retail ops

Warranty Wherewithal

Karlen McLean

My experiences in retail optical management and dispensing taught me one thing about eyewear warranties: options, presentations, and materials addressing warranties vary. A lot.

In private practice, our approach was informal. Typically, we didn’t mention warranties, and when we did it was “one year” without details. In corporate optical, we went over warranties verbally with clients and gave them warranty information in writing, usually during dispensing with their eyewear care kits.

Today, there’s a smorgasbord of options available to fulfill eyewear warranties to your clients as well as differing viewpoints as to when to present them. We asked several ECPs countrywide how their practices address eyewear warranties and precisely when staff members discuss those warranties with clients. The results are individualistic and creative, and may help you adapt your own practice warranty policy.

WHEN

Timing warranty discussions for optimal effectiveness depends on the interaction process with each patient, but there are guidelines.

“I present warranties verbally at the dispensing table when the frame and lens selection have been winnowed down to one or two,” says Sharon Leonard, LDO, from Davis Optical in Rome, NY. “I want patients to understand the value of the product right from the beginning. This is especially important when it comes to premium products; they need to know why ‘this’ AR is more costly than ‘that’ one, etc.”

“We usually mention our warranties during the frame selection process,” concurs Susan Smith, LDO, with the office of Marc Sherman, OD, in Longwood, FL.

There are other ECPs who play the warranty card closer to the vest, like Van Y. Rue, owner of Single Vision Express, a lab based in Kirkland, WA. He tells clients about warranties, “verbally, only when asked or I need the warranty to improve patient confidence.”

Still others fine tune the telling to each individual. “For some, we never mention [the warranty]. An example of when we mention it would be a parent with a…child, who was concerned about the durability of a product,” says John Bruening, LDO, owner of nine-location Geauga Vision in Chagrin Falls, OH. The practice also advertises its warranty to set itself apart from the competition.

HOW

There are often two warranty policy positions: the practice’s and the client’s insurance. If someone has insurance, the third-party rules usually apply.

“When it comes to eyewear insurance coverage, we defer to the insurance company’s policy,” notes Leonard. “If you are using an office management program, it’s easy to print out the warranty policy on the patient’s receipt.”

When using printed warranty information, consider the policies of all vendors with which you work.

“I provide a vague statement on the patient intake form [that reads]: ‘Most of our products come with a limited one-year warranty against manufacturer’s defects,’” says Rue. “It’s vague because some accessories and sunwear only have a three- to six-month warranty.”

The most common warranty period is one year, with some exceptions. At Sherman’s practice in Florida, eyewear warranties are for one year, unconditionally, with a few caveats.

“[That’s] one year unconditional with the exception of being run over by a car or eaten by the whales at SeaWorld—true story,” Smith says. “We go over AR as well; that’s two years and up to two times in the same Rx.”

Some practices prefer to keep most warranty information verbal.

“We don’t have anything in writing unless they’re getting a price quote to think about,” Smith says. “And then, we have the prices and warranties listed for them to take. We go over it again with them before they leave.”

Smith offers some leeway as well. “Under certain circumstances, I give good patients favors past the one year on frame lines that I can get credit on beyond the one-year mark,” she says.

Bruening takes a different approach. “Regardless of how the subject is brought up, our warranty is clearly stated in writing, both in the office and on the patient invoice.” EB