The Self-Righteous Housewife: THAT DRAWER and BAND POLOS

The Self-Righteous Housewife: THAT DRAWER and BAND POLOS

Great essay from our friends at Laramy-K

This is from from one of our suppliers. Just a great essay and certainly one that needs repeating. 


For some back history, please understand that one company, Luxottica, owns;


Lenscrafters, Pearle Vision, Every leased optical in department stores, Sunglass Hut, Optique, Eyemed (vision insurance) and produces most of the name brand eyewear today (Prada, D&G, Oakley, Ray-Ban, Polo, etc.). This company has thus far never been challenged by the US Government for Anti-Trust laws.

The State of the Industry…In My Opinion.


Dear Friends and Valued Customers,



First, let me say that I have never been a political junkie. However, in recent years I have been forced to pay attention. There is a situation that affects not only the optical industry, but, in fact, all small businesses in America. I have listened to our government. Every administration has talked about how small business is the backbone of the US economy, and is collectively the largest employer in our country. Why, then, does it feel like we are being served up on a plate? As the government allows foreign entities to come in and monopolize the business world, the ones who suffer are the very people that are supposed to be the “backbone” of the economy. Is it any wonder that we’re in the mess we are facing? It makes for a crippled country and economy when pieces of the core structure are being sold off bit by bit. The unemployment line is filled with people who have been left in the wake of these administrative decisions. Here is what I’ve seen in our specific industry:

In conversations I have had with many people in these past months, it is obvious that some of our vendors have been very effective at one thing in particular. They have taken prescription eyewear out of a healthcare related field and moved it into a retail commodity. There is, in fact, a concerted effort to eliminate the Independent, in the wholesale, retail and even in the optometry divisions. Vendors and insurance companies have offers flying around wildly in an effort to control the optical industry completely.

As we see vertical integration progress, the victim will be your patient. The gift of sight is irreplaceable, and they are playing with it. Just a few facts that are accessible on websites such as PreventBlindness.com and others:

■Approximately 75% of all learning is acquired through sight.
■33% of school children in New York City alone have vision problems which could affect behavior and learning.
■86% of people with an EXISTING eye disease do not have access to routine eye exams.
We tend to take for granted such things as reading a book, ordering from a menu, driving, crossing a busy street and even navigating our own homes. Corrective prescription eyewear changes people’s lives. I have been honored to witness this with a 14 month old child seeing his mother for the first time. It is not something I am about to forget.

How important is accuracy in prescription eyewear? The American National Standards Institute, known as ANSI, has guidelines, or tolerances, for fabrication. They have changed rather dramatically over the years. When I started in this industry, the tolerance for a cylinder axis on a +/-.25 was 3-5 degrees. The new standards that took effect in 2010 relaxed that to a new tolerance of 13-15 degrees. Pretty radical. In the area of power allowances, with a lens measuring plano to +/-.25, we used to be held to .06 of a diopter. The new ANSI more than doubled that allowable error.

In today’s laboratory, we have access to equipment (some manufactured and sold by our “competitive” vendors) that can produce a prescription to a hundredth of a diopter. Essentially, this equipment produces perfect product. Why, then, have ANSI standards been relaxed rather than tightened? While I am not suggesting that relaxed tolerances could result in blindness, it can certainly create discomfort, mild to severe headaches, inability to read street signs, and avoidance of certain activities or hobbies.

It appears that the attention to detail in the manufacturing of prescription eyewear, as a general rule, has taken a back seat to the corporate bottom line. All businesses have a right to make money, but in my opinion, not by using confusing marketing, misrepresenting product, selling certain products only as a package deal with high cost add ons required, or at the expense of an unsuspecting patient. Cash incentives are offered to dispensers for using certain products. Some are being offered cash or credit to remodel with contracts to use specific labs or product. Vendors are even offering 3 months free after committing to the first 3 months, again for using that vendor's lab or product.

Molded progressive lenses are quickly becoming a thing of the past. This presents a problem for vendors with outdated inventory. To combat this, in steps the marketing department…What are HD or Enhanced lenses, anyway? Is this new product or a spin to reduce stagnant inventory? I assure you, it is the latter. They take a molded lens, run it on the more precise freeform generator, and ta-da! A molded lens with a very accurate prescription! Many misleading adjectives are being used and creating mass confusion when it comes to defining product coming in on the coattails of true freeform technology.

Despite these turbulent times in our industry, or perhaps more accurately, because of these times, I want you to know that Laramy-K still believes what my late husband and co-founder, JB, taught us many years ago: ANSI is for amateurs. We will continue to produce way above those standards for you, your patient, and for our own integrity. Our original mission statement declared, “By providing you with our best, and our attention to detail, we are ultimately honoring God.” That is important to us. We will continue to serve our customers with the same personal service, concern for detail and the desire to provide the most accurate product we can produce…regardless of the direction the rest of our industry might choose.

In closing, I want to reassure you of who we are, and impress upon you how very important you are to us. I also want to thank you for allowing us to be a part of your small business. Laramy-K is still here because of each and every one of you, and we continue to appreciate your support. That’s what it will take to reclaim our industry: Supporting the Independent. Is it too late? I sincerely hope not.


From my heart to yours,



Janet and the entire Laramy-K gang

For the original post go to www.facebook.com/laramyk

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The Story So Far

On September, 25 2009 1:30pm CT, I walked out of my employers' office for the last time. The last month had been bumpy. Well, uncomfortable is more the word. The news of my impending departure had gone to my employer in a roundabout way. That is to say, it didn't come from me. I had been dragging my heals on that conversation so I could make a seamless departure. Alas, that was not to be. For the previous 10 years I was left alone and now I was the traitor, the interloper that was going to off with the goods. The reality was the goods were already mine, but it wasn't a database or inventory it was knowledge. The problem I would have is that the knowledge was flawed. The model that built that practice to a 7 figure office was based on an older concept. Did it work for them? Yes. Would it work for me? No. I just hadn't figured it out yet.

Success in Opticianry is a simple idea. Offer a great product at a good price along with amazing service. This is what I was taught all my career. This was the mantra that was drummed into my head again and again. Then I got out on my own. It was the basis of the office I had just left. I could see the appointment book and could do the mental math to see the revenues. What I didn't account for were the changes. That practice I left has 2 doctors and 8 staff. I have no doctors and just me. The business plan I had developed was flawed and I was in trouble. What I came to realize was that eyewear is a commodity. Eyewear is a widget and widgets have no real value. Eyewear is everywhere at every price you can imagine. Do a Google search on "Eyewear" and you'll have 22,600,000 results. The top one is the largest discount online eyewear retailer there is. They're based in China and sell products at prices I couldn't get anywhere near to competing against. Eyewear is a widget. Eyewear is a commodity. Eyewear is not what I want to sell. Eyewear is never going to send my kids to college. This was my panic moment. I had sunk thousands of dollars into a store. I had set up a business and I was doomed to failure unless I shifted the focus. Of course this bit of knowledge didn't come in an "ah ha" moment. It was over many conversations with my friend Dan. In the first months Dan would stop by my office almost everyday and we would talk about everything, especially the business. We would brainstorm and think up how to market the store. It was during one of these brainstorming moments that I began to realize that I needed to stop selling eyewear. I needed to sell the only really unique thing I had. I had to sell me. If I sold my abilities to help my patients, they would happily purchase the eyewear. The eyewear became the secondary issue. The product was no longer eyewear. The product was me and my abilities. Google search me and I come out on top.

Prices

Recently, I was talking to a friend about the stresses of buying eyewear. Of course the big points were there, style, selection, and " I can't see myself in the mirror." Their stresser was surprising to me as I had never thought of it before. It was price. Actually, not knowing the price was the issue. What they didn't like was that there was always a big surprise ending. The price of eyewear isn't known until after all the measurements and selection. Then the optician would go over the billing and the patient felt guilty if they said no. Thats it, this person just wanted to know the pricing before they sat down at the table.

I guess I had not thought of the process of buying eyewear from the patient's perspective for some time and this got me thinking. So I came up with a series of questions:

What would I want?

What are the stress points when I'm out in the consumer world?

If I were my patient, what do I need to feel comfortable with the process of selecting and purchasing my eyewear?

Difficult questions to say the least. But, questions that needed answers all the same if I am to become as successful an office as I envision. With this in mind I'm changing the direction of this blog.

Thus far I have been talking about products and technologies. Also known as boring and trite. Everyone out there is doing this, or they're opining on what the best dry eye treatment is. Ugh, I can feel dust settling on my corneas thinking about how dry a subject that is. So, what happens if we start talking about ownership. What it's like to face the difficult questions, the hurdles and the milestones of owning a small business. This could be interesting, at least to me.

Stay tuned gang, answers are coming.

This is on the horizon. Finally an affordable sports frame.

Sports Eye Protection Should Be Part of Team Uniform

 -Eyeguards Should be Considered an Essential Part of Any Sports Equipment-

 According to the National Eye Institute (NEI), eye injuries are the leading cause of blindness in school-aged children. And, most of those injuries are sports-related. In fact, every 13 minutes, an emergency room in the United States treats a sports-related eye injury, many of them children.

Eye injuries can include painful corneal abrasions, blunt trauma and penetrating injuries, inflamed iris, fracture of the eye socket, swollen or detached retinas, traumatic cataract and blood spilling into the eye's anterior chamber. Injuries can range from temporary to permanent vision loss.

Fortunately, 90 percent of all eye injuries can be prevented through proper eye protection. Prevent Blindness America has declared September as Sports Eye Health and Safety Awareness Month to encourage parents and children to learn the easy steps they can take to protect vision for a lifetime.

Prevent Blindness America provides information on sports eye health and safety for children through its new Star Pupils program, a national initiative designed to give parents the tools and information they need to protect their child’s eyes from needless injury or even blindness. Parents may simply visit StarPupils.org to find a listing of recommended eye protection for various sports including baseball, basketball, football, soccer and hockey. Additionally, guidelines are provided to help parents choose a pair of eyeguards that is right for their child.

Online users can also join the Prevent Blindness America Vision Web Forum at preventblindness.org/sportsforum to discuss sports-related eye health and safety topics with other concerned adults. Prevent Blindness America recently joined efforts with The Coalition to Prevent Sports Eye Injuries and Liberty Sport, Inc., in an awareness campaign entitled “September is Sports Eye Injury Prevention Awareness Month”. The campaign was designed to provide eye care professionals, specifically those who are Sports Eye Injury Prevention Centers, with in-store educational materials to make eye safety a priority for kids when playing sports.

“With the new school year starting for many children and parents purchasing sports uniforms and equipment for their child, we urge everyone to add eye protection to the shopping list,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness America. “Today, there is a variety of styles that are easy to wear and do not impede performance. We want children to get in the habit early on to make eye protection part of the game plan.”

All eye protection lenses should be made of polycarbonate and have an American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) label, indicating they meet or exceed the standards of the ASTM F803 for the specific sport. And, polycarbonate eyewear is 10 times more impact resistant than other plastics, according to the National Eye Institute.

Prevent Blindness America recommends the following:

• If your child wears prescription glasses, ask your eye doctor to fit your child for prescription eyeguards.

• If your child is a monocular athlete (a person with only one eye that sees well), ask your eye doctor what sports your child can safely participate in. Monocular athletes should always wear sports eyeguards.

• Buy eyeguards at sports specialty stores or optical stores. At the sports store, ask for a sales representative who's familiar with eye protectors for assistance.

• Some eyeguards are available with anti-fog coating. Others have side vents for additional ventilation. Have your child try on different types to determine which is most comfortable.

• Check the packaging to see if the eye protector your child selects has been tested for sports use.

• Sports eyeguards should be padded or cushioned along the brow and bridge of the nose. Padding will prevent the eyeguards from cutting your child's skin.

• Have your child try on the eye protector to determine if it's the right size.