Vision Expo East 2010 is history. Held in New York in early spring and in Las Vegas in the fall, Vision Expo is the premier optical event that every Eye Care Professional should attend.
I had the privilege of presenting four, 2-hour continuing education classes in the Big Apple this year, and something that happened in one of those classes has inspired me to pass on to everyone what I have modestly called “One Good Idea.”
The final class I taught was 212° Dispensing, and as attendees were exiting through the back doors, a woman named Christine approached me at the front of the room. “I just wanted to thank you for the great class,” she said, “I’m walking away with a bunch of great ideas.” It was gratifying to hear, and I responded to Christine by saying, “Thank you. It’s always a good thing when you can leave a class with a lot of great ideas.”
That’s when she said something that really got me thinking. With a real seriousness of purpose she told me, “Are you kidding me? If I can walk away with just one good idea from a class, then I think it was worthwhile.” She went on to explain what a “good idea” is: Anything that can make work a little more enjoyable or less stressful; something that might increase sales or decrease problems; something that is new or innovative – all of those things qualified as good ideas in Christine’s mind. What a rare and refreshing attitude and approach to CE hours!
With that in mind, and as a sort of homage to Christine, I decided that perhaps that same approach to an article you read in a professional journal might be appropriate. So I decided to think about all of the ideas that were discussed during those eight hours of classes I taught, and share one good idea with all of you. It was something I presented during a class called
The One-Minute Optician. It is a two-hour class where we discuss dozens of ideas, all designed to make our practice of opticianry more effective (good ideas, Christine would say). Judging by everyone’s positive reaction to the idea, and the fact that only 3 of the more than 150 attendees said that they had actually done this themselves, I settled on this as my one good idea.
Here it is: Why not make your own reading cards? I thought of doing this many years ago in my own practice, and to tell you the truth, I’m not sure if the idea was born so much out of brilliance as it was boredom. I mean after twenty years on the front lines, I was getting damn tired of listening to patients read out loud, “I walked up the street gazing about, until near the marketplace I met a boy with bread.” Despite the fact that line is an excerpt from
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, if I heard it one more time I might have lost it. Some of you can relate to similar tedium from hearing, “To make the cake, beat and soften the eggs…” Some of you may have your patients reading aloud from what amounts to a self-service instruction sheet on how to use progressive lenses…boring!
Why not use the reading card as a tool to help open the door to a necessary second pair of eyeglasses. The beauty of this concept is that you can say whatever you like on your card, but here are some excerpts from my reading cards, which might serve to inspire you to create your own.
J-1 and J-2 reads: “It is important to protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. Polarized lenses can also eliminate all of the annoying and sometimes blinding glare that is reflected off highways, lakes, and rivers. Polarized lenses can also allow a fisherman to see several feet into the water. Can you give me a demonstration of how they work?” My answer? Of course, I can!
J-3: “I should probably have a second pair of eyeglasses in case something ever happens to these. If I lost them or they were broken, I would be in big trouble! With the prices that Max Optics offers, I should really probably order another pair. Let’s talk about it.” And talk we do.
J-4 is one of my favorite, and has led to countless impulse orders: “Sometimes when I am reclining when I watch TV, it becomes difficult to see because my bifocals actually get in the way. Tell me about how I could get a pair of glasses that I could use just for watching the television.”
J-5 is a good one to ask patients to read who rejected AR on their glasses: “Anti-reflective lenses can help to eliminate annoying reflections and halos around headlights and streetlights, making night driving more comfortable. AR makes night driving safer too, as studies show that people driving with AR lenses have significantly improved reaction time.”
J-10 is loud and clear: “Max Optics is proud to provide you with your eyeglasses or contact lenses. Offering quality goods at reasonable prices, with efficient service and great warranties is what Max is all about. Telling your friends and family about Max Optics is the greatest compliment of all. Thank you for your patronage.”
With the information provided below, you can easily create a reading card in no time at all, using programs like Word, Power Point, or Publisher. Here is a step-by-step guide to making it happen:
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Write six paragraphs of about 50-60 words, choosing carefully what messages you want to share with your patients. I don’t mind if you use mine, but why not consult your staff and collectively come up with something creative and unique to your practice. If you involve the whole staff they’ll be more excited about using the cards and reporting on their successes.
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Be sure to print your text on bright-white, plain copy paper. You might be inclined to use card stock or photograph paper – but don’t do it! Card stock is too thick and most photograph paper will cause the lamination to bubble and eventually lose its integrity.
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Use a paper cutter, not scissors, to cut the cards to size. If you do not have access to a paper cutter, let the folks at your local office store do it for you.
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Go to an Office Depot or Staples and get the cards laminated. Each one should cost about a dollar. What a great investment!
Think also about a creative reverse-side as well. You can use actual sheet music, a newspaper clipping, or the image of an Internet page. The next time you are on your Yahoo or Google home page, use a simple “Function + Print Screen” keystroke. This will “take a picture” of exactly what you see on your screen and store it on your computer’s clipboard. Then with a simple paste command you can incorporate it into a document within any of the progams mentioned above. Why not have different backsides for each of the reading cards?
Have some fun and see what can happen with this one good idea.
| J-1 |
20/20 |
4 pt. |
100% |
| J-2 |
20/30 |
5 pt. |
90% |
| J-3 |
20/40 |
6 pt. |
85% |
| J-5 |
20/50 |
8 pt. |
75% |
| J-7 |
20/70 |
10 pt. |
65% |
| J-10 |
20/100 |
14 pt. |
50% |
| J-16 |
20/200 |
26 pt. |
20% |
| J-20 |
20/400 |
42 pt. |
10% |
|
