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Retail Oddities
by Erinn Morgan
Eyecare professionals work in a customer service-based business, which can lead to some truly trying, odd, or rewarding experiences. This month's question: What is the most unique or unusual experience you've ever had with a patient/customer? Read on for responses ranging from curious to comical.
An elderly man and woman were in the dispensary working with one of our opticians. She was fitting the man with eyewear. The optician slid a pair of glasses onto his face and his nose fell off!
The optician was shocked. The man's wife elbowed him and said, "Pick up your face." It turns out he was wearing a prosthetic nose and was playing a prank on the optician.
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Aaron Reymann, Inland Eye Clinic |
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Tom Graves Schaff Opticians |
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Michele Atiz, OD All for Eyes |
She was just mortified because she didn't know. I mean, really, to have someone's face fall off right in front of you.
-- Aaron Reymann, ABOC, marketing director, Inland Eye Clinic, Murrieta, Temecula, and Hemet, Calif.
A guy came into the office one day and said he wanted sunglasses so he could, "see the spaceships landing and the aliens coming out." We ended up selling him a pair of sunglasses.
A few days later, he shot up a local radio tower with a rifle. Nobody was injured, but he did go to jail.
-- Tom Graves, owner of Schaff Opticians, with two locations in Greenfield, Mass.
I treated one guy who squeezed a few drops of the juice of the leaves from a jade plant into his eye because his friend told him it would be really refreshing. He had acid burns on both eyes, but he only finally came to see me two days after this happened. We did a lot drops and rehab and he was fine in about a week.
I also saw another patient who was disheveled, but his glasses were really clean. I asked him how he kept them so clean and he said, "I take a shower every day with my glasses on and that's how I clean them."
He was an eccentric character--but he ended up buying a $700 pair of rimless titanium glasses. At least I know how he'll keep them clean.
--- Michele Atiz, OD, owner of
All for Eyes, Huntingdon Beach and
Pomona, Calif.
If you have stories to share or topics you'd like to see us address, send an E-mail to editor@eyecarebusiness.com.
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| Don't let people's oddities throw off your performance and alienate potential customers. Microsoft's bCentral small business Website (www.bcentral.co.uk) points out the following relationship-ruining gaffes. Don't question service in front of a customer. Even if a staffer goes too far beyond the call of duty, point it out after the patient leaves. Don't insult your patients by suggesting the items they are considering are out of their price range. Don't comment on patients during working hours. It makes the other customers wonder what you might say about them later. Don't say you're out of stock. Let your patient know that you can order something for them. Don't comment on unusual names. Ask how the name is pronounced correctly. Don't waste patients' time by discussing something you don't understand. Get the correct information or bring in a co-worker who is more familiar with the subject. Don't use the phrase: "I only work here." It tells patients that you are unwilling to deal with problems. |
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