last word
Out to Lunch
Karlen McLean, ABOC, NCLC
It's happened countless times. Your stomach is growling and you're goofy from hunger. You finally get a chance to eat and you're slammed with customers.
The dispensary where I last worked had a bell that chimed when the door opened, and we learned how to eat to beat the bell.
STAFF WELL OR STAY IN
How you handle lunchtime in your practice can impact employee and customer satisfaction and retention. To get ideas on how to handle both business and hunger, I asked several independent small optical establishments for advice.
Basically, being able to eat relies on planning ahead. "Giving up lunches buys a great dinner," quips Richard Homier, ABOM-owner of Optical Perspectives in Estes Park, Colo. "Around three times in the last 10 years we've closed the door at lunch for special occasions. Midday has been most profitable time for our practice; we're almost always busy during the 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. time slot."
Lunch out is planned on days when the shop has three employees on site. However, when Homier mans the store by himself, he brown bags it or orders in after 1:30 p.m. "Staying open during lunch is healthy for me and my business," he concludes.
LOCATION MATTERS
Tom Hicks, ABOC, NCLC-owner of Oxford Opticians in Oxford, Ohio, relies on small-town charm to get him by for lunch.
"I've never had a problem with a patient coming by when there's an ‘at lunch’ sign on the door—an advantage of being in a small, small town," he says. "I never go out to lunch unless I'm meeting with a doctor, which is maybe once a month."
Hicks adds, "When I had a second store in a larger city, it was almost impossible to leave the office. I'd get complaints if someone came by when I was closed, no matter how short a time. Just one of the reasons I closed that office and went back to a small-town practice." EB
Creative CuisineMary Seguiti, optician-owner of ii's Optical in Odessa, Fla., currently works on an appointment-only basis, which allows her to effectively manage her time, including lunch time. In the past, she worked in practices where the business provided some of the basics for lunches and the employees brought in some supplement items. For example: "We planned weekly salad lunches with all the fixings, with everyone contributing to the pot. That way we were there for unexpected patient visits, plus we were able to eat healthy. We planned it out; it was very successful," Seguiti says. Brown-bagging may also help dispensers save money. Calculate your lunch-in savings by using online calculators and worksheets on these sites: |
| Senior editor Karlen McLean has been in the optical industry for 35 years. She has spent half of that time in the dispensary. In this monthly column, Karlen shares her own experiences, and hopes you'll share yours. Contact her via email at karlen.mclean@wolterskluwer.com. |
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