4/16/2011 No Experience Necessary, But Knowledge is Required
Posted by 20/20&U Blog Admin
Location: Blogs2020&U
 		    
As we were wrapping up Barry Santini’s excellent cover story about high performance sun lenses for golfers, I picked up the phone and called Barry to review some last minute details. Over the course of our conversation, I remarked that he must be an avid golfer, since he wrote with such a deep understanding of the visual demands of the game. To my surprise, he told me he does not play golf and has rarely set foot on a golf course!

The fact that Barry can explain golf lenses in detail despite his lack of golfing experience illustrates an important point. A good optician must be able to recommend a multitude of lenses to their patients, even if they have not had firsthand experience wearing them. While it certainly helps to have worn a lens yourself when describing its features and benefits to a patient, it is not as important as knowing the lenses’ performance characteristics and being able to match them with patients’ visual needs. You don’t need to know how to fix a faucet to be able to recommend a quadrafocal to a plumber who needs to see objects close up at both the top and bottom of their field of vision. You don’t need to know how to fish in order to recommend polarized lenses to an angler. It’s all part of the art and science of lifestyle dispensing, a process that gets more interesting and complex as more task-specific lenses are developed to meet our increasingly specialized occupational and recreational needs.

Learning about the features and benefits of each new type of lens is a challenge. But you’ll be rewarded with the loyalty of patients who genuinely value your expert advice.

—Andrew Karp
akarp@jobson.com
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Comments (10)   Add Comment
Re: No Experience Necessary, But Knowledge is Required
By Barry Santini		 4/23/2011
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No Comment.
Re: No Experience Necessary, But Knowledge is Required
By Ally Stoeger OD 		4/29/2011
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Experience and Knowledge...and Curiosity. I have learned so much about sports, hobbies and other activities because I ask patients questions about their interesting lives. Amazing how often what I learn from one patient helps me understand the needs of another patient.
Re: No Experience Necessary, But Knowledge is Required
By Bob F.		 4/29/2011
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I think that most experienced opticians adopt a 'jack-of-all-trades' mentality. It is our job to know how a patient will use their eyewear and be able to explain to the patient what they should expect from it. Every patient that we deal with teaches us something. Whether its the plumber that is complaining about the progressives he has been wearing for the past year, or the shooter that needs his flat-top turned 45 degrees, or the golfer that hates multifocals but will not trust anyone else to fill out his scorecard, each patient has a unique perspective and set of needs. We, as opticians, must retain each new piece of information we receive from patients so that we may apply it to the next person with similar needs.

There is absolutely no way to teach for every possible scenario that will occur. But, with experience, each optician learns more about the lives and needs of his/her patient base. And with every patient, your confidence level and knowledge will increase as you recommend better solutions for your patients in the future.
Re: No Experience Necessary, But Knowledge is Required
By Darlene Carnes, Licensed Optician 30yrs		 4/29/2011
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Knowledge is necessary but experience is the key! With over 30 years in the business I see these young people come in and well... they may know the book material but many of them lack the maturity and understanding to handle patients in difficult situations. I have clients wait over an hour to have me help them with their glasses. I have some clients that drive 30 or 40 miles , some of my patients have been loyal to me for over 20 years. I enjoy my profession and I truly care about my clients! That personal touch...the confidence and committment to help the patient in any situation comes from knowledge and experience! The two go hand and hand in my opinion.
Getting the requirements... that's all!
By Gordon Epstein, O.D.		 4/29/2011
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I think what it really boils down to is getting the requirements. Go through the activities step by step, what are the needs and what are the annoyances, how is the head positioned, where are the eyes looking, what are they looking at, how far away. Then the next step. The next step, and so on.

I like to lay it out in a kind of story board (I like to draw anyway). The story board is useful if there is a problem later on. What is the problem? Can you locate it on the story board?

What you don't want is a patient coming in and saying: "I can't see with these glasses." It certainly doesn't help the reputation of the practice!
Re: No Experience Necessary, But Knowledge is Required
By Al Cappara, Optician		 4/30/2011
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Knowledge, knowledge, knowledge! Having it, coupled with experience, sets you apart as a true professional and expert in your field. About experience alone? Many times I've heard about how much experience one has, for example, 10 years worth, only to find out they had 1 year experience 10 times. Keep educated! KNOWLEDGE, don't leave home without it!
Re: No Experience Necessary, But Knowledge is Required
By Marcy Apple, ABOC		 5/2/2011
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When I first read this title I was thinking WHAT? No Expereince Necessary???? But after reading the article I got it. Yes an optical department needs experienced people but we do not have to experience all of life's activities to be able to recommend the perfect optical product to our optical customers. If we really know our stuff we will be able to make sound recommendations. When you know the products features and benefits inside and if you really know your customers wants and needs you and your optical customers will benefit.
Re: No Experience Necessary, But Knowledge is Required
By THE SASSY OPTICIAN		 5/6/2011
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This article makes a great point about selling outside of ourselves. I can't tell you how many opticians I've meet that only sell based on their own preferences. Whether it's sports lenses or a great trendy frame. Good point.
Re: No Experience Necessary, But Knowledge is Required
By GKWITHAM,OPHTHALMIC-TECH,ABOC/NCLE		 5/14/2011
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Shame on our entire industry for allowing the "dumbing-down" to permeate after many years of skilled craftsfolk have kept things going along unti now.

We are working in the 21st century and with all our "tools & high-technology" at our disposal the most important thing is to have improved the person has declined in quality but is working with our patients/ clients/ customers entrusting us with their most precious sense!

In older times we trained by the "GUILD" method and after apprenticeship then journey achieved master of the art of optics/ dispensing. Our industry grew out of a "COTTAGE-STYLE" to the factories that now do the work for billions! However when employers look for experience which = knowledge but wants cheap not good help!

We have reduced the industry to what it is and we should be in professional buildings like professional pharmacies are and we lower our standards as well as make us look like "un"-professionals too!

If we want to improve things we must start with ourselves, FIRST!!!!!
Re: No Experience Necessary, But Knowledge is Required
By steven chen		 6/23/2011
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hello!
i am very like 2020mag, but i am in China, so i want to know how to buy the 2020 magazine, i realy love and want buy this magazine, my mail is willingoptical@yahoo.cn, i am waiting for your good news, thanks a lot!
Have a nice day!

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