IcareLabs Blog

So, you’ve worked hard to get your website and social media to a place where you can be found, and people can learn all about your optical business and it’s products and excellent customer service. Things are going along just fine. People are starting to follow you, like you, share your posts and visit your website.

Suddenly, a customer posts a bad review on your social media page!

It’s not the end of the world. Sometimes negative reviews happen. However, there are some things you need to know to make the best out of the situation. And, if all goes well, you could actually spin a negative online review into a positive one for your optical store.

We use the frame shape number for a few different things. The first thing we do with the frame shape number is to build the shape with the A and B measurements provided.

After we have done this, we will calculate the ED based on the new shape. Why do we do this?

Lets take this job for example. I have a +2.50 -1.50, with a 58 PD in a 53-21 Drill mount frame.

Trends for the Optical Industry

Though sales were up for ECPs in 2015, there are 1,000 locations nationwide closing every year. Private Practice Eye Care Providers (PPECPs) are losing 2-4% of their market share each year to the corporate optical ‘big box’ retailers. The PPECPs provide 65% of the eye exams but, sell 39% of the eyewear. How do you gain more of those sales and not let them walk out your door?

Have you considered selling Prescription Safety Eyewear to grow your optical business?

Savvy optical industry businesses capitalize on the prescription safety eyewear segment. According to the 2014 Vision Council ECP Report, only about two-thirds of independent eye care practices offer the ANSI-rated Z87 safety eyewear.

When asking questions on occupation, daily activities, lifestyles, habits, hobbies etc., safety eyewear may apply to your patient. Take a couple of minutes to inform and educate them in eye safety. Even if their employer does not mandate that they wear safety eyewear, you are in the position to recommend it. They may listen to your recommendation more than their employer’s.

There is a growing category in the optical business that is somewhat disregarded and certainly somewhat misunderstood. One in 28 Americans age 40 and above suffers with low vision. That number will grow over the next 20 years due to the fact that approximately 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day. It is estimated that more than 39 million Americans have low vision or a disorder that can lead to it.

Eyecare Business Magazine first referred to low vision as “the most underserved category in optical” back in the early ‘90s. Twenty years later, not much has changed except that the growing number of patients who suffer has increased as the population increases.

These patients, for the most part, are being told that “nothing can be done” or they’re not being seen at all. While it’s true that there is no cure, there are solutions that can help people improve quality of life, such as daily living aids, low vision devices and sophisticated spectacles.

Frame Measurements have become increasingly important with the addition of digital lens designs. As a lab, we have lost control over the safety margin on lens cutout. The lens designer gives us all of the parameters to process the lens, and we are at their mercy.

Our biggest issue has been the Frame ED (Effective Diameter) measurement. Unfortunately, many have been misinformed about how to measure this.

When we get a job that hasn’t cut out for a customer, what we often see is the LD, or Longest Diameter, placed incorrectly in the ED box. One of the top results in a quick Google search even incorrectly explains how to measure it.

If you have been in the dispensary area of your store, you may have heard a conversation between a couple of millennials that went something like this:

“Hey Joe, my new glasses with the anti-reflective coating make taking selfies easier!”

“Really? What about Instagram filter compatibility?”, and so on. It’s all about being able to shop for their eyeglasses on their smart phone and digital devices.

The millennial customer is unique and they are looking for products that appeal to their interests and lifestyle. They want the latest fashions with bold style, color and textures. The more choices they have to make it unique to them, the better.

Selling to Millennials with Technology

Millennials can really relate to digital lens process. Just as they can customize their music stream on their smartphone, ODs can customize a patient’s vision with proper measurements, including position of wear, frame parameters, etc. The digital process can optimize the Rx based on the position of wear measurements and frame specification with wider field of view.

IcareLabs: 2015 Lab Innovator

We are proud and honored to have been selected as Lab Innovator for 2015 by Optical Lab Products Magazine!

It's a very satisfying thing to see all the hard work being recognized! In the past few years, our leadership has succeeded in really turning things around. 

We have invested millions of dollars in upgrading our state-of-the-art laboratory and AR lab. We've also streamlined our ordering process and eliminated unnecessary expenses along the way. All this results in a much higher quality product, faster turn around time and our commitment to the lowest prices in the industry. 

"IcareLabs is a carefully constructed machine dedicated to providing its customers with quality products in a timely manner and exceptional service, all with very competitive pricing. The company didn’t pick two; it chose to offer all three. That is a true model for success."

We couldn't have done it without our greatest resource: our employees!

We realize there are many choices when it comes to your optical lab.

In this article, we wanted to list several recent industry awards our lab has been chosen for, and let you know about some serious upgrades we've recently made to our state-of-the-art optical lab!

IcareLabs Industry Awards:

• Lab Innovator of 2015 from Optical Lab Products magazine
• Essilor Independent Distribution Division's Lab of the Year for 2013
• Ranked among the top-ten independent wholesale optical labs in the United States

Recent Laboratory Upgrades:

• We recently completed a multi-million dollar upgrade to our lab that doubled the capacity of our digital line.
• Just 2 years ago, we upgraded our AR lab to double our capacity.

What does this mean to you?

Well, at IcareLabs, our lab is constantly improving.These upgrades allow us to keep up with demand, and help to ensure that your jobs will be completed in the fastest time possible. And, these upgrades give us redundancy, if needed.

A picture tells a thousand words, so here are a few images from this year when we upgraded our 15,000 sq ft lab in St. Petersburg, FL.

You probably get a lot of questions in your practice. Many questions come up about the different types of lenses. Many people are asking questions about the difference between bifocal and progressive lenses. If your patients are asking the same questions, here are some suggestions on how to answer that will help eliminate their confusion, and hopefully, provide you with some additional revenue. That’s a win-win!

First, let’s set the stage. Multifocal lenses typically address the needs of your middle-aged to older patients who are starting to feel the effects of aging. Many start to experience presbyopia, which is the gradual loss elasticity of the eyes and the resulting difficulty to focus on objects close up. This condition is very natural, but often annoying, and usually becomes noticeable in people in their early to mid-40s. It may continue to worsen until around age 65.

It’s at this point people need something more than a single vision lens in their prescription eyeglasses. They’re going to need additional magnification in part of the lens to help the eye focus on up-close objects.