Ploarized Water World

 

 

Eliminating glare in all conditions, polarized lenses are top performers on the water. Be the watersports source by knowing what polarized choices work best when adding H2O

 

 

By Karlen McLean, ABOC, NCLC

 

 

Time on the water can be more enjoyable if there is no uncomfortable glare. Images courtesy of Vision-Ease (above) and Kaenon (left)

 

The polarized lens category is more popular for water-based activities than ever before. Polarized options, including color choice, tint

density, and photochromic polarized lenses, are making waves in the category by allowing ECPs to offer multiple performance enhancing visual solutions to their water-loving patients.

 

Fishing and boating, perhaps the two most popular water activities, are prime examples of how polarized lenses can perform for your patients and your practice.

 

 

Fly Fishing: High Country

The peacefulness of fly fishing and the excitement of hooking a water-dancing trout has people hooked on fly fishing in ever-increasing numbers. Knowing how to cater to these individuals, who are willing to spend on gear that lets them enjoy their sport and help performance, can increase your  word-of mouth referrals and revenue.

 

CASTING: Much of the patient base of Heights EyeCare in Billings, Mont., is active outdoors, including hunting, skiing, golfing, and fishing. Patient education on the dangers of ultra-violet radiation and how to

protect eyes from glare is a key component to practice operations, as is first-hand knowledge from the ECP.

 

REELING IN: A fly fisherman himself, Brian Linde, OD, of Heights, discusses polarized lens options with his patients.

�I wear polarized PALs, and I wear them when I�m fly fishing,� he says.  �I can discuss the pros and cons of various polarized lens colors and densities with patients, as can my staff.�

 

For peripheral protection the recommendation is wrap frame styles. As for presbyopes, they need progressive addition lenses that pay attention to glare control and UV protection.

 

 

Conditional Love

Environmental and climate-based considerations should be a large part of the polarized lens selection process. Consider the following:

 

Haze or fog: Yellow or light copper polarized lenses

Bright sunlight: Dark gray polarized lenses

Varying conditions: Polarized photochromic lenses

All conditions: Durable, non-corrosive wrap-style frames or frames with sideshields

 

 

�For a presbyopic fly fisherman, we�d recommend a polarized progressive lens and make sure the seg height was set lower,� says Linde. �That way, they can still see up close to tie flies but have a greater distance viewing area for fishing.�

 

Education on the benefits and usefulness of polarized eyewear gets the usual treatment for a savvy practice: in-office education, promotional videos, and a consistent message to patients. But Heights EyeCare also offers an innovative trial wearing period that often results in multiple pair sales for this practice. If patients are unsure about what polarized color and density they might need, they can borrow two pairs, one brown and one gray, for a field test.

Says Linde. �Patients who take out loaners often return to the office and purchase both pairs.�

 

Athletes on the water must deal with all of the visual challenges of water�s reflections to reach peak performance. Images courtesy of (left to right): Oakley, Polaroid, and Rudy Project 

 

 

Deep Water: Water Community

When your practice is in big water territory, on the ocean, or near a chain of lakes or rivers, getting the word out on what visual solutions are best for water conditions can make your practice the go-to destination for water sport visual solutions.

 

CASTING: A-New-View Optical in Panama City, Fla., is on the Gulf of Mexico. The area is also threaded with rivers that are host to a variety of fish and fishermen. Over the years, they�ve developed a boating and fishing eyewear expertise that their patients count on and recommend to others.

�Many of our patients are fishermen, both ocean and backwater,� says Paul Peterson, LDO. �The majority are already familiar with polarized lenses, but we occasionally get someone in who�s never worn polarized before.�

 

 

Time & Place

Keep the use of polarized eyewear in mind when dispensing.

 

Dusk and dawn: Yellow or copper polarized lenses.

 

Mid-day: Brown, copper or gray polarized lenses.

 

Offshore: Polarized, AR, mirrored.

 

Reading waves: Non-polarized light yellow or copper tint with AR, or light density (�A� level) polarized, light yellow-copper tint with AR.

 

On deck: Polarized PALs or bifocal/multifocals for presbyopes, measured and fitted�typically lower than a normal segment height�for specific usage such as rigging a line (near) and reading gauges (intermediate) while offering wide distance viewing.

 

 

REELING IN: Dispensers we spoke with routinely detail the benefits of polarized lenses for water use and fishing. As a result, they �find that once someone�s worn polarized lenses on the water that thereafter they always want polarized lenses. So the first sell is crucial to building polarized business,� says Peterson.

 

The practice offers deep water and shallow water polarized lenses, typically dark gray for the Gulf of Mexico and brown-amber for rivers.

 

�We�ll also recommend mirror coatings for those who are on the water for two days or more a week, since they benefit from the extra glare protection and heat reduction that mirrors offer in compliment to polarization,� notes Peterson.

 

The practice�s down-home, personalized approach appeals to their customer base, which includes

water-savvy local commercial and pleasure fishermen, �snowbirds� who have second homes in the area, and vacationers.

 

�We don�t use a lifestyle questionnaire,� Peterson affirms. �We simply chat with our patients about things they do outdoors and discuss polarized options.�

 

The practice is ramping it up a bit, however. He adds, �We do

mention polarized lenses in our Yellow Pages ad, and we�re starting to run ads in local papers that highlight our polarized expertise.�

 

Dispensers near bodies of water from oceans to ponds should be ready to discuss the features and benefits of polarized sunwear. Images courtesy (left): Younger Optics and Essilor of America

 

Ice Fishing: Northern Exposure

Lake fishing can encompass many elements: big or small lake, deep or shallow lake, and elevation/ climate considerations.

 

Then there�s the Great Lakes, inland lakes that make Michigan a peninsula and can in turn be pleasant or dangerous for boaters and fishermen. The plethora of Michigan lakes makes the state a water wonderland.

 

For Andersen Eye Associates, an ophthalmology practice in Saginaw, Mich., polarized lens sales are a way of life.

 

�We sell a lot of polarized lenses, typically in gray or brown,� says Roxanne Slancik, optical department manager. �In our ophthalmology practice, most of our patients are senior citizens. Many of those patients are fishermen or boaters.

 

We sell more Rx polarized eyewear than planos.�

 

Outdoor activities, even on the water, don�t stop when the state gets socked in with snow and freezing temperatures. The practice points out to patients that protection from UV and glare is even more crucial in the winter months.

 

�Our patients like polarized lenses as much or more in the winter due to the additional glare from ice and snow,� Slancik observes. �Ice fishing is popular here, and we have several winter festivals geared around ice fishing. On sunny days, our ice fishermen tell us and we agree that there�s nothing better than polarized lenses to cut the ice-induced glare and see down into the frigid water.�

 

Pleasure Boating: Island Life    

Having a practice in a highly populated coastal or lakeside area can naturally ramp up polarized sunwear sales. But knowing how to ask the right questions and what to recommend to whom can make the difference between typical sales and exceptional sales.

 

CASTING: E.D. Moscovitz Opticians in Oceanside, N.Y., caters to fishermen and boaters. Located on the south side of Long Island with bays, beaches, and the ocean at its doorstep, the practice specializes in Rx and plano polarized sunwear. Asking the right questions first, followed by a tight polarized explanation, is how the practice approaches polarized sales.

 

REELING IN: Make sure your patients are educated on the subject, notes owner Eli D. Moscovitz, ABOC. Using a polarized lens demonstration unit �is a real wow factor for patients,� Moscovitz reports. He combines that with a verbal explanation, equating polarization to chatting in a noisy room. �Polarization gets rid of the visual white noise so you can focus completely on what you�re looking at,� he notes. �I also explain that in addition to cutting glare, polarization offers a more defined, 3-D view.� EB

 

 

Making Waves

Stir up your marketing of polarized eyewear by adopting some of the techniques described in this article, such as:

 

Moving Pictures:

Take advantage of the time patients spend waiting by playing informational videos about polarized benefits.

 

Compelling Classic:

A polarized demonstration unit, available through most polarized lens manufacturers, is always a dramatic example of the before and after magic of these lenses.

 

On the Road:

Believe it or not, giving glasses away�just for a trial�may be the best way to sell them. Let people test drive polarized sunwear and the eyewear will become part of your sales team.

 

Both Sides:

Honesty will keep patients coming back. Tell boaters that polarized eyewear may make some instrument gauges difficult to read�letting them know can help them prepare and stay happy.