Thanks, but then there is E-Mail

[Cateye88]

To the few who were kind enough to post thanks. I understand the sensitivity of my question but there is E-Mail. If any of the Florida independents carry some of the lines I mentioned could you please E-mail me with some examples. Some of my Reps have said I am too high and others have said too low!! No lenscrafters near me and if there was I am not competing with them. There is the Walmart mentality that will stay with the Walmart mentality. I have an unusual, elegant boutique and I provide the utmost in service and education. A little advice would be greatly appreciated. Additionally I have another location where even Walmart can't compete with me. Thanks again to all of you paranoid people just a joke!! Please respond, and where is Al, he always has an answer for me ;)

[Vicki]

Cat,
The typical rule of thumb we use and I've seen this at other offices as well is usually 2.5x. This may flucuate some on some higher end which we may do 2x. We do not carry many lower end products with the exception of some closeouts we bought when another practice closed. Hope this helps!
We do not try to compete with the walmarts, etc and we stress quality and personal service by qualified opticians and not $6.00/hr employees.

[stephanie]

Ok I have said it before and now I will say it again. Some of us who work at Wal-Mart are very,very good at what we do. It is not fair to imply that we do sloppy inferior work. In fact some of the worst work I have ever seen has come from a few of the independants. I would never name them since that would be very unprofessional of me. I don't feel that I want to work at WM for the rest of my life, but at least for now I do have a job, and I make quite a bit more than $6.00 an hour. I am not trying to sound rude, but some of us professional people DO in fact work at WM and we take it very personally to be slighted.
Have a great day!
Steph

[harry888]

I go 3X on the frames, then give a discount on the complete frame and lens. So, it usually ends up being the 2.5X standard.

Everyone wants something off, or some sort of discount, so I mark it up to mark it down.

The best lines are the ones not in the Frames book price list (making them difficult to shop around).

It is best to check the competitors, and carry different brands.

------------------

[Vicki]

Stephanie,
I did not mean any offense to anyone who works at Wal-Mart. When I said we don't try to compete with the Wal-Marts, I meant prices. There is $6.00/hr employees everywhere. Unfortunately in my area most of the "chain stores" have unqualified people claiming to be opticians so all we do is stress that we are qualified licensed opticians. I happened to call one of these "chain stores" because they had given a very cheap quote to a customer on Crizal, the girl told me she didn't even know what Crizal coating was!
Please accept my apology if I offended anyone!

[EYERX]

[EYERX]

I SAY GET AS MUCH AS YOU CAN THEN DROP THE PRICE IF YOU HAVE TO! I NEVER LOOSE A CUSTOMER!BAFFLE EM AND SAY OY SUCH A DEAL!

[Carol D]

Dear Cat

I too have a small boutique-ish shop. I have 3 chains(WM, TSO, Dietz) within 2 blocks of my office. They target specific groups of consumers(mostly price shoppers).
When I opened in this rural comunity, I decided that competing with them would be foolish, so I took another angle. I went more high end and focused NOT on price, but on quality and personal service. I offer every patient a cup of coffee in the the morning (served in china, not styrofoam), I serve sodas in the afternoon. Even if they are just looking and not buying that day, they will remember this touch. I do not accept Medicare or Medicaid either. I do refer them to the guy down the street if that is precisely what they insist on. As far as pricing goes my general rule of thumb is 2.75x, however on the Silhouette Titan and another exclusive line I go a full 3.0x.
It gives me a little room to give a discount if I need to. Generally, I haven't had to.I am sorry I am a Texas optician and not in Florida, but I hope this will help. Follow your own instincts and good luck.

Carol D

[Rich R]

Seems like many posts all of a sudden end up with people bashing each other because of where we work. I believe there is room for all and we're all working towards the same goals. Customers will always make the final choice of where to buy their glasses, be it for good service or price or they like the coffee some dispenseries serve.
Rich R

[stephanie]

I agree with you Rich. And you did not offend me Vicki. I know that some of out "opticians" are also very, very inexperienced. I would have loved to work for any doctor here in town, but no one would hire me for whatever reason. WM is definately better than not having a job. I am sure that there are also people on here that feel the same way. I am NOT defending Wm by any means rather defending some of the good opticians who work there because we needed a job. I also realize I am compensated for my knowledge and know that some of the "opticians" are only making about $6.00 an hour. I do not agree with some of the people I have seen hired in, but I try to teach them if they want to learn. I guess I just take it a little too personally when I hear WM mentality. We get a lot of undesirables, but then when I worked for an independant we did also.
Hope everyone has a great day!
Steph

[This message has been edited by stephanie (edited 09-14-2000).]