Our latest Tales from the Edge reveal how ECPs use their in-office labs to save the day and serve their patients
taking the plunge and creating an in-office lab (whether just edging, or even surfacing/finishing) has many positive outcomes, most of them financial. But there’s also the somewhat unquantifiable benefit of increased customer service. In this segment of our Tales from the Edge series, we talk to eyecare professionals about how their in-office lab has saved the day for patients when they needed quick, competent service the most.
READY IN A QUICK 20
Kathy Cabero, optometric assistant
20/20 Optometry of Silicon Valley
San Jose, CA
“My most memorable customer service experience came when I stayed after closing for a prescription-check patient. He had been having issues seeing in school, even though his latest exam was only two months back. Our doctor found that his prescription needed to be changed by one diopter.
Luckily we had a lens in his new prescription in stock to edge right then and there. Knowing that he had been having issues in school made me want to get the job done ASAP, and get it done right.
Afterward, the patient and his parents were very appreciative for taking the time to stay late and have his glasses ready in about 20 minutes. That’s how you get and keep customers!”
A BOY IN NEED
David Britzke, O.D.
Spectrum Eyewear Gallery
Elkhart, IN
“We have a young patient with degenerative myopia (-14.00 at the time). The family has been loyal to the practice for many years, and has always trusted us to find them durable products that will hold up over time.
A few years ago, the young patient broke his frame and repaired it (or, tried to anyway) with duct tape and wire.
The family came in to purchase a new pair of glasses to replace the broken ones. [I needed to send the job out, because it’s not a stock lens.] But the patient needed something in the meantime to get by, because the duct tape just wasn’t holding up anymore.
[My edger rep] had showed me a feature of my edger that would cut a current lens down to fit another frame. The frame change (FC) mode really saved the day on this situation.
So, I had him pick out a frame, and I used the FC mode to cut his old lens down to work in the new frame. If I did not have the edger, this child would have been walking around functionally blind for at least three days, if not longer, due to the power of the lenses he needs and shipping time to a lab.”
CUSTOMER SERVICE BOON
Jay Lizyness, O.D.
Eye Definition
Canton, MI
“Having in-office finishing has allowed us to improve our service to our patients, bringing them quality products with much faster service. We are now much less dependent on outside laboratories, so one of the hidden benefits has been fewer phone calls checking on the status of patients’ glasses.
There have been numerous times where we could dispense glasses before a patient left for vacation or on a business trip. But one of the best things is when we have children come in for new lenses, and we show them the equipment. Seeing the excitement on a young patient’s face when they get to push the start button on the edger and say that they helped make their own glasses is one of the coolest experiences!”
—Susan Tarrant
Serving an Entire Community
Sometimes, it’s not just the patients who reap the benefits of a practice’s in-office lab. David Britzke, O.D., owner of Spectrum Eyewear Gallery, Elkhart, IN, and a proud member of his local Lions Club, tells a story of how he uses his edger to help in his community service projects.
“One of the biggest reasons I bought the machine was to help the local community. Within the first month of joining the club, I sat down with the committee that helps those in need get glasses and exams,” he says. Turns out the group had been sending people to the local optical chain, and then reimbursing the chain for its services.
“I asked how much they were paying, and figured out that I could do a world of good by donating my exam, and getting the frames at my cost plus stock lenses for much less.” He committed to providing all the needed exams, and made the eyewear right there in his lab.
“The first year of our partnership, I saw the same number of patients for one-third of the cost [the Lions Club] was used to spending with their old provider,” he explains. “Now we help over 100 children and 10 adults each year with free exams and a new pair of glasses or bifocals. I could not do it without my fellow Elkhart Lions. Without them I would be unable to do what I do for the community.”
And, without his edger, he wouldn’t be able to do it at all.
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