Labs Labs Labs Yeah (they're gonna get you)
Labs Labs Labs Yeah (they won't forget you)

I'm a firm believer in using humor as a memory tool. The more you can make someone laugh, the less likely they are to forget you. Laughing is a free form way to reduce stress, sadness, and even anger. Speaking of freeform, have you laughed with (not at) your optical lab lately? Let's block off a few minutes today to do so. Apart from labs we are basically plano. Together we should be crystal clear with our expectations of each other from the beginning of the relationship. Before you open a new lab account and sign on the dotted line, leave no room for guessing. Find out the contact names and roles of the key people you will be dealing with. Keep your lab reps' cell phone numbers handy. Don't hold back on asking questions or expressing concerns. The lab's welcome kit should answer your questions, except for the unusual situations that surface from time to time. What's the most popular lab gripe that I constantly hear from ECPs (drum roll please)? ECP: The lab should have called us. Me: Why? ECP: Because the lenses should have been here by now.

When I hear this come out of an ECP's mouth I have to laugh. Laughter may seem inappropriate to you so let me try to explain. I am picturing in my head a huge building with hundreds of job trays being processed and someone yelling out to a robot to call the account and let them know there has been a breakage. The robot frowns. Hundreds of miles away a practice phone rings and the voice on the line says, “Warning, warning, danger, danger, the lenses for pt. Jones did not meet ANSI standards. We are very sorry. We are working overtime to make you happy. Thank you for your business. Good bye.”

Still not laughing? It's better than the robot making a human error and not calling at all.

Lab delays, breakages, redos, Rx changes, optician errors are all part of the ebb and flow of doing business. We should work together on having the best method for tracking lab orders. Being the middleman or woman between the patient and the lab is a tough spot to be in sometimes. I'll admit I have played rock, paper, scissors with staff to see who will make the call to a patient regarding a delay in their order. 

Some labs will send a daily fax to update you on the whereabouts of each patient's order. That can be very helpful if you know the lab's lingo. If you don't, then ask them to send you a Job Status/Station Definitions sheet to reference. 

Here are a few examples:
JOB-patient's lab order
FTC-frame to come
FOBO-frame on back order
MOUNTING-frame and lens components are put together
SURF OUT-lenses are leaving surfacing dept to go to mark up and blocking for edging
DRILLDONE-mounting lenses into rimless style frames is complete

All labs are not created equal, so communication by email or phone may be the way to stay in touch. You can also find out the status of your lab orders on VisionWeb.

Hopefully your patient's job status is never SNAKE BIT. That's the job that has been remade so many times that everyone is in the hole.

If you work with labs that aren't local then you probably have been exposed to eyewear packaging on steroids. That's the delivery of one complete pair of Rx eyeglasses in a box that a medium size pizza could fit in. The eyeglasses are delicately wrapped in tissue, styrofoam, cardboard with a rubberband around them in a sealed ziplock bag. The manufacturer's demo lenses, cleaning cloths and important notices are included. It is a recycler's paradise on the days when multiple pairs are delivered. What do you do with the excess packaging supplies that you accumulate from labs? Send us an email with your creative recycling ideas to editor@ecpmag.com. Sorry but returning it to the lab is not creative enough.

Doesn't it feel great knowing that you are on the forefront of advanced vision technology? I don't know about you but I am an inventor. I know just what I want in a pair of lenses for a particular patient. I put the order through the electronic ordering process, receive confirmation and stack the job tray on top of the other job trays ordered from the same lab. The problem is that the lab doesn't always go for my inventions. Mainly when the lenses that I have ordered don't even exist. Shame on me for not going to the lens guru first. Who has time to keep up with the ever changing list of progressive addition lenses (PALs)? Tony does! His website www.thelensguru.com is the best resource on the web to find accurate, complete and up to date information on all brands of PALs. Stay tuned because Tony will be expanding his website in the coming months.

Most practices have more than one lab that they work with. You may have one lab that specializes in drill mounts, one that you trust with difficult Rxs, and one that makes your safety eyewear. The one thing that all of your labs should have in common is an attitude of we got your back. Labs aren't looking for lab hoppers. At the same time it's no fun for ECPs to feel like they need to kick a lab to the curb. 

I'm not on the payroll of any specific lab. Nor did anyone put anything in my luggage without my consent. I know that ECPs can carry around lab baggage from time to time. Just remember to be careful about how you unload it. After all, the lab that you despise and stopped using may be working on your patient's lenses right now. What!? It's no joke that labs work together all of the time to do what it takes to get the job done. Funny how we forget that from time to time. I'm just glad the lab doesn't forget.

Oh yeah and if you don't practice humor I guess you don't ever have to worry about dying laughing.