it to ask about hazards.

[Barry Santini]

the owner still decided to give her a refund. At the end of the day, it sucked...but we won't go broke on it. :hammer::hammer::hammer:

Your owner is a smart man.

Barry

[obxeyeguy]

Your owner is a smart man.

Barry

I pick and choose my battles very carefully, but this is one I sure wouldn't refund. A year later, never came back to state a problem, go's to a different Doctor, and all of a sudden they have not been right since she picked them up? Not!

We all talk about chargeing for our services, ie, nose pads, screws, minor and amjor adjustments, but yet we are so quick to throw in the towel as soon as someone bit##es a little on a year old Rx. Get over it. Oh my, they will tell their friends that the glasses I have worn for the past 15 months don't work anymore, but they were the only thing they wore.

Not all patients are worth keeping, as I will bend over backwords to keep them, but I bend over frontwards for no one.

[renee1111]

I pick and choose my battles very carefully, but this is one I sure wouldn't refund. A year later, never came back to state a problem, go's to a different Doctor, and all of a sudden they have not been right since she picked them up? Not!

We all talk about chargeing for our services, ie, nose pads, screws, minor and amjor adjustments, but yet we are so quick to throw in the towel as soon as someone bit##es a little on a year old Rx. Get over it. Oh my, they will tell their friends that the glasses I have worn for the past 15 months don't work anymore, but they were the only thing they wore.

Not all patients are worth keeping, as I will bend over backwords to keep them, but I bend over frontwards for no one.

:cheers:

[partyoptician]

Wow, I just love these stories! I lived ( as we all have ) this stuff for years. I now just find it entertaining! It really helps to use it this way.
Have a GREAT DAY-ANYWAY!:cheers: