question to the ODs

[thiaeyemd]

One of my friends son's who is at PCO was offered a job at a Costco where he would see roughly 30-33 patients a week and they would give him a percentage of the exam fees only. How much collections does that give the practice (30-33 patients) ?If he has a rough idea he can determine what his takehome will be based on the percentage they offer and see if the job is for him. Thanks in advance.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[blazenmadison]

30-33 pts per week? I hope he is only there one or two days per week. Need 10-15 pts per day at corporate practices to make a living.

Costcos/Sams Club/BJs are low volume opticals. Certain states won't allow corporations to hire ODs.
If he works for a corporation such as Costco, I would ask for a base salary + bonus/benefits.

 

[thiaeyemd]

I think an OD owns the practice there and is hiring him for four days a week where they estimate he will see 30-33 patients etc..

 

[janedoe88]

30-33 pts per week? I hope he is only there one or two days per week. Need 10-15 pts per day at corporate practices to make a living.

Costcos/Sams Club/BJs are low volume opticals. Certain states won't allow corporations to hire ODs.
If he works for a corporation such as Costco, I would ask for a base salary + bonus/benefits.

I don't think it's that way in California. The OD I got my prescription from at Costco seemed very busy with patients all day.

 

[blazenmadison]

I don't think it's that way in California. The OD I got my prescription from at Costco seemed very busy with patients all day.

That may be an exception. .Even though non-members can see the optometrist or use the pharmacies (in certain states) without a club membership, most patient's don't realize that and you limit your patient base to just folks with memberships.

 

[Jason K]

I don't think it's that way in California. The OD I got my prescription from at Costco seemed very busy with patients all day.

There are some high-volume, well-established Costcos and Walmarts out there, but their numbers are dwarfed by newer Sam's, Walmarts, Targets, etc that see abysmal numbers of patients. When you throw up 5 new Walmarts/Sam's within a 5 mile radius, there is no way to keep the opticals moving. The situation presented here is all too common right now. An OD owns a lease for an established box and it's doing reasonably well. He then decides to sign up for a 2nd one across town. He figures he'll fill it with a new OD whom he can offer a percentage of the exam fees. If people show up, he makes money and if people don't show up, it doesn't cost him anything. In the end though, the owner wins since he's fulfilled his obligation to have a warm body in the box while he's at his usually faster-moving other location. There's always the "Hey, if you get in there and really grow it, it'll just take off...," which just about never happens.

From what I've seen, older box opticals with lots of traffic tend not to be turned over too often for obvious reasons. It's the newer, slower leases that get passed around like a hot potato. They just don't grow since the number of big box stores has grown exponentially in the last 10 years. The new locations usually just sit with a trickle of patients indefinitely, sometimes for years.

In a situation like this, I'd ask for an hourly rate plus a percentage of the exam fees, at least initially. Taking just a portion of the exam fees in a place like that can, and often does, leave the hired OD making single digits per hour when all is said and done.

 

[janedoe88]

That may be an exception. .Even though non-members can see the optometrist or use the pharmacies (in certain states) without a club membership, most patient's don't realize that and you limit your patient base to just folks with memberships.

Doesn't everyone have a Costco membership? I'm very sure that a lot of people go to Costco for their prescriptions because it's cheaper than Lenscrafters and word spreads. Now if that's a good thing for Optometrists or not...well IDK, but the Optometrist that did my prescription at Costco seemed happy.

 

[blazenmadison]

I think an OD owns the practice there and is hiring him for four days a week where they estimate he will see 30-33 patients etc..

I still wouldn't do it unless he had a base salary. He could be stuck there for four days seeing 10 patients.

Let's say he did see 30 patients per week (15 being routine eye exams, 15 being contact lens exams). We can charge 60 ($900) for a routine eye exam and 99 for contact lenses ($1485). So his gross could be 2385+ per week or 9540 per month. What's a fair percentage? I've heard of 50-65%. Is he being hired as an employee or independent contractor which could cause him to pay more in taxes?

It's probably in his best interest to find a corporate lease himself and start his own practice. He'll earn more money that way if corporate is where he wants to end up at.

 

[blazenmadison]

Doesn't everyone have a Costco membership?

Doesn't everyone have a country club membership?

 

[janedoe88]

Doesn't everyone have a country club membership?

There is a huge difference in price. Also you probably end up saving money with the Costco card.

 

[janedoe88]

I still wouldn't do it unless he had a base salary. He could be stuck there for four days seeing 10 patients.

Let's say he did see 30 patients per week (15 being routine eye exams, 15 being contact lens exams). We can charge 60 ($900) for a routine eye exam and 99 for contact lenses ($1485). So his gross could be 2385+ per week or 9540 per month. What's a fair percentage? I've heard of 50-65%. Is he being hired as an employee or independent contractor which could cause him to pay more in taxes?

It's probably in his best interest to find a corporate lease himself and start his own practice. He'll earn more money that way if corporate is where he wants to end up at.

I would tell him to go for it because as most people have pointed out on here, jobs are hard to come by these days. Also if he hasn't even graduated yet, it would be good to have on his resume when it comes time to look for a real job. So it would be more for the experience than for the money.

 

[xmattODx]

I would tell him to go for it because as most people have pointed out on here, jobs are hard to come by these days. Also if he hasn't even graduated yet, it would be good to have on his resume when it comes time to look for a real job. So it would be more for the experience than for the money.

Why anyone would take a commercial employment position without a guarantee I do not know. Eight patients per day is not all that many. Sitting around doing nothing, while not getting paid, is not much fun. If you are going to have to "build the practice" you might as well build your own practice.

Working at Costco will never look good on a CV (optometrists don't have resumes). It might not look bad but it won't look "good".

I've realized over the past few years on this forum that another huge problem optometry faces is the employment attitude of new and upcoming graduates. Optometry has never been a career for employees. It is, rather, a profession of self-employment.

 

[thiaeyemd]

Blazen.... thanks for answering the question.. I will pass it on to him...

 

[janedoe88]

Why anyone would take a commercial employment position without a guarantee I do not know. Eight patients per day is not all that many. Sitting around doing nothing, while not getting paid, is not much fun. If you are going to have to "build the practice" you might as well build your own practice.

Working at Costco will never look good on a CV (optometrists don't have resumes). It might not look bad but it won't look "good".

I've realized over the past few years on this forum that another huge problem optometry faces is the employment attitude of new and upcoming graduates. Optometry has never been a career for employees. It is, rather, a profession of self-employment.

I meant he should do if it he gets the "baseline salary and bonuses" included.

 

[Meibomian SxN]

Optometry has never been a career for employees. It is, rather, a profession of self-employment.

Exactly! This is what they do not emphasize to students. Smh.

 

[Shnurek]

Exactly! This is what they do not emphasize to students. Smh.

I tell this to my fellow students all the time. If you want to be an employee then go become a PA. They make almost as much money with 2 years less training. Pharmacists are 99% employees too. I went into Optometry to have my own practice and be self-employed. ODs are licensed to practice independently by law in every state. Why would you want to be somebody's "assistant" for more than a short term while?

 

[hello07]

Alot of pharmacists own their own stores and make alot of money. 3-4X more than what we make. You can be considered self employed by getting paid on 1099's and work for corporate- retail franchises or private practice. They still "own you" because you work for them. If you believe owning your own private practice is easy- go ahead and do it. You have absolutely no clue no idea what it takes to run a business- yes optometry is a business even with your mommies and daddies money that they will give you to open up.

You talk crap out of your butt. You have no clue how difficult this economy past few years have hit practices. I'm sure many practices still do extremely well. Besides the optical part (frames-lenses etc....)those that do very well $$$$ are into medical billing.

I hope you actually walk the walk because you sure talk the talk.

 

[Shnurek]

Good. I'll get back to you in 3-4 years. You have no clue what you are talking about either making assumptions like I have no idea what it takes to run a business. Because you know my life story.

those that do very well $$$$ are into medical billing.

This is exactly what I want to do as per KHE's advice move somewhere to get onto as many medical panels as possible.

 

[The Muffin Man]

One of my friends son's who is at PCO was offered a job at a Costco where he would see roughly 30-33 patients a week and they would give him a percentage of the exam fees only. How much collections does that give the practice (30-33 patients) ?If he has a rough idea he can determine what his takehome will be based on the percentage they offer and see if the job is for him. Thanks in advance.

that sounds fishy to me. If he's working for another OD than the OD should be able to give him a per diem rate or tell him exactly how much he should expect to make. I'd also ask for this rate in writing prior to starting. Also what is the percentage....10% of 33 patients a week is busting your ass for not a lot of take home.

 

[blazenmadison]

Good. I'll get back to you in 3-4 years. You have no clue what you are talking about either making assumptions like I have no idea what it takes to run a business. Because you know my life story.




This is exactly what I want to do as per KHE's advice move somewhere to get onto as many medical panels as possible.

are one of the founders of optometrystudents.com?