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We Are at a Crossroad - an Editorial Opinion
As eye care professionals, do we want to facilitate or make it easy for people to purchase glasses for kids over the Internet? I think not. If we take seriously the reason for our very existence as ECPs – the health, safety, and welfare of our clients – the Internet is the last place we want our patients, especially children, purchasing their eyewear. If I need to convince you of that, or outline the reasons for that stance, I’d say quit reading now.
But if you, like me, want to do everything you can do to seriously reverse the disturbing Internet optical trend then read on. (Last month I laid out this troubling trend and a proposition to stave it off. If you missed part one of this message, I would encourage you to read it at www.ecpmag.com.) What follows is my “prescription” for killing Internet opticianry.
The way I see it, a two-pronged attack is what is called for. The first part of the attack needs to be waged on the front-end of the dispensing process, the second part on the back-end of the process. Allow me to explain.
As you may or may not know, many websites that sell prescription eyeglasses do not even ask for segment or multifocal heights on their order forms. They guess. That should tell you something right there. They do however, ask for PDs. Some sites offer instructions on how to have a friend take the measurement. Other sites have a printable PD stick so the person can take the measurement himself. Still other sites give suggestions on how to weasel the information out of us – the unsuspecting, all-too-willing optical accomplice, aka eye care professional. So, step number one of the two-pronged attack is that 99.9% of the time, an eye care professional should refuse to give the PD measurement to someone who requests it.
There are many ways to avoid giving the information in a tactful and diplomatic way, and if you have already discovered something that works for you, stick with it. If not, consider the following approach: With someone off the street (not a previous or current patient in your practice) it is straightforward and easy. When asked to take the measurement, just respond with a puzzled look and say, “Why would you need me to do that?” Regardless of how they answer that question, your response should always be the same. Keep the puzzled look on your face and simply say, “It’s the optician who fills your prescription’s responsibility to take that measurement.”
After the third or fourth optician refuses to take the measurement maybe they’ll change their mind. You might also provide a little education, “If that measurement is wrong it could induce unwanted prism in your glasses, which could cause eye strain, headaches, or distortion. I wouldn’t want to take that chance if I were you. After all, who’s going to check to make sure your prescription was filled accurately?” Regardless of how the conversation turns, just invoke Nancy Reagan: Just say no!
If the person requesting you to provide her PD has been or is a current client, it gets a little trickier. Obviously, we must abide by the laws that govern our profession. In this regard each state is a bit different. For example, in the state where I practice, Florida, I am required to keep a copy of prescriptions I fill on file for two years. During that two-year period if a patient or an agent of the patient requests a copy of the prescription I filled, I am required to provide it. Does that mean I have to also provide the PD? Absolutely not…unless the PD was noted on the doctor’s prescription…which it rarely is. The pupilary distance is an ancillary measurement that is supplemental to the Rx itself. If the patient requests a copy of his entire medical records, you might have to provide it, but short of that I wouldn’t offer it.
There are a few other front-end considerations. I would suggest that you spend a little time poking around the Internet, thinking like a layperson. Do some searches for things that they might search for: eyeglasses, prescription eyeglasses, cheap eyeglasses, are a few possibilities. Familiarize yourself with the policies and price structures of the most popular sites. You will find that you could easily “compete” with these websites if you chose to do so. With very few exceptions, the frames and lenses sold on these sites are no great bargains. To be fair, there are a couple of sites that inexplicably offer prescription eyeglasses at unbelievably dirt-cheap prices. How do you deal with that?
Perhaps sharing some of the following true stories might help you dissuade people from ordering “cheap” eyeglasses over the Net. I have been told of opticians discovering that the received glasses from these ultra-cheap sites have been off more than an entire diopter. Lenses have been cut eye-for-eye. I personally saw one where the progressive lenses were cut upside-down! Sharing some of those stories with people considering an Internet purchase might persuade them to think otherwise.
This leaves the back-end strategy. How should we as industry professional’s deal with back-end requests for service? In other words, people who ask for a replacement screw, an adjustment, or some minor repair. How do we differentiate between an Internet patron and someone who purchased their eyewear at a bricks-and-mortar establishment? Do what I do…ask them. When someone comes to my place and requests some minor service, I casually ask them something like, “Wow…these frames are pretty cool…where did you get them?” If they tell me they got them at Wal-Mart, Dr. Matthews’ office, or Acme Optical - any actual, licensed optical dispensary, I am more than happy to help them out, just like those establishments would likewise help out one of my customers in need.
But if they tell me they purchased their glasses online, my whole approach changes. Once again, I tell them that a repair like they need is something that is usually handled by the seller – it’s part of the purchase price. When they say, “but I bought them online,” I say I’m sure if they send them back the online retailer would probably be glad to repair the glasses. We offer an unconditional year warranty on everything we sell, I explain. Sometimes they then offer to pay me for the repair. I respectfully decline, explaining that I’d be scared because if I accidentally damaged the frame while adjusting, or if my screwdriver slipped and scratched a lens while replacing a screw I wouldn’t be able to replace it. Regardless of what they say, I tactfully and respectfully decline my services – as is my right to do; as it would also be your right to refuse to service the glasses if they showed up at your dispensary too.
You may say that it is unreasonable to think that as an industry we can make this universal stand – to simply refuse our services for Internet-purchased eyewear. Maybe you would be right. But make no mistake, we are definitely at a crossroad, and each of us, as individual eye care professionals must make a decision. I hope the decision you make will be based on what is right for the patient, your practice and the industry as a whole. If you do, I believe you too, will just say no. |
