EYE ON EQUIPMENT

Fact or Fiction?

4 finishing experts debunk the common misconceptions about in-office edging

I can’t. That’s what many practice or optical shop owners say when asked if they do at least some of their lens edging in-house.

According to an exclusive Eyecare Business survey this year, 48% of ECP respondents don’t do any kind of lens finishing in-house.

We asked equipment reps what they hear in the field from ECPs who have yet to set up a lab, and gave them an opportunity to debunk some of the more common beliefs.

Many thanks to our expert panel of myth busters: John Jeffrey, director of sales, Essilor Instruments USA; Brandie Shaw, national sales manager, Coburn Technologies; Jaysun Barr, senior in-office finishing consultant, Santinelli International; and Kevin Cross, vice president of sales–North America, Schneider Optical Machines.

MYTH: I Can’t Justify the Cost.

It is easier to justify than ever before, based on a few key factors, the most impactful being the adoption of formal in-office finishing (IOF) programs by the major managed vision care plans. These IOF programs encourage the simple ordering of lens blanks, while rewarding ECPs with added reimbursements for performing the finishing on-site and in-office.

What’s more, the participating practice can quickly and easily realize more control of turnaround time, final quality, next-level patient satisfaction, competitive posturing, and increased profits.

It used to be that a practice’s ROI for edging equipment was based heavily on private-pay patients and a significant decrease in cost-of-goods. Today, however, these private-segment savings are seen as “icing on the cake” when leveraging IOF programs with managed vision care plans. These payments commonly completely offset the monthly payment of the equipment and more.

Also, consider the number of extra jobs that won’t walk out the door once you can offer faster turnaround than your competitor.

MYTH: I Don’t Have Enough Room.

Nobody has as much room as they want. But the good news is that ECPs don’t really need any to launch a successful edging lab.

With today’s all-in-one edging systems footprint, the space requirement can be as small as 3 square feet. Think of it as turning a space the size of a closet or small tabletop into one of the highest profit and customer service areas of an office.

Though some shops are putting their labs out front and center to raise customer interest, it’s not necessary. Field reps have told EB about installing equipment in former closets or in the corner of the break room.

MYTH: I Can’t Afford to Hire Somebody to Run the Equipment.

This concern is a valid one in practices with staff who don’t have the appropriate mindset and are willing to support business-growing decisions. However, in today’s progressive practice landscape, with its growing trend of multifunction staff cross-training, several staff members can learn how to perform the simple finishing process. What usually evolves is one of the staffers taking the lead of the responsibilities, with others filling in. This can happen because of the technology in today’s lens finishing systems: Their “one and done” process integration makes them more accurate, user-friendly, and easier to maintain than ever before.

How can you free up staff? Consider the staff time spent tracking a job’s progress through the wholesale lab, handling returns due to inaccuracies, and rescheduling customer pickup times. That can be drastically reduced if the job is done in-house.

MYTH: I Won’t Be Able to Do All Jobs Because of Costly Breakage.

You’ll be pleased with the fact that the breakage issues are not what they used to be in older generations of finishing systems, our experts note. Here’s a tip: start out finishing only the simplest, inexpensive jobs until your operator’s confidence grows.

In time, you’ll be producing beautiful lens work that can be done in a day, making the patient happy, and keeping more of your profits in-house.

—Susan Tarrant