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Thread: Do you sell extra warranties or insurance to patients against scratching or breakage?

  1. #1
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    Do you sell extra warranties or insurance to patients against scratching or breakage?

    If so, how much do you charge and what are your fees for replacements and lifetime or yearly limits? This seems like something many patients would like and, at least for single vision, would be manageable if one had their own finish lab. I'm aware of one of one local office that charged $25 up front per pair that gave folks 80% off an exact replacement for 1 or 2 years (I forgot which).

    I'd imagine it could look something like AppleCare for phones which they charge roughly 15% extra up front or about 1% monthly and you get a new screen for $29 or a new phone for $99 instead of $800-1200.

    Interested to hear if anyone does something like this that's manageable for them cost-wise and that patients actually like.
    Fourteen of my family members (including: aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, grandparents...and a great uncle) are, or have been in optical and...that's just crazytown at Christmas

  2. #2
    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Silver Supporter Barry Santini's Avatar
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    We provide a generous 2 year product and service warranty, which is already included in the price.

    B

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    We provide 2 year warranty on AR lenses, 1 year warranty on SRC lenses and 1 year warranty on frame. 1 time replacement manufacturer warranty... abuse not covered and is at the discretion of the optician. We do not charge for this, however some insurances have a lens warranty fee and we charge that if the patient wants the warranty. Most do.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Barry Santini View Post
    We provide a generous 2 year product and service warranty, which is already included in the price.

    B
    Could you elaborate at all on this? If some OCD type perfectionist (Silhouette wearer!?) were to come back with very very mild (normal) scratching 3 times in one year, would you replace their fancy progressives with Transitions and Crizal repeatedly in a drillmount with no questions asked? If so, do you tell everyone this, in so many words, or is it something you save until you get a price objection? Do you advertise it?

    Personally, we do ridiculous things for warranties within 1 year and rarely charge anything beyond a $25 "service fee" in extreme cases, but we hesitate to tell everyone this fearing (wrongly?) some sort of moral hazard that may lead to lots of people abusing it. I've even replaced lenses for people that brought frames with scratched lenses in for adjustments then accused us of doing it. Don't get me wrong, we were p*ssed. Essentially we have one of the best warranties, but we don't tell anyone. Wasn't my call originally but I'm re-evaluating that.

    Just looking for something balanced that will give folks enough comfort to help secure a sale here and there that won't kill me in the end.
    Fourteen of my family members (including: aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, grandparents...and a great uncle) are, or have been in optical and...that's just crazytown at Christmas

  5. #5
    What's up? drk's Avatar
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    I really struggle with the warranty thing myself.

    One thing I'm hesitant to do is to use it as a selling point. I don't make that a feature.

    What's more, I don't have variable warranties...it's the same whether you buy an Armani Exchange or a Silhouette: 12 months. Same for all lenses, regardless of level of AR coating, etc.: 12 months.

    I think of warranties as OUR warranties on the wholesale level, when needed, for defective issues, non-adapts, and plain old patient abuse (within some degree of reason).

    IF (big IF) you are going to use it as a selling point (and I don't know why one would) I would definitely charge a fee that isn't too high but isn't too low, and I'd charge a copay each time. Exactly like the insurance industry does. And it would have strict terms, and it would have a sunset date.

    For example, you can't sell a $25 warranty for a pair of glasses in 2022 and have them come back in 2024 wanting replacement. It has to be 12 months. Can you take out a new warranty at that point? Nope. Only on date of purchase.

    What about an "act of God", like a tornado? Too much stuff. It's the whole "risk management" thing that is literally a science and really it's above our heads.

    We don't need to be selling glasses insurance. Why open up that line of business? Just stay in the glasses design, supply, and maintenance business (like auto mechanics). If there's a lemon in the product (or service!), then we need to have a reasonable amount of time available in order to "fix it".


    https://www.optiboard.com/forums/sho...light=warranty
    Last edited by drk; 06-28-2022 at 11:29 AM.

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    What's up? drk's Avatar
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    Click image for larger version. 

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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by drk View Post
    Click image for larger version. 

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    The fact that the evil empire thinks this is a good idea means that we should not be doing it.

  8. #8
    What's up? drk's Avatar
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    Have some respect for the dead, NAICITPO.

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    Master OptiBoarder DanLiv's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Barry Santini View Post
    We provide a generous 2 year product and service warranty, which is already included in the price.
    Quote Originally Posted by drk View Post
    One thing I'm hesitant to do is to use it as a selling point. I don't make that a feature.
    I agree with both Barry and drk. I do not sell or separately offer a warranty. My stated guarantee is one year one time replacement of SRC/AR lenses and/or any frames that break, scratch, or are otherwise damaged "under normal wear and care," and it's just included in the fees for the products. I like the simplicity, and it has the following benefits for me:

    • I only have to worry about free replacement once (very occasionally twice if they get lens replacement one time and then frame another)
    • I can easily refuse replacement for obviously mistreated eyewear
    • Customers are incentivized not to use it too frivolously because it's one time only. Persnickety types complaining about a little nick are usually dissuaded when I tell them I'll be happy to replace them, but if they pick up the new ones and fall on their face in the parking lot and destroy the lenses, they have to pay for new ones. All of a sudden the nick doesn't bother them anymore.
    • This underpromises what I am able to do, so when I want to I can easily overdeliver
    • Providing it to everybody avoids creating a two-tier class system among my customers of the have-warranty and have-not-warranty. Enforcing no replacement for those who did not opt-in to a warranty becomes a whole new customer service issue staff need to be trained in and deal with.

    Like drk, I don't feature this as a selling point, instead I mention it once the sale is closed as an added value benefit. I think featuring it highlights it in peoples' minds and encourages them to use it, when we would all rather they take care of their eyewear and not need it. Selling points are what should convince people to buy from you instead of the other guy, and I want expertise, service, quality, and personal touch to be the reasons they buy from me, not my warranties.

  10. #10
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    Very well said @DanLiv

  11. #11
    What's up? drk's Avatar
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    Dan's on a month-long roll.

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    Master OptiBoarder AngeHamm's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by VisionAiry View Post
    If some OCD type perfectionist (Silhouette wearer!?) were to come back with very very mild (normal) scratching 3 times in one year, would you replace their fancy progressives with Transitions and Crizal repeatedly in a drillmount with no questions asked?
    It has been my experience that we worry about this persnickety take-advantage-of-the-warranty patient waaaaay out of proportion to the amount of times it actually happens. Just offer the best warranty you can and if a few people take unfair advantage of it, that's more than balanced by the patients who are well-served by it.
    I'm Andrew Hamm and I approve this message.

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    OptiWizard KrystleClear's Avatar
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    If a patient purchases a lens with scratch coating, they get a 1 year warranty for scratches. Premium ARs get a 2 year warranty. We basically pass on what our lab offers us to the customer. If a patient elects a basic CR39 lens with no scratch coating or AR, then they are only warrantied for lens defects and RX errors. When I worked at MyEyeDr, they had us selling a warranty for $20 outside of any lens options. If I remember correctly, this would include the frame and lens for one year. I suppose it's a good way to get an extra $20 per sale. I don't know how my demographic would react. They're still griping about the office increasing the refraction fee by $5 four years ago.
    Krystle

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