Optometrist vs Optician

[turbomoggie]

Jon39 said:

My last visit to Specsavers, was my very last.

Two pairs of glasses had been ordered, one bifocals for reading and indoor use, the second pair with standard long distance glasses for outdoor use including transition lenses. However, they put the transition on the bifocals, instead of the outdoor glasses.

We all make mistakes, so I was not concerned, assuming they would correct such an obvious error.
Instead though, they decided to tell me that there was nothing wrong with either pair of glasses.
Maybe the employee always wears sun glasses indoors, but never wears sunglasses out in the sunshine.
Must have been either stupid, or ignorant. Certainly lacking in the obvious.

Just shows how easy it is to lose a customer.

That's strange. Human errors do happen. This sounds like a communication issue - as long as you raised the mistake in a timely manner, they would normally just remake them for you. You'd have been covered by their no quibble guarantee.

[turbomoggie]

Simbu said:

Thanks all for the comments and insights. It sounds like I just need to ensure I visit an optician with an OCT scanner for the hereditary glaucoma risk, and that I shouldn't necessarily be concerned about a locum optometrist.

I am planning to find a well-rated local independent; it'll be interesting to compare against Specsavers pricing and quality of service.

Yeah OCT is great. My other recommendation would be to see if you can find somewhere that has a wide field retinal imaging, so a machine like an Optos optomap or Zeiss Claris.

Like many things in life, you do pay for what you get - at least to some extent. Specsavers are great at delivering what they do for how little they charge.

Expect an independent to charge you many times more. They don't have the same footfall but their operating costs still need to be covered. In return they'll be able to give you more time, probably better service and sometimes better quality products.

[Simbu]

turbomoggie said:

Expect an independent to charge you many times more. They don't have the same footfall but their operating costs still need to be covered. In return they'll be able to give you more time, probably better service and sometimes better quality products.

Lenses seem to be a particular area where the product is different. I've seen independents offering Seiko, Zeiss and Elissor.

I currently have some kind of plastic lense from Specsavers (not sure if polycarbonate or CR39). This has suited me since they're light and tolerant of small kids knocking then off my face occasionally! Will other lenses be glass, or do they also offer a plastic option? Or are glass lenses actually very robust? I have tended to opt for lense thinning too since my prescription is around -6.5.

[The Gauge]

turbomoggie said:

Yes, I agree the pricing structure does need to be updated. The cost of delivering service is astronomical. To pay for: optoms, dispensing opticians, contact lens opticians, optical assistants, admin and reception staff, training, very expensive equipment, IT, insurance and the list goes on.

Maybe suppliers/distributors are able to make/purchase some optical products at pennies but they certainly cost more to the optician practice. Especially higher end varifocal lenses. There's not quite the margin you might expect.

I wonder of they work on the principle that people probably buy their glasses from the same place they had their eye test? So make the eye test affordable and claw their costs back on the glasses? If the eye tests were £100 I reckon lots of people would put off having one until they just couldn't see any more out of their current glasses?

I get a free eye test voucher from my employer every 2 years, but I sometimes pay the £40 for an additional one in-between my fee ones, just to se if there have been any changes and to get the additional eye health check. With hardly any change to my previous prescription I bought 2 extra pairs online from glassesdirect for £40. But if the test was £100 I wouldn't have dome this.

What's has previously put me off using independent opticians is they are normally small shops with limited choice of frames, but I assume I could take my current frames to them and just pay for new lenses to be fitted?

Thos time around I wanted to try varifocals so I ended up at Specsavers, I pick them up Wednesday.

Edited by The Gauge on Monday 25th March 09:12

[turbomoggie]

Simbu said:

Lenses seem to be a particular area where the product is different. I've seen independents offering Seiko, Zeiss and Elissor.

I currently have some kind of plastic lense from Specsavers (not sure if polycarbonate or CR39). This has suited me since they're light and tolerant of small kids knocking then off my face occasionally! Will other lenses be glass, or do they also offer a plastic option? Or are glass lenses actually very robust? I have tended to opt for lense thinning too since my prescription is around -6.5.

Those are all good brands. Opinions vary on who's the best or who has the latest tech and quality control etc.
I'm not sure who manufactures the lenses for Specsavers but imo they're good quality but most hold the opinion that they're not as good as Essilor/Zeiss etc but then you do pay a lot more.

Most spectacles are made using plastic lenses. Plastic lens advantages: light weight, more impact resistant and if they do break, they're designed to break in to soft pieces which aren't sharp. This becomes important if you end up in an accident for example a car accident where an airbag goes off. Glass has better optical properties so in theory you may achieve better vision in glass. Glass is heavier. Glass has less impact resistance but is more scratch resistant. Glass can also be made very thin e.g. Zeiss make a 1.9 refractive index glass lens.

Any optician, even the multiples can order from a wide portfolio of lenses, so if you request glass they should be able to make them. I always stick with plastic from a safety perspective

[turbomoggie]

The Gauge said:

I wonder of they work on the principle that people probably buy their glasses from the same place they had their eye test? So make the eye test affordable and claw their costs back on the glasses? If the eye tests were £100 I reckon lots of people would put off having one until they just couldn't see any more out of their current glasses?

I get a free eye test voucher from my employer every 2 years, but I sometimes pay the £40 for an additional one in-between my fee ones, just to se if there have been any changes and to get the additional eye health check. With hardly any change to my previous prescription I bought 2 extra pairs online from glassesdirect for £40. But if the test was £100 I wouldn't have dome this.

What's has previously put me off using independent opticians is they are normally small shops with limited choice of frames, but I assume I could take my current frames to them and just pay for new lenses to be fitted?

Thos time around I wanted to try varifocals so I ended up at Specsavers, I pick them up Wednesday.

Edited by The Gauge on Monday 25th March 09:12

The Gauge said:

I wonder of they work on the principle that people probably buy their glasses from the same place they had their eye test? So make the eye test affordable and claw their costs back on the glasses? If the eye tests were £100 I reckon lots of people would put off having one until they just couldn't see any more out of their current glasses?

I get a free eye test voucher from my employer every 2 years, but I sometimes pay the £40 for an additional one in-between my fee ones, just to se if there have been any changes and to get the additional eye health check. With hardly any change to my previous prescription I bought 2 extra pairs online from glassesdirect for £40. But if the test was £100 I wouldn't have dome this.

What's has previously put me off using independent opticians is they are normally small shops with limited choice of frames, but I assume I could take my current frames to them and just pay for new lenses to be fitted?

Thos time around I wanted to try varifocals so I ended up at Specsavers, I pick them up Wednesday.

Edited by The Gauge on Monday 25th March 09:12

Yeah that's right, the sight test fee is a loss leader in most multiple practices. Also the current NHS funded sight test fees are getting to the point where they're not sustainable - more and more independents are dropping their NHS contracts. A lot of independents charge around £70 and upwards for their sight test.

As long as your frames are not falling apart, most practices will be happy to reglaze your current specs.

Buying your spectacles where you had your eyes tested is better if you have any problems, it's normally easier to have the problem solved. Especially if you have a high or complex prescription. Historically, the practice that dispenses your spectacles becomes responsible for performing any re-test etc if any problem solving is required. If you purchase your spectacles online and have problems, then you may get raised eyebrows when you go take them in to the optician who performed the original sight test.

[Forester1965]

I used to work with independents and multiples on sales and marketing products as well as some clinical diagnostic ones. By the time I finished we worked with about 10% of UK optical businesses.

Back then (this is mid 90s to around 2009), many practices were optician manager/owned businesses in a juxtaposition; the skills in the business related to the professional side but the profit came from the retailing one. These can be incongruous skill sets at best.

The marketing and buying power of the multiples meant the only realistic choice for independents was to differentiate somehow. I remember when Murray Wells founded Glasses Direct and the market laughed nervously and scorned.

I pay a fairly high rate for sight tests from one of my first ever clients. They invest heavily in the clinical side, have consistency in their staff throughout the practice (no 'optical retail assistants') and my kids who're NHS patients with them will turn into private clients when they get older.

[StevieBee]

Jon39 said:

My last visit to Specsavers, was my very last.

Mine too.

Completely botched my contact lens prescription. New contacts arrived and vision worse than before. A call suggested the need to allow time to adjust. Another check revealed that they had written the wrong info on the form and that I would be better suited to veri-focal glasses. Which I wasn't. Letters of complaint went unanswered and the staff in the shop couldn't have cared less.

[Simbu]

I thought I'd provide a bit of closure since this thread started with me giving myself a kick to get my eyes checked.

Good news is that my myopia and astigmatism have changed so little that my contract lense prescription hasn't changed! Considering it's been 5 years I'm happy about that.

Glaucoma tests were done and one eye has a small area of 'red zone' from the OCT scan. Optometrist said not to worry unless there is an appreciable change next year. Otherwise all good.

Less good news is that I seem to have expensive taste in frames! Gone for a Salt pair, and 1.67 Seiko lenses. This visit was a few hundred more than I'd have spent at Specsavers, I reckon. But, I was the only customer in the shop, and the optician spent an hour with me talking through frames and lenses. Completely different standard of service, and it felt like value for money. He also suggested I buy contacts online, since his margin on them was tiny and his pricing uncompetitive. I'll be going back.