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Sears, Pearl, Lenscrafters Commercials...
Started by jymezg
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Yes! Even on channels that I didn't use to see them (espn)
1800 contacts commercials are bountiful too...
1800 contacts commercials are bountiful too...
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You have to think about this problem/issue a little bit differently....
Motel 6, Walmart, Pearle Vision, McDonalds all provide reasonably quality products at competitive prices.
Yet Ritz Carlton, BMW, Spark's Steakhouse etc. etc. are all doing splendidly.
The quesion you need to be asking yourself is "how do I become the Ritz Carlton?" Not how do I out-Walmart Walmart.
Well said. I do think that I notice the commercials more now that I am headed to school this August. But I do think it has been happening for a while and many optometrists are doing quite well - people will pay to go to a doctor they trust and have a good relationship with. Don't underestimate the power of customer service.
But that's missing the point a little bit.
The tacit implication in that posting is that those other entities mentioned are providing poor customer service when in actual fact, they are NOT. They provide excellent customer service. You don't become a multi-billion dollar enterprise by being jerks.
What they provide is VALUE FOR MONEY or at the very least PERCEIVED VALUE FOR MONEY.
That's the key. You have to provide value, or perceived value, not just "customer service."
An example....my wife's birthday was a couple of weeks ago and I asked her what she wanted. Her response was "a Coach bag."
Now, my wife is NOT a fashion maven by any stretch of the imagination and she's not into designer labels at all. I freely admit that I did not really know what a coach bag is but I knew enough to know that it was an expensive purse.
Ok, so I'm away at a conference and there happens to be a Coach store near the hotel I was staying at. I wander in and talk to the "queer eye for the straight guy salesman" who shows me a selection of bags, the cheapest one is $400. That's right....FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS. For a leather bag.
So anyways, I did not buy it for her but I told her if she really wanted one to go pick one out and buy it herself because I don't know what she likes. She has yet to go get one, and God willing she won't but she was willing to spend $400 on a bag, when she could probably get 40 purses for the same $400 at Walmart that will work just as well.
But she valued the "coach bag." The coach store provided "perceived value" for that $400.
See the difference there? Now how do you want to apply that to your future private practice?
True, I thought about that before I posted. But then again, I watch more TV than is considered healthy
Excellent post. I was merely stating that I was seeing more sale commercials than ever. But this has turned into a productive topic 👍
The difference is clear. But in a world where "bottom line" is key for most families on a budget how is this accomplished?
Well, let's play "The Apprentice" for a second here....
I know you have not started optometry school yet. However, clearly you've thought about it, at least somewhat.
What would YOU do to make your practice the "Ritz Carlton?"
Others....please feel free to chime in.
The office that my grandparents in Florida go to has refreshments AND blankets in case people get cold - that is 5 star treatment right there!! 😀 I definitely at least want to have coffee available to patients if/when I have my own practice one day. I also have dreams of having all this fancy schmancy equipment we have in our clinic, but um, we'll see how all that turns out! 😎
As far as the OP - I've noticed a TON of those commercials lately, and I've been paying attention to them for a year now I guess. I think it's just them trying to take advantage of the economy and the fact that most people don't have $700 to spend on glasses right now (except this woman I had to listen to at a restaurant the other night complaining about how her $700 glasses had a huge scratch on them "and I got ANTI SCRATCH COATING!!!").
Welp. I gotta start with LOCALLY advertising QUALITY eyecare over the "sweet deals 🙄" the corporatations offer. I think word of mouth is one of the biggest factors, but then again I'm from a small town.
Making sure patients feel like they are getting their money's worth. Ie, not seeming rushed.
One of the OD's Ive been working with has this computer system set up in all his exam rooms that is preprogramed to play specific info while the patient waits. Ex: Patient scheduled with history of glaucoma, it plays a informative glaucoma spoof. There is one for first time contact wearers about pseudomonas infections (gnarly pictures 😱.) Kinda off topic but i think it adds a nice touch to a patient visit.
Thats what I got to start with...
I guess my point didn't really come across properly. I am not saying you need ONLY customer service. You do need to combine that with the value that people are receiving. But I do think that customer service is a very important quality of any company. I personally will pay a few extra dollars if I am treated well and will go back to specific stores that treat me well, be it health care or frivolous purchases.
I think one disadvantage of the commercial companies is the fact that they are separate from the doctor. In a private practice you have more control over the whole experience. If you don't like the way that someone you work for handles something you can talk to them to fix the problem. In the chain stores, you don't have that control because more often than not the opticians don't work for you. Now I will admit that private practices might have to deal with some of the same difficult employees and some commercial stores won't have that issue - it does go both ways.
As for suggestions I like something I saw at one of the doctors I shadowed. They would have the contact orders ready for the patients, bagged in these cute plastic bags with eyeglasses, R&L boxes already marked, a case and solution, stapled with the patient's name on them. I thought that the couple extra minutes you put in ahead of time to get it ready really made it better for the patient when they came in to pick up. Instead of standing around while the employee checks to make sure things are correct and organized. We seem to live in a world that is constantly go, go, go. Little things like this make a difference.
Also having staff that is able to greet repeat patients by name is very beneficial. It allows your patients to feel more welcome which will keep them coming back.
I would also think about the idea of referral benefits. I know that I get free products or discounts at my salon when I send a friend there. Usually I rave about the service I get (because it is true) and they have the same experience. Suddenly they have a new client, I get a discount, and my friend now has somewhere to go of excellent quality. It would take some tweaking to figure out the best way to use it in a private practice setting.
Ok....that's one good option. A good start to differentiate yourself from the rest.
Ok....so things like that happen sometime. What would you do if that was your patient? What would you tell that woman to do?
In your opinion, what constitutes "quality" care and what makes you think that the chains aren't providing it?
Ok...good start. But keep in mind that many patients don't want to come into your office and spend two hours chit chatting or having a bunch of needless tests done. People have busy lives and want to get back to them as quick as possible. How do you balance the "not rushing people" with not pissing people off because you tried to do an hour and a half long 21 point OEP exam?
Ok...so that's a good example of alternative patient education materials that not every office has. Something that would in fact, set your office apart.
All of these are good suggestions....keep them coming and once we get a few more responses, I'll chime in on what has worked (and not worked) in my office.
Can you provide three examples of what you think would constitute "good customer service" in an eye clinic?
Interesting and legitimate point made there.
EXCELLENT! That's a great example of the "little things."
Also excellent! Let me share an experience I had just yesterday, in New York City.
I attended a conference in the city. Whenever I travel somewhere, I always try to stay at the absolute nicest, fanciest hotel I can afford. The reason for this is that as a younger man, I would try to save money on hotels and it almost always ended in disaster. Often times, I would end up in some place where maybe the weather turned out to not be great, or maybe you ended up feeling poorly. Having to spend time in some dank hovel is NO fun. If I'm on the road traveling, I have no qualms staying in crappy places for a night and being on my way. But once I get to my DESTINATION, even if it's only for one night I always stay someplace nice.
Yesterday, I checked into a hotel I had stayed at a few times before and always had a great experience. Once I got to the check in counter, I was informed that they had already checked my into my room. They had my key and little info package all ready to go. The bellman pretty much grabbed my bag out of my hand and raced off to get it into my room.
Here's the clincher...
This particular hotel has a little chocolate boutique located in the lobby. The last time I had stayed there, I had purchased a small amount of chocolate covered marzipan treats, which I love. I don't really recall but I must have had some sort of conversation with the clerk about how much I liked these marzipan treats. She must have put that into their computer or something because when I got to my room yesterday, there was a small plate with four chocolate covered marzipan treats on a fancy little plate with a hand written note from the hotel manager welcoming me back to the hotel and mentioning that they knew I liked their marzipan so much that they left some in my room for me.
What do you think of that?
Ok....so throw out some suggestions on how you would like to tweak that?
This is a good thread! Keep it going and keep the suggestions coming!
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I was mainly referring to my experience shadowing in a corporate setting. (Which I disliked very much.) I meant to say: Quality: "more than a refraction". My corporate experience, although short, was merely refraction after refraction after refraction. Nothing that constituted "quality" IMO.
I think this is a toughey and I don't know of a magic formula. My best answer would be to look at personal/family history and focus in on the most relevant areas to the patient. "Hey your family has had diabetes since the dawn of time, lets thoroughly check for signs of diabetic retinopathy"
***I'd like to add another "to set my practice apart" ideas. I've shadowed with an OD that had a practice opened with another OD and a few ophthalmologists (I only met the corneal and retinal specialists while shadowing). I really like this idea because you don't have to reference patients across town. Let me share an ex:
OD is doing a routine eye exam with a woman complaining of blurred vision due to a cataract. OD says the cataract isn't that bad yet and while surgery is an option, it should wait. The woman becomes angered because she doesn't like the blurry vision and the OD goes right down the hall and grabs Dr. Corneal specialist, MD. He takes a look, agrees with OD, and tells the patient to come back in 6 months and he would do the surgery. Patient is happy, and will come back.
I think it is a GREAT way to set your practice apart if you can say "I think you need to see a specialist for this, let me reference you down the hall." It also increases the likelihood that your patient will come back IMO.
