Last Word
Lab Link
by Stephanie K. De Long

How do you work with your wholesale lab? To find out, Eyecare Business conducted an Internet survey of 349 optometrists and opticians. Here are their answers to several questions about selecting labs.

	PHOTO COURTESY ESSILOR OF AMERICA

Q: How many wholesale labs do you use?

A: The majority of eyecare professionals surveyed use two or three labs. In all, 12 percent use one lab, 40 percent use two, and 37 percent use three. No one reported doing business with more than three.

Q: Has that number changed in the past year?

A: Nearly three out of four ECPs (73 percent) reported working with the same number of labs as a year ago. Another 14 percent said they're now sending jobs to fewer labs, while 11 percent said they've increased the number.

Q: Have you switched labs? If so, why?

A: Only 34 percent reported switching labs in the past year. Their main reasons for doing so: Decreased quality of work (44 percent); prices too high (21 percent); turnaround too slow (13 percent); change in ownership (6 percent); and no longer have product lines wanted (6 percent). Interestingly, only one percent of respondents reported leaving a lab because of problems with the location's management.

The successful firm will be quality- and service-conscious and work with highly trained, flexible people.

--Tom Peters