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Combat online eye wear purchasing by educating your patients, separating fees
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Spectacle frame shopping on the Internet, although not yet as prevalent as online contact lens purchasing, is an issue that opticians and clinicians should be prepared to discuss with their patients.
There is little question that the Internet has made consumers more sensitive to cost issues by providing easy access to Web sites offering frames and lenses at discounted prices. Consequently, many consumers focus solely on the price and lose sight of the big picture: purchasing spectacles in the optometric practice also includes the professional service necessary to ensure a proper fit.
Education is key
What should practitioners tell patients who ask about the discrepancy between the price of glasses in the office and the same glasses — discounted — on the Internet? Educating the patient is the key, according to Marc M. Berson, OD, MBA, in private practice in Allentown, Pa. “The patient should be aware of the different factors that go into properly fitting a pair of glasses: pupil distance, lens materials, proper bridge size, segment height, different types of plastics, the importance of getting everything just right and the ongoing service of those glasses.”
Amy A. Endo, CPOT, chair of the American Optometric Association Paraoptometric Section, agrees with Dr. Berson. “The patient needs to be thoroughly educated on how important a properly adjusted frame is to the successful fitting of eye wear,” she said. “No Internet company can provide the professional services and care that we can provide.”
Web purchasing commonplace?
Ordering contact lenses online is much easier than ordering glasses, once the patient’s parameters have been established. “Keeping patients away from the Internet for ordering contact lenses is much more difficult,” said Dr. Berson. “Here in our offices, we hand them a box and say goodbye. They can get the same box in the mail, because there’s no adjustment. We’re not checking every lens in a disposable pack, whereas with glasses, we are.
“Glasses are still something that people want to try on and see themselves in,” he added. “There are Web sites where you can go and scan in a picture of yourself with different kinds of glasses on. There’s a small percentage of people who will do that, but I still think that most people will want to see it, feel it and get a close look at the color, shape and size.”
Dr. Berson does not believe that online frame purchasing will become widespread. “The Internet will have more of an impact with commodity items like sunglasses. You can just buy them and there’s no adjustment necessary. For a brand of sunglasses that everybody knows, the online purchaser will not be adversely affected. But with frames, people aren’t as familiar with the frame manufacturers, so they don’t know what’s good and what’s not.”
Separate professional fee
Because purchasing glasses online is a relatively new phenomenon, there are no definitive rules in place for practitioners to follow. Sooner or later, most practitioners with dispensaries will have to decide how they are going to handle those patients who purchase their spectacles online. Many patients who choose this route are under the mistaken impression that their optician will service those glasses at no charge.
One way to combat the trend toward online purchasing is to match the price and charge a separate dispensing fee, according to Dr. Berson. “I’ve always been a proponent of matching prices,” he said. “I do that with contact lenses. If a patient shows me glasses they’ve found on the Internet, I’ll match or come close to matching the price and make it up on the professional end. I would break it up into a dispensing fee, just like they do with some insurance plans. I might charge a $25 handling fee to dispense and adjust … and the patient needs to know that any problems he or she may have with the frames purchased online are not our responsibility. Certainly, we’re going to stand by the product if we sell it.”
“Practitioners should develop a professional fee if their patients are going to buy glasses over the Internet,” said Warren G. McDonald, PhD, owner of McDonald and Associates Ophthalmic Consultants in Fayetteville, N.C. “Although we haven’t had a problem with this yet, there may come a day when we will have to start billing our professional fees separately, similar to what happened with contact lenses in the early 1970s. When the soft contact lens was introduced, things became very competitive, and we started separating the fitting fee and the lens fee. I think we may end up doing something similar if the Internet becomes a major competitor.”
Ms. Endo believes the idea of billing separately is a good one, should the market warrant it. “I have usually incorporated the cost of professional services into the price of the completed pair of eye wear,” she said. “However, I would not dismiss the idea of charging a separate professional fee for services. If we charge professional fees for fitting contact lenses, then we should also be able to charge separate professional fees for glasses as well.”
For Your Information:
- Marc M. Berson, OD, MBA, is in private practice in Allentown, Pa. He is also an adjunct faculty member of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. He may be contacted at 31 South 9th St., Allentown, PA 18102; (610) 432-1500; fax: (610) 439-0215; e-mail: Mberson@aol.com.
- Amy A. Endo, CPOT, Chair of the AOA Paraoptometric Section, can be contacted at 98-1247 Kaahumanu St., Ste. 105, Aiea, HI 96701; (808) 487-5500; fax: (808) 486-7006; e-mail: AmyEndo@aol.com.
- Warren G. McDonald, PhD, is owner of McDonald and Associates Ophthalmic Consulting, 210 Rodie Ave., Fayetteville, NC 28304; (910) 484-6226.