Just found a website with an interesting name and address:
Give Me My Pupillary Distance.............................
Click hereGive Me My PDto sign our online petition.
http://www.pupillary-distance.net/
Any comments ?
Give Me My Pupillary Distance.....................................
Just found a website with an interesting name and address:
Give Me My Pupillary Distance.............................
Click hereGive Me My PDto sign our online petition.
http://www.pupillary-distance.net/
Any comments ?
If the only thing standing between you and your customers going online for eyewear is a PD, then you're done and just don't know it yet (or you may know it).
Well as it's aimed at the GOC is suppose someone from the UK should comment.
As in the US from time to time we get asked for PD's. I always refuse saying that it is up to the dispenser to verify the centration of the lenses, which we all know may not necessarily correspond to the PD. I also ask why I should help a competitor to make money. This usually shuts them up.
As for making it a legal requirement? Sure why not, as long as there is a disclaimer that the prescriber is in no way liable for a correctly measured PD resulting in poorly dispensed spectacles.
And at the end of the day, life is too short.
As long as there is the query from the general public,government will take actions, very soon!
I could buy my jeans or shoes on the internet at a fraction of what I pay in a retail store. I'm happy to pay the extra for the convenience of being able to try them on and make sure they fit properly. In fact I have never considered buying such things on the internet at all. So internetmonkey 15, when you say we're "done" I disagree. There are plenty of people who are happy to pay for the advice and service to get it right the first time! To consider a good optical dispensing result can be achieved consistently by remote is an absurd notion. If you believe it's possible you don't know much about the profession.
Murray,
I'm not saying everyone is finished, I'm saying those that think that not releasing a PD will save them are done (their focus is already off). There are plenty of opticians who provide a ton of service, a great selection (hand picked) etc.. those are the ones that aren't done.
"Gimme, gimmie......never gets"!
This line of thinking seems shallow to me. Do you think this is a motivating factor? I'm guessing the primary motivation is more along the lines of not wanting to be a participant in a sale that brings zero dollars to you. I'm not convinced that providing a PD elevates your status in the customers eyes - you're simply the sucker that supplied them what they needed to buy cheap glasses.Originally Posted by internetmonkey15
-Tony
^^ this. I'm not at all worried about online. I'm more disappointed that consumers buy into the two pairs for $59 local brick and mortar discount chains advertise to get them in the door.
It's sounding like a tired old story:
Neither B&M, nor insurance, conveys or communicates a value hierarchy for eyewear, i.e...."glasses are glasses"
B
I'm not sure I follow your point or if what I'm about to say is in agreement or not, but in the end the market is big enough to serve all types of customers. In your case Barry, you share that you've been able to build a network of customers that supports a positive opinion of you and your work thus you can price your services higher than others. You may do less work, but you will also need to do less work, because fewer well-paying jobs are better than lots of low-paying ones. Again, a customer who cares more about value (that is, getting better than he bargained for) than price (that is, how much he paid) is a great customer.
Just the same there are great numbers of clients, who are the ones who determine what value is, that won't pay more and buy off price and other factors we may all have different opinions on. Some understand value and some fall victim to schemes. We're all here to educate and handle the situation differently. I choose not to tell my customers no and send them out unhappy. Even if they leave and buy elsewhere, they won't ever be able to say I lived up to the traditional car salesman and left them to figure the rest out on their own because they wouldn't buy from me. Just not my style.
Define status? Likability? I'm not sure what you mean by that. IMO what elevates me to a level higher than who is causing them to walk out and buy elsewhere is me, my staff and our reputation and what we are able to impress upon the customer while they are in our stores. I don't see that supplying them a PD makes me a sucker. I suppose if that's all we did and let them leave that would be the case. However, what we do throughout the entire process of working with them is what keeps them there. Just like Barry, I'm hoping to create raving fans.
If after all that I've still not done enough to keep them from taking a PD and going elsewhere, I am the only one to blame and it's not for giving them something as simple as a PD. It's for not finding out why they are leaving/continue to leave and putting a plan in place to help prevent them from making that decision in the first place. A good customer is someone who wants to buy from you, not someone who has to, or in this case, someone you pretty much tell they no longer are welcome to unless they commit to working with you prior to helping them with something so basic.
It's like telling the patient all through the exam that you care and have their best interests in mind and then putting on your Jekle and Hyde hat and saying ...."but I'm warning you, if you even remotely indicate that you'll walk out of my dispensary with your Rx, I'm tossing all that care and concern out the window and not giving you the damn PD."
How is that dedication to looking out for the patient? How does that not come off as if you're then looking out for your wallet first and them only if they buy from you? I'm not willing to convey that type of behavior to patients I see. Are you comfortable doing that? Are you sure some won't see it that way?
Even if you believe you are right, do you really win that argument? Will you be creating a raving fan?
Last edited by racethe1320; 08-29-2011 at 01:04 PM.
"VALUE" CUSTOMERS almost always followm the lowest price...so you are in danger of losing them.
Quality customers follow quality.
Barry
Quality is a factor in determing value. If consumers are unfamilar with you, your product or the service offered, then yes, “value” is overwhelmingly determined by cost. However, once you educate them and customers respect, trust and like you and the products/services, they quickly see beyond price.
You have from the moment they walk into your office to create that value proposition which eventually leads to their buying decision and the value that leads to customer loyalty.
The next phase of step of building raving fans would be creating a value level that leads to influencers — those customers who are so thrilled with the value of your service that they enthusiastically bring new customers to you.
The key for all of us is to consider how our customers perceive value, not just when buying but also in the long term. The goal of every customer-centric organization should be to provide enough value to customers that they buy from you, stay with you, talk about you, and bring others to you.
Again, telling a customer no, you won't give them a PD because you feel it's not benefiting you and that you don't trust them to make a good decision is going to show right through and all but erase anyone from telling others about your service.
"Yeah, you know, I really enjoy going to Doctor ______. Right up until he told me no, he wasn't going insure that the Rx I wanted to get a copy of included everything I needed to have ready for my needs. I was upfront that I was going to look online and insure I was making an informed decision, but he came off as if that was spiting him and refused to deliver it. I understand he may have some valid reasons and concerns over quality, product fitting, etc., but honestly, it seemed a bit bold to try and force me to buy from him right there. Downright distrustful to try and prevent me from getting everything I needed. I didn't think he ran a practice that looked out for him first and foremost."
You'll never get your request...for the same reason, an OD or MD is not allowed to put a disclaimer on an Rx that says..."not responsible for glasses made elsewhere...", or something to that effect.
All this PD discussion reminds me of when laws were passed requiring the OD or OMD to release spectacle Rx's...now the consumer wants their PD measurements. They're gonna get it. What's good for the goose, is good for the gander.
But you could recommend that the Rx be filled by a licensed professional.
Well, if that's what you believe is best for the consumer, then so be it. I believe that they are best served by seeing licensed professionals, that opticians shouldn't refract, and that the consumer should not be allowed to self-refract using existing or future computer technology.
Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself. - Richard P. Feynman
Experience is the hardest teacher. She gives the test before the lesson.
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