Why Your Optician is NOT a Salesperson

One thing that truly hurts my heart is to hear people say, “You’re such a good Salesperson” or “You must be paid a commission.” Those comments are from the patients. The comments from the practice are, “Optical is Retail” or “selling glasses is just like selling a car.” There is a little truth to the statements, but if the Optician is doing what they have been trained to do, not much. Yes, a product is being sold, and, yes, you need somewhat of a personality to connect with the person who is buying. However, it’s so much more than sales. I am an Optician. I do not consider myself a salesperson. I do not consider the career I chose as retail. Here’s why.

Medical Professionals, Not Salespeople

An Optician is a Medical Professional whose job is to educate their, and your, Patients on the benefits of a Medical Device. A medical device that will improve the patient’s quality of life, if fit properly. Would you haggle the price of other medical devices, such as prosthetic limbs and wheelchairs? No, you wouldn’t. So, why is it okay for our patients to haggle the price of a medical device that sits on their faces? The perception we give our patients is the reason why they think it’s okay. Would you consider your Cataract Councilor a salesperson? Lenses are lenses, whether they are inside or outside of your eye. A pair of premium eyewear, or five, being sold is a product of proper patient education, just like a premium IOL being sold is the product of the same thing.

Why is it okay for other medical professionals to treat Opticians as a separate part of the office, or as the “redheaded stepchildren” of the practice”? Excuse the analogy, but I hear it in every office I visit. The truth is, it’s NOT okay. The people who have championed this perception are short-sighted businesspeople who are more concerned with cutting salary costs, than your patient’s well-being. The funny thing is if you invest and elevate your Opticians your bottom line will benefit, not suffer.

When the optical is treated like it’s a gift shop at the end of the ride, or your Opticians are treated as someone who is just trying to sell something, it’s a disservice to your patients. It shows your patients you don’t have trust in the frontline of your practice and that you don’t feel like they deserve to be educated by an expert. It also minimizes the career your Opticians have chosen.

Being an Optician is a Career, NOT a Stop on the Way to a Career

Unfortunately, only about half the states require licensure for Opticians. In some states, you need schooling and extensive exams to earn a license. In others, you need a license to groom a dog, but not to give someone the gift of sight. Scary, huh? Who do you think lobbies against Optician licensure? You guessed it, those same businesspeople mentioned above. Luckily, there is a national certification, that may not be as extensive but will give an Optician some knowledge to help your patients. If the Opticians in your practice are not, at least ABO (American Board of Opticianry) certified, I suggest offering the certification as part of their career pathing.

An Optician becomes an Optician for the same reasons why most doctors become doctors. They want to help their patients. Opticians, even in unlicensed states, will work hard to learn how they can help their patients more effectively. It takes knowledge, and practice to measure a pair of glasses properly. It takes training to know how a patient’s lifestyle affects visual needs. It takes problem-solving abilities and talent to troubleshoot issues, such as double vision, blurriness, or even a sore nose. Your Optician wants to help those people. They want to see a baby’s eyes light up when they put on their first pair of glasses. That is their ‘Why’. Most Opticians are “lifers” because of their ‘why’. If you give your Opticians the tools, and respect their ‘why’, through their elevation, the practice will prosper.

Changing Perception is a Tough Job

Think about the culture you want in your practice. Do you want your patients to feel like they are on an assembly line? Do you want a rash of rechecks that could be solved in the dispensary, but are now taking chair time? Do you want any part of your team to feel undervalued? Do you want productivity to drop because your staff is not engaged? I hope you answered ‘No’ to every one of those questions. Often, when I visit practices, I see how unengaged the optical staff is. I’ve spoken to hundreds of Opticians and almost all of them don’t feel like their career choice is truly understood by their coworkers. The perception of Opticians being salespeople has taken a toll. Changing that perception is a hard job and can only be accomplished if everyone in the practice is on the same page. A page that builds people up and does not belittle anyone else’s career choice.

The best way to build a positive culture is through inclusion and respect. Allow the departments to work interdependently with each other. Each department needs the other, and all reflect on the practice. Make the optical part of the refractive exam process. Let your patients know your Opticians are trusted, medical professionals. There to educate not sell. Invest in Optician elevation. Invest in growing your Opticians’ careers. Encourage each department to learn from the other. It’s hard to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Asking members of your staff to do it for one day could make a huge change and light a fire for someone again.

Forget about cutting costs on staff to improve your bottom line. Don’t let people who do not understand the job dictate how your employees are treated. The people who push that do not care about your patients. They don’t care that they are minimizing someone’s career choice. If you do care. Which I hope you do. Find other ways to improve your profits. I know from experience and have built a business using the other ways. Don’t put profit before patients. Invest in your people. They are what sets your practice apart. Bring the medical back into optical. Through excellent patient care, the money will follow.