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Thread: Most Batsh*t Crazy Thing You've Heard a Patient Say?

  1. #26
    OptiWizard
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    Quote Originally Posted by ioptical72 View Post
    I love these stories. Makes me feel so not alone in the Optical world. Being an optician for almost 20 years I've had some doozies. However, my favorite is when I had only been an in the practice about a year. An older gentleman came in with his wife and started giving me grief over some glasses that had clearly seen their best days. When I explained to him there wasn't anything I could do for him at no charge but I would be more than willing to help him pick out a new pair he preceded to get up in my face and tell me he ought to come across the counter and slap me silly. I was roughly 8 months pregnant at the time. Needless to say my co-workers intervened and nicely escorted the patient from the store. His wife later came back and apologized.
    you work with great people. I see the wife is the moral authority in that relationship.

  2. #27
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    I love the "special" patients. They are my favorite becuase you just never know whats going to happen. Ill tell you may favorite story about my favorite patient. It was my first optical job in years at a private practice. A woman came in complaining about the Dr's RX. She was a high plus. Mind you, I was coming in third party on this, I wasn't there for the initial exam or first fitting of her glasses. I talk to her for several hours about what the issue is, her life story, how many cats she lives with, how her son never calls, how shes divorced and now her RX is wrong and she cant see. We re make the glasses after a second refraction. Not really a change, a little cyl a little dance from the original RX. She comes in to fit her glasses. She cant see and is outraged! She start spouting numbers that her RX should be which are completely different from what the DR prescribed. It should be this and that! Ok Miss XXXX heres what Id like you to. Im going to give you a slip of paper and I want you to write what ever fantastic numbers you'd like on the paper for your prescription and Slide it across the desk to me, and that's what we will fill your RX to. Over hearing this was the office manager and the doctor in the office and they had to close the glass window so the patient couldn't hear them hysterically laughing. Fortunately she moved out of state shortly after that. I disagree that only 20% of people are crazy. It more like only 20% are sane.

  3. #28
    Master OptiBoarder CCGREEN's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ioptical72 View Post
    I love these stories. Makes me feel so not alone in the Optical world. Being an optician for almost 20 years I've had some doozies. However, my favorite is when I had only been an in the practice about a year. An older gentleman came in with his wife and started giving me grief over some glasses that had clearly seen their best days. When I explained to him there wasn't anything I could do for him at no charge but I would be more than willing to help him pick out a new pair he preceded to get up in my face and tell me he ought to come across the counter and slap me silly. I was roughly 8 months pregnant at the time. Needless to say my co-workers intervened and nicely escorted the patient from the store. His wife later came back and apologized.
    What is it about some guys that think its OK to try and belittle and intimidate women? That's one of the few things that get's my BP jacked up in just two hart beats. Just reading the story torques me! If you don't behave that way towards your momma what makes you think its OK to behave like that towards ANY woman?
    OK its Friday. I better get off my stump before I mess up my weekend. 4 more hours and I am finished for the weekend.

  4. #29
    Rochester Optical WFruit's Avatar
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    Let's see... All of the patients who come in to complain that the medicine has run out of their glasses and they can't see any more (not surprising since the glasses in question are usually 5+ years old). I guess this stems from them needing a prescription for the lenses.

    All of the patients who have come in to tell me that their nose pads smell funny.

    The one very nice, very insane lady who had to have special frame materials so that it didn't disturb her chi flow. When picking up the pair she finally settled on, I gave her instructions that, for maintaining the best center of balance in life, that her lenses should be cleaned with fresh (less than three days old) rain water, or, better yet, freshly collected (that morning) dew from wild grasses (not your front yard). She thanked me profusely for my insights, saying that she had always felt that normal cleaning didn't properly cleanse (her word) the lenses. She floated (almost) out of the store the happiest person in the world.

    The very angry lady who came in with her mother complaining that her mother couldn't see out of her glasses. After checking the lenses, and then the frame, I tried to explain to her that these weren't the glasses that we sold her. After about an hour of arguing, being threatened that her husband was a lawyer (to which I responded, "That doesn't matter." to which she had no idea how to respond, since I wasn't intimidated in the slightest), and going back and forth, she asked her mother if she was sure these were the most recent glasses she had purchased. Her mother replied, no, she had lost her glasses, and those were ones she had picked out of the lost and found at her retirement community. The daughter was shocked and humbled, and I managed (barely) to not say "I told you so."

    The gentleman who came in, perfectly normal, asking if there was a way to get scratches out of his lenses (a common request). The optician explain that it wasn't, and why. The man thanked her, and went on to explain that they had become scratched when the government had broadcast their secret beam at him, causing him to fling one of his arms up into the air and knock his glasses off. Also the communists were out to get him, but only the ones from Cuba, because he knew that Castro was a robot sent from space to take over all the island countries in the world (I have to admit that was a new one to me). It went on for another half hour or so before he left. I had to retreat to the back of the store a couple of times, not to avoid laughing at the man (because I really do love listening to people like that), but to avoid laughing at the optician, who had no idea what to do, and who could only smile, nod, and make the occasional sympathetic comment.

    The one man who became so angry (I'm not even sure what about) that he took off his coat, stuffed it into the trash can, and stormed out of the store...

    Remember folks, not all the crazy people out there are bad. And besides, it's all relative, since they all think they're sane, and the rest of us are nuts.
    There are rules. Knowing those are easy. There are exceptions to the rules. Knowing those are easy. Knowing when to use them is slightly less easy. There are exceptions to the exceptions. Knowing those is a little more tricky, and know when to use those is even more so. Our industry is FULL of all of the above.

  5. #30
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    A number of years ago...I worked in a mall and went from one Optical to another. So this patient comes in, winds up and throws his glasses at me (hitting me in the chest) and started a scene. He ranted, raved and screamed as loud as he could to get attention. He went on about a wrong prescription, delays, waiting too long, you suck, your company sucks, etc... After his tirade I asked for the receipt. During this time, an associate called Mall security. So security shows up, as he crinkles his receipt and throws it at me (naturally)...WRONG STORE...Security asked what I wanted to do, I said "well escort this ******* out of here to the other Optical in the Mall, as he bought his glasses there." I got some applause from the crowd that gathered. TOUCHE'!!!

  6. #31
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    [QUOTE=WFruit;497197]Let's see... All of the patients who come in to complain that the medicine has run out of their glasses and they can't see any more (not surprising since the glasses in question are usually 5+ years old). I guess this stems from them needing a prescription for the lenses.

    ...even funnier is when I am told the "Subscription" or "Medicine" has run out of the glasses...makes me snicker every time...

  7. #32
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    I think my two best are:

    I'm training a new person, telling her about prescriptions and expirations, and a guy came in and said he wanted new lenses in his frames. No prob,I look him up and it's been expired for three years. I tell him that he would need a new Rx and I could him seen right then. He blows up. The classic I see just fine with these lenses, just remake them, ect. I try and explain that my hands are tied and legally I can't help him. So he yells that he's glad this is the U.S because now we can have different opinions (Lost me on that one) and turns to go. I tell him in to have a good day. He comes back, get in my face asking if I'm kicking him out. I tell him I nope, just wishing him a good day. He gets livid, I mean screaming and cussing mad. I finally look at the new person and tell her this is one of the rare times I'll do this, look back at him and just say "OUT". He gets quite walks out like I just took the wind outa his sales.

    The other is when I was yelled, well as much as a southern lady, at by a little old lady that by tipping her glasses I was letting the Rx out. o.O

  8. #33
    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Silver Supporter ak47's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boldt View Post
    I think my two best are:

    I'm training a new person, telling her about prescriptions and expirations, and a guy came in and said he wanted new lenses in his frames. No prob,I look him up and it's been expired for three years. I tell him that he would need a new Rx and I could him seen right then. He blows up. The classic I see just fine with these lenses, just remake them, ect. I try and explain that my hands are tied and legally I can't help him. So he yells that he's glad this is the U.S because now we can have different opinions (Lost me on that one) and turns to go. I tell him in to have a good day. He comes back, get in my face asking if I'm kicking him out. I tell him I nope, just wishing him a good day. He gets livid, I mean screaming and cussing mad. I finally look at the new person and tell her this is one of the rare times I'll do this, look back at him and just say "OUT". He gets quite walks out like I just took the wind outa his sales.

    The other is when I was yelled, well as much as a southern lady, at by a little old lady that by tipping her glasses I was letting the Rx out. o.O

    Don't cry over spilled perrrscriptions.

  9. #34
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    Had a pt come in with a pair of silhouette glasses that we made that he couldn't see out of. I started checking and first noticed they were two sizes too small, then checked the rx and it wasn't even close. I told the pt these were not the pair we made, he proceeded to start getting loud and cursing saying we were full of s***. I asked if he could possibly have his wife's glasses and of course I didn't know what I was talking about??? I told the pt to leave then with me and if he would just look around his house or in his car I would appreciate it. I noticed inside the case he left was another optical shop so I called and explained what was going on and asked if they had a woman on file with the same last name who happened to purchase silhouette frames and the answer was yes! Next day pt walks in with a "I was an a**" look on his face and HIS glasses in his hand! I could tell he felt like s*** so I smiled, grabbed the glasses, cleaned them and gave them back and said these should fix your problem! We laugh about every time he comes back in.

  10. #35
    Master OptiBoarder ziggy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chad Sobodash View Post
    So what's your best story?
    After nearly 30 years in the biz I've seen a lot of crazy. The latest is a lady that was pi$$ed that I could not see in my computer an order that was placed at "another lencrafters", we are an independent MD practice. And then the boss, (not an Optician) wondered why we lost the sale!
    Paul:cheers:

  11. #36
    Rising Star OptiBoard Silver Supporter
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    Nicely Done. I had a man like that not understand and said I was confused. S i got him a stock lens that had both RXs. See Sir its the same lens written both ways.....

  12. #37
    OptiBoard Apprentice CajunOptician's Avatar
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    I had a patient call me to inform me that the bifocals on her lenses "fell off" at some point and they were now single vision.


    I delicately explained to her that there was no possible way that could happen.


    Turns out she had been purchasing the same frame for years and had previously been fit into single vision lenses. She had misplaced her bifocals and found one of her old single vision eyeglasses and actually believed her bifocals "fell off" the lenses.

  13. #38
    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Silver Supporter SharonB's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CajunOptician View Post
    I had a patient call me to inform me that the bifocals on her lenses "fell off" at some point and they were now single vision.


    I delicately explained to her that there was no possible way that could happen.



    Turns out she had been purchasing the same frame for years and had previously been fit into single vision lenses. She had misplaced her bifocals and found one of her old single vision eyeglasses and actually believed her bifocals "fell off" the lenses.
    Funny, but I was acutely embarassed about 13 years ago for making a patient look like a fool ( and ultimately myself too!). But, I was the fool. It turned out that she had Fresnel segs on her glasses for diagnostic reasons...and they DID fall off!
    Lost and confused in an optical wonderland!

  14. #39
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    Had a patient many years ago, that had been wearing soft contacts for at least 20 years. One day when she was in the supermarket, all of a sudden, she couldn't see clearly from one eye. She felt that her CL had slipped up or somewhere in her eye and she didn't know what to do about it. She went to the managers desk and had them call an ambulance. They took her to the hospital and found nothing in her eye, and nothing really wrong, other than her CL must have fallen out.

    Well, it seems like her insurance didn't want to pay for the $500 ambulance ride. She came in one day soon after and demanded that I pay for it. I turned her down, saying that as a CL wearer for over 20 years, she should have realized that if a CL slipped off of, or out of her eye, that this did not warrant an ambulance ride. And, that as a CL wearer she should always be prepared with a spare set of lenses or a pair of glasses. She did not persist. Her and her family came back to me for several years after that, but I have not seen them anymore in the last 5 years.

  15. #40
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    An 83 year old woman confessed her undying love for me at the dispensing table...

  16. #41
    Master OptiBoarder Mizikal's Avatar
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    We had an older lady years ago that came in for an exam and got glasses. She always complimented my hair becuase she had to wear a wig and she would always talk about how her dad changed her birth certificate so she could work in the mines. That does not sound to crazy but that is almost all she said. In the end we gave her a refund on her glasses and if memory serves the exam also it was a rare case. She would then call or come in and would demand the $3 we owed her. I have no idea where that came from but we gave her $3 to be done with her and it was $3 well spent. Months later I saw her in the store as I was leaving (I was still at walmart). I know she recognized me because she started to talk but I kept right on going. I felt bad for her because she obviously had dementia of one form or another. Her daughter was trying to get her an in home nurse.

  17. #42
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    I once had a lady come into the office stating her vision in the left eye suddenly went bad while she was riding in the car with her husband. I noticed her left lens was missing and suggested she look on the floor of the car, where she indeed found the lens.

  18. #43
    Compulsive Truthteller OptiBoard Gold Supporter Uncle Fester's Avatar
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    Worked in Downtown Boston next to the "combat zone" of Billy Joel fame in the late 70's. Had specials "complete for $40" (free initials).

    Guy comes in demanding his $20 deposit back from mrmac for a 6 month old pair we made up and still had waiting for pick up. He was politely told that the deposit is non refundable and the glasses are still here even though we could have broken them down and kept the deposit after 3 months. He gets upset and starts telling us about how he's been locked up at Deer Island House of Correction for lack of child support and couldn't pick them up.

    Mrmac kind of goes "sooo???"

    Guy storms out.

    A minute later comes back in with another guy who starts telling us how "I'm a lawyer and this is my client and I demand you refund his money".

    I step in sensing he's brought back a friend and with my most serious face look him in the eye and tell him- "As a lawyer you should know his recourse is through small claims court where our lawyer can talk to you and the judge. By the way- do you have a card?"

    Mrmac chimes in "You can pay the balance for him if you want."

    They leave never to be heard from again...

  19. #44
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    A lady came in a couple of days after I dispensed her new glasses, complaining that they weren't correct. I asked what the problem was. She says," When I put them on the TV is upside down". I refunded her on the spot as I had no idea how to fix crazy.

  20. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by himmeroo View Post
    A lady came in a couple of days after I dispensed her new glasses, complaining that they weren't correct. I asked what the problem was. She says," When I put them on the TV is upside down". I refunded her on the spot as I had no idea how to fix crazy.
    Perhaps not . . . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M._Stratton

    http://www.theguardian.com/education...ng-upside-down
    There are rules. Knowing those are easy. There are exceptions to the rules. Knowing those are easy. Knowing when to use them is slightly less easy. There are exceptions to the exceptions. Knowing those is a little more tricky, and know when to use those is even more so. Our industry is FULL of all of the above.

  21. #46
    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Silver Supporter ak47's Avatar
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    Hocus Pocus...


    ...come on, we all know, YOU CAN'T FIX CRAZY !!!!

  22. #47
    Rochester Optical WFruit's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ak47 View Post
    ...come on, we all know, YOU CAN'T FIX CRAZY !!!!
    Well, not me personally, but https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlem_Royal_Hospital
    There are rules. Knowing those are easy. There are exceptions to the rules. Knowing those are easy. Knowing when to use them is slightly less easy. There are exceptions to the exceptions. Knowing those is a little more tricky, and know when to use those is even more so. Our industry is FULL of all of the above.

  23. #48
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    Had a patient come back into my lab area after picking up his glasses to ask me if I know if aliens were beaming microwaves at us. I wasn't quite sure how to answer so I said I didn't know. He looked me dead in the eye, got a huge smile on his face and said "I do! I see everything with these new glasses!" Then he turned around and left. Never saw him again.

    Had another pick up his new glasses and tell me how pleased he was. Stated he had never in his life seen this well. Came back 2 days later and demanded a refund. Said now everything in his apartment "looked filthy dirty" and he couldn't stand it. Had him see the doc again and we all agreed the best option was to remake them in his old rx. That seemed to solve the problem.

    Another picked up his new progressives and proceeded to go to the front window and one eye at a time look out of every corner of the lenses. Came back to the dispensing table and told me they were unacceptable because he couldn't see well at a distance when he lifted his chin and looked way to the left. I tried to explain that no progressive would allow him to see distance when he did that and asked if he could do that with his current glasses. He said no, that was why he knew he needed a new rx. Then he put the glasses down on the dispensing table and thanked me for my time. As he left he said he would not be back. He had paid for the glasses in full when he ordered them. Never asked for a refund and never returned.

  24. #49
    Master OptiBoarder Mizikal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigGuy View Post
    . He had paid for the glasses in full when he ordered them. Never asked for a refund and never returned.

    He didn't ask for his money back? That is crazy!

  25. #50
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    I once had a 80 year old woman swear that I stole a $100 bill from her. She claimed that she paid her $20 copay as soon as she walked in the door and I never gave her the change back. I tried to explain that we do never collect a copay before exams because our computer system doesn't allow us to enter payment without a CPT and diagnosis code. She insisted I was lying and that I could clearly use the money. I should mention that I was 8 months pregnant and looked like I could pop at any moment. She stormed out of the office after screaming at me in front of about 20 other patients and called me a thief and a liar. Being pregnant and emotional, I had a good cry and was seriously worried that I would be fired after being accused of theft. Thank goodness the manager and doctor thought she was crazy and believed me. I worked at the practice for 6 years and had a wonderful reputation and knew that I would never do something like. I was off the next day and it turns out the lady came back in the office the following morning and asked for the manager to tell her that she wanted to apologize because she found the $100 bill in a different pocket in her purse.

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