What would you do?

[charan]

So i had a lady come in today with a brand new frame she walked in and said ' I bought these glasses online I need an adjustment, the frame is no where near to the size she needs she needs atleast 54 A but she got 49 ...anyway I did what I could and adjusted as much as I could....we usually dont charge for adjustments this time I wanted to charge her but I didnt do it ....she puts them on and she didnt even have the courtesy to ask me how much and she walked out. I wanted to know what you guys would do?

[Jana Lewis]

So i had a lady come in today with a brand new frame she walked in and said ' I bought these glasses online I need an adjustment, the frame is no where near to the size she needs she needs atleast 54 A but she got 49 ...anyway I did what I could and adjusted as much as I could....we usually dont charge for adjustments this time I wanted to charge her but I didnt do it ....she puts them on and she didnt even have the courtesy to ask me how much and she walked out. I wanted to know what you guys would do?

Well, I am not sure you can do anything now that she is gone.

Do you charge for adjustments currently?

[charan]

Well, I am not sure you can do anything now that she is gone.

Do you charge for adjustments currently?

'


No we dont charge for adjustment ... I'm just asking this question for future reference ... but i'm sure the online people told her to go see any local optician for an adjustment, which is why i'm a little :angry:

[Jana Lewis]

'


No we dont charge for adjustment ... I'm just asking this question for future reference ... but i'm sure the online people told her to go see any local optician for an adjustment, which is why i'm a little :angry:

Well, i would guess that you need to start charging for adjustments.

next time the pt. presents with a pair of glasses, just let them know beforehand that you charge $$$ amount for adjustments on glasses that are not provided by you.

Personally, i don't charge for simple repairs or adjustments... I rarely have issues with people coming in needing service for internet glasses. I find that by providing this service brings them back in the future.

Just my opinion! Good luck to you! :cheers:

[Judy Canty]

I have an account that handles this kind of situation very effectively. They ask to look up the patients file in the computer, knowing full well that it's not there. When the patient confirms that the eyewear was indeed purchased elsewhere, these very smart Opticians inform the patient that any thing that is done to eyeglasses not purchased her practice will probably void any warranties they may have. Very smart thinking.

[hcjilson]

As a profession we've got to do a better job of spotting market trends in advance of the time they become accepted practice. People are starting to use the internet to purchase glasses. Both frames, and in many cases, lenses. The major's are realizing this, and in my opinion, are positioning themselves for this new market. I see no reason we can't do the same thing, but it will require a major change in the way most of us have been taught and currently conduct our business.

People are using the internet to shop, compare prices, and SAVE MONEY! Optometry has shown us a way to compete in this market but it's going to require some major changes in our thinking. It's called "fee for service" and it will allow us to compete, (perhaps compete better than) internet retailers. Our retail prices reflect not only the cost of goods sold but the service required on that product for a protracted period of time. As a result, the reatail price of a frame might be considerably higher than what some would think a normal markup.

We should be thinking about selling the product separately from the service. In that way you can compensate yourself for the service you provide to anyone's customer, your own included. It may lower the price of your frames (particularly if the customer chooses NOT to have them adjusted for the life of the product. This is a very general presentation, you can make up the specifics as you go along. I've got to cut this short due to another commitment but you folks have enough fodder to work with for a while.

[Johns]

....she puts them on and she didnt even have the courtesy to ask me how much and she walked out. I wanted to know what you guys would do?

Normally, I wouldn't have charged her, but in this case, since she was walking away from me, I would reached under the counter, put on my football helmet, leaped over the counter, put my head down, ran full speed, and charged her.

You probably wouldn't have to really hit her that hard, just enough to knock the wind out of her, and then , before she gathered her wits, I would have grabbed her purse, gotten a $20 bill, and said, "I'm sorry ma'am, I forgot to charge you."

[charan]

Normally, I wouldn't have charged her, but in this case, since she was walking away from me, I would reached under the counter, put on my football helmet, leaped over the counter, put my head down, ran full speed, and charged her.

You probably wouldn't have to really hit her that hard, just enough to knock the wind out of her, and then , before she gathered her wits, I would have grabbed her purse, gotten a $20 bill, and said, "I'm sorry ma'am, I forgot to charge you."

thank u ... now all I need is a football helmet so I can put it to better use for the next customer :D

[coupe]

Just had a client who came in and asked for a screw to be put in his non-Rx, pharmacy sunglasses. I just quickly put one in...gave them a quick wipe and handed them back to him. He politley asked how much and I said N/C.
Well about 15 minutes later the same guy returns...with...GET THIS...two $5.00 coupons and 4 free coffee coupons from his coffee shop. He says thank you and come by his place sometime.

Ya just never no EH.

[charan]

Just had a client who came in and asked for a screw to be put in his non-Rx, pharmacy sunglasses. I just quickly put one in...gave them a quick wipe and handed them back to him. He politley asked how much and I said N/C.
Well about 15 minutes later the same guy returns...with...GET THIS...two $5.00 coupons and 4 free coffee coupons from his coffee shop. He says thank you and come by his place sometime.

Ya just never no EH.

I've never charged for adjustments I find a small service goes a long I dont know how many coffee cards and gift cards i've gotten for offering people free service but the online products just rubs me the wrong way maybe i'm just old fashioned

[varmint]

Free adjustments for life on glasses no matter who sold them....

this was always a pet peeve for me, but then again I live in an area where half the year we get flooded with out of state visitors, and I would get so many people lined up waiting for a free adjustment that I wasn't able to take good care of the paying customers waiting in line. Sometimes they would come in as a group and all want their adjustment checked just because it was free.
I initially handled it by posting a sign in a prominent location stating we reserve the right to charge for service to any eye wear not purchased from us.
This helped, but still some would take advantage if you helped their friend and want theirs adjusted too cause they didn't want their friend to get something free they didn't get.

Finally I posted a sign with an itemized list of what the charges would be for services to eye wear not purchased from us and charged the fee except in very rare circumstances,(IE; she was very cute and friendly)...just kidding.
I gave them a "free" bottle of lens cleaner and a cleaning cloth with the paid adjustment, and also gave them a card which was good for a credit in the amount of the charges toward a future eye wear purchase within one year.

This was received very well, the free lens cleaner had my office info and many also came back to purchase more cleaner. Most people don't mind paying for your time when they know they are being treated professionally and they can't get the same quality of care down the street.

[Johns]

thank u ... now all I need is a football helmet so I can put it to better use for the next customer :D

Don't invest a lot in one. You can pick up a used one at "Play It Again Sports" for around $15. That's what we did.

Good Luck!:cheers:

[cocoisland58]

I adjust and do small repairs N/C and always have. These people many times are my future patients. Think of it as a teaching moment. The patient bought the glasses too small and will be reminded of that everyday that she wears them. She will also remember the optician who kindly pointed that out as well as tried in vain to fix it. I had a woman who had come in so often for adjustments on her frame that was purchased eleswhere we knew the names of each other's kids. One day she walked in with a new frame and asked me to adjust them. I said "Where did you get them?" and she replied "Costco". I did the adjustment but I think the look on my face said it all. She has never been back. I don't know that I handled it very well but I was kind of speechless.

[Wes]

I have an account that handles this kind of situation very effectively. They ask to look up the patients file in the computer, knowing full well that it's not there. When the patient confirms that the eyewear was indeed purchased elsewhere, these very smart Opticians inform the patient that any thing that is done to eyeglasses not purchased her practice will probably void any warranties they may have. Very smart thinking.

I like that a lot, and may just use it from time to time.

I always inquire where people got their glasses if they're obviously not ours, just to see what kind of quality the competition has. If they say online, I don't work on them. I tell them its my policy to not work on glasses not made by professionals.
Wes

[Happylady]

So i had a lady come in today with a brand new frame she walked in and said ' I bought these glasses online I need an adjustment, the frame is no where near to the size she needs she needs at least 54 A but she got 49 ...anyway I did what I could and adjusted as much as I could....we usually don't charge for adjustments this time I wanted to charge her but I didn't do it ....she puts them on and she didn't even have the courtesy to ask me how much and she walked out.

I hope she at least said thank you. Do any of you ever worry about breaking some of the frames that these people bought elsewhere? Of course you warn people if the frame is really bent but what happens if the frame is a piece of s*** and breaks even if it isn't bent up?

I had this happen once a long time ago. I took it to a local repair place to have it soldered but I sometimes think about it when people ask me to adjust their glasses. It hasn't happened since but it could.

[Jana Lewis]

I hope she at least said thank you. Do any of you ever worry about breaking some of the frames that these people bought elsewhere? Of course you warn people if the frame is really bent but what happens if the frame is a piece of s*** and breaks even if it isn't bent up?

I had this happen once a long time ago. I took it to a local repair place to have it soldered but I sometimes think about it when people ask me to adjust their glasses. It hasn't happened since but it could.

Oh, I could tell you stories about breaking frames!!

Usually, I'll look the frame over and let the pt. know that I will take no responsibilty.... it works, *most* of the time! :o

[drk]

I think what Judy said is best.

We know almost everyone by face, but we do ask "Did you get these from us?". If they say "no", then you tell them there will be a charge.

I charge $0.94/ nosepad or screw (with tax it's an even buck). $2.00 per adjustment. We have a menu posted on the dispensing table.

I can and do wave it when I feel like it.

If it's a difficult adjustment or repair, I won't do very much, but a little.

People don't mind the fee, and it is nominal, but it does cover the part, and it's the principle that matters.

If someone has gone "black market" with their eyewear, I won't touch them, because it's against Ohio law, and I don't want any liability when they crash their car into a schoolbus.

[braheem24]

I don't want any liability when they crash their car into a schoolbus.

Chinese lenses block the 570 wavelength? :D

[Johns]

Chinese lenses block the 570 wavelength? :D

No!:hammer:

I think the good doctor was referring to the customer's inability to safely drive a motorized vehicle, with a pr. of Chinese glasses shoved up their a$$.



(did I really say that?)

[braheem24]

No!:hammer:

I think the good doctor was referring to the customer's inability to safely drive a motorized vehicle, with a pr. of Chinese glasses shoved up their a$$.



(did I really say that?)

Yes you did, no editing now :D





BTW, how did they get up thier butt? It's against Ohio law for him to stick it up there?????????????????

[Johns]

Yes you did, no editing now :D





BTW, how did they get up thier butt? It's against Ohio law for him to stick it up there?????????????????

Isn't that every dispenser's first reaction when presented w/an outside purchase for an adjustment?

"Why, I oughta..."

[bob66hall]

I suspect this problem (online & big box Rx sales) will not be going away, so might as well figure out your own policy. I like the notion of setting and publishing a clear policy, like the one of "we must charge, but you may use that amount as a credit toward an Rx purchase here within the next xx days/months." Seems like a win/win to me. You establish a value for your services, yet the consumer is not totally boxed in to a "loss" proposition. Naturally, I'd suggest a nice pair of sunglasses to consume that credit...;)

[FVCCHRIS]

I suspect this problem (online & big box Rx sales) will not be going away, so might as well figure out your own policy. I like the notion of setting and publishing a clear policy, like the one of "we must charge, but you may use that amount as a credit toward an Rx purchase here within the next xx days/months." Seems like a win/win to me. You establish a value for your services, yet the consumer is not totally boxed in to a "loss" proposition. Naturally, I'd suggest a nice pair of sunglasses to consume that credit...;)

An interesting way of doing it for sure, however- I am always big on telling our patients that the prices they pay here in our office are for FAR MORE than just a product. They are investing in a comprehensive vision wellness plan which includes unequalled service, repairs, adjustments, warranties, ETC. for the life of those glasses. That's why we charge what we charge. For those who stroll in for repairs and adjustments our tune is changing, especially for "black market" glasses which, BTW, is now my preferred term for On-line glasses. We tell those consumers that it's in their best interests to have those services provided by the Optician where they got them. I think even charging for repairs and adjustments on that stuff lets the On-line providers and their "patients" off the hook, so to speak. In other words, Club Members Only!

[braheem24]

Isn't that every dispenser's first reaction when presented w/an outside purchase for an adjustment?

"Why, I oughta..."

First thing out of my mouth is.....

Do you have a hard time keeping these clean? (as I'm wiping the lenses)

Answer is always a resounding yes, which opens up the conversation to how our lenses are easier to clean/care for pitch.

If that does not work, I invite them to return every few months to monitor thier loose screw.

[drk]

No!:hammer:

I think the good doctor was referring to the customer's inability to safely drive a motorized vehicle, with a pr. of Chinese glasses shoved up their a$$.



(did I really say that?)

Multiple choice. Would those be:

1. "Wreck-tacles"
2. "Rrrectacles" (say with bad Chinese accent)
3. "Rectumacles"
4. all of the above?