By Raymond J. Brill, OD, MBA, FAAO, FOAA
An in-house lens fabrication system produces fast, high-quality lenses for patients with minimum staff skill or time required.
High-quality lenses that can be produced in as little as an hour and require no more than just a few hours of staff training to produce–right in your own office–offer patients fast service and a premium product. Those were the thoughts behind my decision to invest in an in-house lens fabrication system. The system I chose, QSpex, has proven to be a practice differentiator. Here are key points from my experience with this system and tips for other ODs who would like to invest in a similar system.
The optical dispensary of Brill Eye Center in Mission, Kan.
Potential of Lens
Fabrication Technology
I have used QSpex since October 2012. I was interested in the system as an early adopter of technology. The premise that I could mold an anti-reflective coated digital progressive lens and have it ready for delivery inside of an hour was intriguing. My goal was to significantly ramp up our service level and at the same time control our product quality. While other casting systems have been in existence in the past, they were not digital, did not have AR, and were cost-prohibitive. I had a demo in my office and additionally found out that the system was exceedingly affordable and easy for my opticians to use. The concurrent benefit of enhancing profitability plus dealing with a service-oriented company–all with a six-month total risk reversal–clinched the deal.
Price Out System and ROI
The system cost under $10,000. It included the monomer filling unit, the curing and annealing unit and a cabinet that included 1,206 molds for digital SV and PALs, Polarized SV and PALs, and photochromic SV and PAL molds (still to come in May 2013) that are housed in a handsome rolling cabinet. Training, included with the purchase, was excellent and thorough.
The system sits in my lab and consists of a 15” wide curing and annealing module next to a 10” wide filling unit. The rolling mold storage cabinet is 3’ wide by 2’ deep by 42” tall and is sleek and modern-looking.
Profitability is easy to achieve. As a benchmark, I figured that the sale of two pairs of digital AR PALs a day would be necessary. You save roughly at least $100 per pair of lenses. That comes to a break-even for the return on investment in about two months. Another plus: we can control the timing of the job delivery and staff expense of dealing with all of the logistics of shipping with couriers, damaged-in-delivery products and other nuisances of dealing with an outside vendor lab.
Competitive Advantage
QSpex allows us a competitive advantage that other opticals and practices don’t have. This higher level of service adds to our portfolio of differentiated offerings and helps to exceed patients’ expectations. With patients instantly communicating through social media about their experiences, word can travel quickly. Our unique selling proposition of offering high quality at reasonable fees in a warm and friendly environment goes hand-in-hand with the QSpex system. While this does allow us to compete with the big box stores, our overall strategy is to give a “wow” experience so that patients return and refer others. The brand we have built over the last thirty years is that of high quality and trust. QSpex serves to bolster that brand image in the marketplace.
The primary lenses we make are AR coated digital PALs. We have the ability to make SV lenses, but there is not a cost advantage over stock lenses, just a time-to-deliver advantage. Polarized lenses are not as commonly ordered, but can be made just as easily. Time to train the staff was about two hours for someone who has no experience. The QSpex System is extremely simple to use. All the lenses are equally easy to produce–just fill the mold, cure, anneal, and edge and mount.
Quality Lenses, Same Day Service
We relish controlling the quality of the lenses dispensed and the ability to offer same-day service. Including the filling of molds, curing and annealing, edging and mounting, the time to deliver a finished product is about one pair per hour. Of course, you can make more lenses in an hour; this just represents the cycle time of the lab per job. We can tell a patient to come back from lunch and their glasses will be ready. We have a very busy specialty contact lens practice. Sometimes patients do not keep accompanying glasses and are forced to get glasses when their eyes are irritated from abuse or noncompliance while they were patients elsewhere. They now can get state-of-the-art glasses quickly and safely with a high quality product from our office and not have to wait several days or go to a big-box store.
Have the Conversation with Patients
We explain that we have new superior capabilities to produce lenses in our lab in a majority of cases. It allows us to retain Rx’s where speed of delivery is critical, especially when a patient is under the perception that we will not be able to compete with the heavily advertised big box stores in the malls. With patients who may not have any glasses, or are primarily contact lens wearers, this helps us exceed expectations. Sometimes this is explained in the exam room during the patient hand-off and sometimes it is elicited during the frame selection process when patients are in a time crunch due to their busy lives.
Don’t Pre-Judge Patients’ Purchasing Ability
We presumptively assume that patients want the best of everything and let them correct us if that is not the case. We do not look into someone’s pocket or assume that they do not want what we offer. Most patients will feel comfortable making purchases in our upscale practice, unless they are totally concerned only about price or are online purchasers that want a “less-for-less” purchasing experience. We prefer the branding of “more-for-the-same” or “more-for-more” to keep our stellar reputation and patient satisfaction on a high level, as shown by internal surveys and online ratings.
Related ROB Articles
In-House Lens Casting = Fast, Cost-Efficient Service
Gain a Competitive Advantage: Multiple Ophthalmic Lens Edgers
The Optometrist to Dispensary Hand-Off: An Open Dialogue Can Improve the Outcome
Raymond J. Brill, OD, MBA, FAAO, FOAA, is the owner of Brill Eye Center in Mission, Kan. To contact him: .drbrill@brilleye.com
