Kids products -
Just wondering ...
1) do you dispense "only" poly to children?
2) do you offer a special price on it?
3) do you offer a warrenty uniformly on products or just the manufacturer's warrenty on frames & lenses ...
4) what do you think are the best/worst products for kids ...
Thanks for sharing ...
Karen
hello, Well i have sold alot of kids frames and i usually recommend polycarbonate packages to the parents these lenses as you know are impact resisitant and work well for the little ones. We have a standard price of $78 which includes the SRC (scractch resistant coating). also it comes i with a 2 year warrenty on the frame and one year warrenty on the lenses.
I have a question for you in regards to childrens specs. would you recommend the Anti reflection coating for children?.I personally do not like the idea of doing that but i have seen a few people doing it what is your thought?
Not no, but He-- No! Whether we admit it or not the stuff scratches very easily, is of little benefit to the patient (very few of them can even tell the difference from behind the lenses) we just get an extra $80.00 for it. If want to increase profits, offer ARC, if you are interested in the patient's (child's) welfare wait to stick him for bells and whistles after he is grown. Most children have thier lenses so scratched and dirty they can't see out of them for at least half the "life of the precription) anyway. Hold off.
Chip
I work for a chain optical but am putting together a marketing plan for a child's only optical.
I wouldn't recommend AR to a child - most adults won't or "can't" take care of it properly !!
Chip - I respectfully disagree about the AR & benefit to the patient - most that I dispense to CAN see better with it - but some aren't willing to clean it properly ... I know I personally see MUCH better with the a/r (probably the -4.25 cyl I have ... sigh) ....
By defult if you can dispense kids, then you have a duty of care to provide all options. However depending on regional law, they can chose to accept CR39 instead. Your job is to outline the obviously benefits of polycarb.
But the bottom line is parent/guardian's choice. Here in uk, that is the case ,but should they decline polycarbs, they must sign a legal disclaimer, stating they were OFFERED and understood the benefits. I would have thought this is good and safe practice evrywhere.
Trivex with its higher v-value is also very good. Hoya Trilogy and Younger Phoenix are examples. Think I got that right way round.... :P
AR's can be done, but i prefer not to as cleaning can be hard (exept with the Teflon coat which Im a big fan of!). The fact that most cr39 materials do not block UV is also relevant. polycarbs do without needing a separate filter and creating a yellowish tint.
Bear in mind also that a crazed or faulty AR can POSSIBLY lead to problems if the amount of light coming through to each eye is not even. Amblyopia is possible if the child is young enough and the crazed AR is prevolant enough.
So ... what frame lines do you all like? What are some to avoid ?
I appreciate the info ...
Karen
I would avoid any licenced lines like Barbie or Action man, most of the money has gone on the licence fee, and the frame quality is usually poor.
I use a range called Twisters, from International Eyewear, they are a memory metal and take a lot of abuse.
To find out what,s happening in the UK optical market:
http://theOptom.com
unfortuneately ikon, if you work for the multiples that stock said "barbie" frames etc, the frames aren't the only things that take abuse! ;P
Know what you mean Amit, used to work for a multiple, I remember fondly trying to think of a plausible reason that a pair of uncoated -1.00 spheres wereOriginally Posted by Amit
taking 3 weeks to glaze . Ah Happy days ........
To find out what,s happening in the UK optical market:
http://theOptom.com
heh, fortuneately, our ****-ups only take an hour ( can you guess where I work yet?!) ;)
If local experience is anything to go by , my guess would be Optical Express.
To find out what,s happening in the UK optical market:
http://theOptom.com
Yes. Only poly.Just wondering ...
1) do you dispense "only" poly to children?
2) do you offer a special price on it?
3) do you offer a warrenty uniformly on products or just the manufacturer's warrenty on frames & lenses ...
4) what do you think are the best/worst products for kids ...
Thanks for sharing ...
Karen
No special price. Poly in our office is always special at $99 for SV! Great lens
value for a basic lens. We rarely do CR39 or glass.
I'm not in the insurance business. If you want to sell and collect $20 on jobs and try to come out ahead, go for it. It's an accounting difficulty, though. Manufacturer warranties are enough, although it gets abused to an ugly degree. In effect, the warranty is built into our wholesale prices, I believe.
Kid's transitions are good. Clip-on's get lost. Anything memory metal is great. Aspheric poly is super for the plus kids. Liberty's Rec Specs are pretty cool, as well as Hilco's Rx Swim Goggles. Polo Prep, NineWest Kids, X-Games (new and improved), Flexon, and Nike are our mainstays. Worst products are lab packages of cheap-o frames that need warranty replacement of temples every 4 months. Don't sell cheap kid's stuff. It does no one any favors!
DRK -
Thank you for your response.
Karen
Hi guys,
Kids glasses!!!!!! I think a lot of our dispensing these days has come from a kids programme we introduced some years ago for our banches.
It has worked very well and when we think we are mugs because we're giving it away so cheap, we remind ourselves that we spend nothing on advertising, so this is our advertising.
Any Rx up to a +/- 6.00 on -2.00 cyl for any child up to the age of 16 can have a pair of CR39 65mm lenses for 60 shekels, that's about $12.
Any scratches, breaks, scuffs, losses, it's all one price as often as he/she wants (into the same frame) $6 a lens.
We have very few people trying to cheat the system, they don't need to; but what it has done is brought into our practices their parent and families and after the age of 16 we find that a lot of these now grown up kids continue to come to us.
Now, with any plus Rx that will look thick in a small frame, we advise the parents that it would be preferable to surface the lenses for minimum edge thickness and we charge the difference between our regular price for stock CR39 and Worked CR 39 plus the 60 shekels they would have paid.
We keep a 38 eye metal frame glazed with a 65mm +4.00 in the right, and a knife edged lens same Rx in the Left. That usually helps!
Regarding frames, we don't mark these up high for kids, and have many ranges mostly in coloured metal mainly from local suppliers who use their own brand names on Far East imports.
Zeiss used to have a great kids range in metal with a soft comfort bridge, but it was expensive and the colours peeled, we go cheap these days because it's just so easy to replace and our kids seem to be real Ruffniks.
How are you Karen? XXXX c XXXX
I like your name Amit..... that's my grandson's name too !
Clive:
Unfortunately, here in the U.S. we have: Lawyers, The FDA, Osha and God knows who else "taking care of us." Knife edge is not possible. Most opticians in the U.S. are absolutely terrified to make a childs (some any lens at all for adults) out of anything other than polycarbonate. We probably spend more than 60 sheikels per patient on liability insureance. We just have to be a lot higher priced even at the cheap level if we want to stay around.
God Bless America! And may the proper torments be waiting in Hades for Ralph Nader and his like!
Chip
Clive -
Thank you for your response.
I am waving to you in beautiful Israel ... where are you in Israel?
(I toured in 1993)
Karen
Hi Chip, I'm sure we'll eventually catch up with you guys, everyone here wants to do things 'LIKE AMERICA" as the saying goes!
Karen, we live in the north in Haifa. we are very fortunate to have a home on the upper slopes of Mount Carmel overlooking the ocean facing west.
We get 365 great sunsets every year just like the picture attached from this evening
Clive -
OHhhhhh....I'm jealous !! I LOVE Haifa !! (sigh) the view overlooking the ocean is marvelous ... (sigh)
Karen
Right now I either do Airwear (poly) with TD2 for the price of Cr-39 or Transitions in Cr-39 for a little more.
In Canada we do not have the same regulations as the US, so there is not as much fear of a lawsuit. But lately I have had a lot of parents come into my store asking about childrens clip-ons. Now considering that my father was an optician (and still is today) when I was 7 and needed my first pair of glasses, and considering that I have been wearing glasses since 7 I am not a big fan of clip-ons for children. The fact is children loose things, and you do not want them loosing their clips. So I found that parents were interested in the UV protection, so that is why I offer poly or transitions.
Edit - I generally do not offer AR until the child is 16. I am a huge fan of AR, but I find that most parents do not find it a necessity until the child can drive.
When pertaining to glasses for youngsters, i try an insist on poly and explain why to the parents. We all know there is that certain ignorant element out there, that could care less and money is the only factor, with a few justified cases where they might not have the money.
.....When i come across one of these cases and they will not go for the extra charge for poly, i simply give it to them. For what you can buy a poly lens for today, and considering the duty to warn and potential lawsuits, why for a few pennys, in most cases, why would you want to take the chance. It is simply not worth it, and be sure and document what you did.
.....When dispensing, you can always say to the parent, i was able to find you the safe poly lens at the same price, and you make your self look good at the time. Try and think about the kid who has to wear these as opposed to making a little less, it will pay off in the long run.
For Life and Harry -
Thank you for your responses.
I am grateful for all the information !!!
Karen
AR on kid's lenses??? He** YES! It has to at least be a consideration. New coats, such as HOYA's Super HiVision, Essilor's Crizal Alize, and Sola's Teflon (to name a few) offer an order of magnitude better abrasion resistance than simple scratch coating. Scratched and dirty lenses that Junior can't see out of? That's precisely the reason to offer the newest offerings in AR--far harder to scratch, far easier to keep clean, so the lens can do its job. And if a nice looking AR helps the child with the stigma of wearing glasses, so that he/she actually wears them...
Funny how the wisdom here is to not offer cheap frames, but then offer cheap lenses (you know--the part that actually corrects the child's vision). You'd offer AR coats to relieve eye strain to the teacher working under schoolroom lighting, but wouldn't offer it to a kid trying to learn under the same conditions? How's that fit with the "No Child Left Behind" program?
You at least have to present the AR, and let the parent make an informed decision.
RT
RT -
That is a thought-provoking post. Something to definately think about.
Any other responses? Input greatly appreciated !!
Karen
Like an immentant presbyope....i have nothing more to add. i thank ya!
:hammer:
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