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Advice Central

Get insider lowdown and learn the ropes from five veteran opticians in our virtual roundtable

BY ERINN MORGAN

New to the optical industry and looking for advice on how to excel in your day-to-day job—and grow your career? Look no further than our information-packed virtual roundtable featuring five highly experienced opticians, all of whom have one more thing in common—they started their careers without the benefit of a degree or educational background in opticianry.

WHY OPTICIANRY?

EB: What motivated you to become an optician?

TODD ROGERS: I started on kind of a bet. I worked for corporate America in sales and I had friends that owned an optical shop. They bet I couldn’t be an optician—they said I couldn’t hack it, and I was like, “You guys, this is cake.” But when I started, it was insane, and I realized it was one of the most challenging jobs out there. You are multi-tasking from the time you open to the time you close.

GARY BLACK: My very first job at 17 was at Sunglass Hut. I started in sales and eventually moved into management and then into retail development, where I worked on merchandising and branding. I went on to open my own optical business.

KARLEN MCLEAN: I worked for J.L. Hudson’s in Ann Arbor, MI. They had a secret shopper program and I consistently had high scores on reviews, which won me company recognition. The optical department manager came and said, “You’re the best customer service person; how’d you like to be an optician?” I replied, “What’s an optician?” The pay ($7 an hour!) and the chance to be a professional were alluring; I got my training on-site and at regional seminars.

JULIE SNYDER: What motivated me to be an optician was working at A Child’s View. I have always wanted to work with children and A Child’s View allowed me to be a pediatric optician—a unique and specialized field. It is very rewarding and no two days are ever the same.

DENINE HARRIS: I enjoy providing people with something they need, so when the opportunity arose for me to become an optician, it was perfect. I had the ability to learn skills that could be used to fit patients in eyewear that provides superior vision. Continually learning is an important aspect of my job.

EARLY LESSONS

EB: What’s the best lesson you learned early in your career?

TODD ROGERS: That successful opticians need to learn everything. It sounds basic, but many opticians today may know how to style a pair of glasses and adjust, but they don’t know how to really edge or hand drill or facet polish properly. I believe an optician should be able to run a business if the person who owns it is not there. These skills are going to make you indispensable.

KARLEN MCLEAN: Always know the products—not only the ones you work with, but also those that you might face. Two routine adjustments early in my career taught me this lesson. First, when I tried to cold bend a temple made from Optyl; there was no wire, just the plastic, and it snapped. Then, one time when I put eyewear in a saltpan, both lenses exploded into shards. We repaired the temple immediately and, fortunately, the lens customer had backup glasses. However, neither incident endeared me to the clients!

JULIE SNYDER: The primary lesson I learned was how to interact on two different levels. First, by pleasing and informing parents about why their child needs glasses. Second, by getting onto the child’s level to make him or her feel comfortable and safe. There is no training in the U.S. to fully prepare opticians to work with children. A Child’s View has a very comprehensive training program based on the owner’s two books; plus, I’ve been blessed with coworkers willing to share their skills and passion.

DENINE HARRIS: Never assume your patients are ignorant to products or what has worked best for them. Early in my career as an optician, a high myope came in and expressed that he could not have any material other than CR-39 as a result of chromatic aberration. Because his script was so high, I recommended a high-index material with AR. The patient got the glasses and [said] he couldn’t use them. Not only did he have the glasses remade, I also had to refund his money.

TOUGH TO TAKE

EB: What was the hardest thing for you to learn?

TODD ROGERS: Realizing that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. I had to learn that not every customer would understand what it is you’re trying to educate him or her on—or be able to afford what [is your suggested recommendation].

GARY BLACK: Being able to learn to quickly and effectively identify clients’ lens needs. What’s the perfect lens for their prescription? Instinctively knowing that right away is still a challenge after almost 18 years. It’s all about keeping up with lens technology and learning from regular meetings with our partner labs. People come to us for the best, and today we sell 100 percent digital lenses.

KARLEN MCLEAN: Math, math, and math. Ugh. I was (and still am) terrible with numbers. When I was an apprentice optician, I took three night classes to help me pass the ABO, NCLE, and stringent Florida board exams. I did OK because I was highly motivated and could see how knowing math worked to make success possible.

JULIE SNYDER: The confidence I needed to work with infants. I needed the parents to know I could answer all their concerns plus fit the child properly. This included taking an accurate PD, which takes some practice when an infant is crying! After 20 years, it is now second nature.

DENINE HARRIS: Replacing top liners in rimless frames. Because you have to remove the bottom cord and then guide the liner with very little to hold on to, it definitely took a while to get the hang of it.

EB: What’s the best advice you can offer to an aspiring optician?

TODD ROGERS: Dare to be different. You don’t have to come to work with a Mohawk, but don’t be afraid to stick out from the herd.

GARY BLACK: Practice patience, be genuine, have a point of view, and trust your instincts. And, if you don’t know the answer, ask lots of questions. As you start trusting your gut, you will become more confident.

KARLEN MCLEAN: Treat clients like you would a beloved family member. There may be little time with a tight schedule (both yours and the client’s), but spend it! And explain everything you’re doing and why.

JULIE SNYDER: Know your frame and lens products and the best ways to present them that are honest and easily understood.

DENINE HARRIS: Always know your products inside and out—and believe in the product you’re trying to present because it does show through.

The Opticians

Our five panelists represent a broad range of backgrounds, suggesting the variety of experiences that you, too, may encounter in what will hopefully be your optical career.

GARY BLACK
WHERE HE WORKS:
Founder/owner/optician, Black Optical, with two locations in the Tulsa, OK area
YEARS IN OPTICAL: 18

DENINE HARRIS, ABO
WHERE SHE WORKS:
Lead optician and head of department at the seven-location Moses Eyecare in Crown Point, IN
YEARS IN OPTICAL: 6

KARLEN MCLEAN, (RETIRED)
WHERE SHE WORKED:
A wide variety of dispensing environments, including independent opticianry, optometry, and ophthalmology, as well as corporate
YEARS IN OPTICAL: 37

TODD ROGERS, RDO
WHERE HE WORKS:
Founder/owner/optician, Andover Eyecare optical boutique in Andover, MA, and founder/designer Todd Rogers Eyewear
YEARS IN OPTICAL: 21

JULIE SNYDER, ABOC, SLD
WHERE SHE WORKS:
Pediatric optician, A Child’s View optical boutique, with three locations in Southern California
YEARS IN OPTICAL: 23

Erinn Morgan lives in Durango, CO, where she skis, bikes, runs, writes for EB, and works on the outdoor adventure blog, WomensMovement.com. She has been writing about the business and style of eyewear for more than 20 years.