IcareLabs Blog

The other day I had the pleasure of reading a very good article featured in 20/20 written by Palmer R. Cook, OD. He dug very deep into Chromatic Aberration and the effects it has on patients.

Part of my job here at IcareLabs is assisting our customers with trouble shooting problem patients. Often the issue is clarity or blur when not looking through the optical center. Lenses work great while looking straight ahead but with even minimal eye movement the clarity goes away. We always look at Rx, base curve, and lens design. This is the lowest hanging fruit.

Over the next year we will try to post a few articles geared towards those who are new in the industry or maybe those looking for a little refresher. We will simply title these our "Optics 101 Series".

To create a good pair of glasses that offer the best optics, fit, and comfort all start with the frame. Frame choice is the foundation that can either make or break the satisfaction for your patient.

The main goal of opticianry is recreating perfect 20/20 vision for your patient. The second goal should be doing this with the thinnest, lightest lenses possible. This will give your patient added comfort and good cosmetics. We are going to break this down into 5 parts of how to give your patient the best overall satisfaction, comfort, and performance of a pair of glasses.

While the subject of base curves comes up multiple times a day in my discussions with our customers, I have avoided writing about it for years for three reasons:

1. It is a complex topic that confuses many.
2. It is not seen as important to others.
3. It gets misunderstood by the majority of the rest.

Similar to religion and politics, it's a subject that can destroy friendships. The correct base curve is always a battle of which of 3-key factors is the most important: optics, fit, or cosmetics. But, it does not have to be this way.

When ordering your uncut lenses there are several things you can do to help ensure the best cut out and avoid costly redos. One of the most important frame measurements is the ED, yet we consistently see this has the most confusion on how to get the correct measurement. This blog will show you the correct way to measure a frame's ED.

Kodak Lens is now offering free weekly webinars to all ECPs. These webinars are informative and fun while helping teach you about the Kodak Lens portfolio, sales strategies, Kodak Lens branding leverage, and how the Practice Plus program can benefit your optical dispensary.

Plus you can be entered to win a free pupilometer through the end of March 2021!

Remakes have been, continue to be, and probably will always be a sad part of our industry.
Depending on who you ask, remakes range from 5% to 15% nationally. Remakes are not only
costly and thus frustrating, but they're also a massive negative to your patient.

Let’s remember that your patient is actually a customer. Most importantly they are a customer that you would like to return to you over and over through their lifetime. Remakes for any reason cause your customer to spend the time that they  most likely do not have to come back to your office with any problem, only to be followed up with another return visit to pick up their “fixed” pair of glasses.

Remakes also take up your and your staff's valuable time. The time that could be spent bringing in new business is being spent making an old job right. Whether it is an Rx issue, non-adapt to a progressive, base curve problem, material adaptation, or a simple fitting error, redos cost us all money and time. Regardless if your lab charges for the remakes or not, the truth is this: just like a head-butt, no one wins with a redo.

With all of this in mind let’s look at a few key ways to cut down on remakes.

Wearing masks has definitely been a task for everyone. The difficulty is patched up even more with those wearing glasses. Fogging issues can be a real and ever severe problem for eyeglass wearers while utilizing the protection of a mask. I personally fall into the glass wearing, category so when IcareLabs started researching this FogAway product I was super excited!

We had tried a couple of other tricks and even a few over the counter products and nothing worked well on lenses with AR coatings. I have to admit that I was a bit suspect, but I was willing to try anything to quit dealing with my glasses fogging up.

Lens technology continues to grow along with the needs and wants of our patients.  More of them are seeking the best vision possible out of their lenses. While high end, compensated lenses more than fill their needs. They have also become viewed by many as a necessary evil. I believe with better understanding, almost all will see them as a necessary good with a few minor drawbacks.

In the relationship between the lab and the optician, nothing is more agreed on than the aggravation of redoes and remakes. No one wins when a job has to go back to the lab to be redone.

Above all else, the patient has to experience a delay in receiving their new glasses. Often these delays can harm your reputation as an eye care professional. When the delay goes on long enough it could cost you return business and even force a refund and lost sale.

The hard part has been done. Your marketing efforts paid off and you have a new patient. Now comes the next step, what do you to keep them coming back year after year?

Retaining your patient base might be the most important job you have. Your goal should always be to turn a first-time buyer into a stark raving mad fan of you and your business. The good news with this is that it will not cost much. You will not need an expensive marketing program to accomplish this.

It all starts with you and your staff. Make a few changes and focus on a few tasks and you will see your retention numbers grow.

Here are 8 keys to improving your customer retention.