The 20/20 Editorial Team

James J. Spina
VP, Editor-in-Chief

Jacqueline Micucci
Executive Editor

Gloria Nicola
Senior Features Editor

Andy Karp
Group Editor, Lenses and Technology

Melissa Arkin
Associate Editor

9/18/2009 BACKWARD TO BASICS
Posted by 20/20&U Blog Admin
Location: Blogs2020&U
 		    
Luxury eyewear? High-end eyewear? Are you folks at 20/20 losing your minds? What’s all this hypo-lux stuff doing in this October issue?

OK. Here’s the new plan: Back to bad basics. I’m going to be very detail specific even giving you a big tip on saving money with your store signage at the end.
  • Salvage a small salad bowl from home. Fill it up with a few boxloads of paperclips, used safety pins, salvaged twisties and a roll or two of clear mending tape. This will be your complimentary repair center for anyone that comes back to your shop with the cheap, junk eyewear you now intend to dispense exclusively. Play up the oversized, jewel-like quality any assortment of these fixes adds to the eyewear including the near-invisible nature of the tape for both temple AND bridge repair.
  • Have a trunk show. No, not of the fashion runway, brand-exclusivity or guest celebrity variety. No, what you need to do is find an old trunk in your attic or basement and dump all the junk eyewear you’ve been storing up for years into this trunk. Determine a price bottom ($2.99) and ceiling ($3) and stand outside the door of your  shop yelling “Trunk show!”
  • Become the go-to specialist in no-frills lens add-offs. No AR. No coatings of any kind. No variety of materials. No progressives. Absolutely NO progressives. Push the retro look of bi-focals. And tri-focals with special attention given to lines zig zagging across eyeballs and ALWAYS make a point that YOUR practice specializes in no adapting issues OR chatty solutions.
  • Sun: None. Why bother? There are plenty of vendors at freeway rest stops selling counterfeit brand sunglasses with fashionably colorful lenses. And if your patient wants something more, direct them to a sport store or a department store where they can get some shades without the hassle of any professional optical specialist mumbo-jumbo.
  • Alter your store sign. I’m sure it says “optical” somewhere in its title. Change it to “floptical.” Wasn’t that easy? And you can now use this same sign as you move from location to location in a valiant attempt to avoid having any loyal patient/customers.
NOW you are truly living the life of an anti-lux floptical professional.

James J. Spina
Editor-in-Chief
jspina@jobson.com
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Comments (6)   Add Comment
Re: BACKWARD TO BASICS
By Dr. Mark Gendal		 10/13/2009
s
You forgot to add a FREE EYEGLASSES TOMORROW sign!!!
Re: BACKWARD TO BASICS
By michèle		 10/14/2009
s
well I did step back too!
this is what I did : www.micheleb-eyewear.com

I was first working in France, then moved to south Florida. When I arrived, I thought wow things are bad ( insurance, buy one get one......)
had to have something special. This is when I worked like crazy to come up with new and flattering stuff
Now I am back in Paris and this is what I did discover: it's even worst here : by one get 2 free + free eye exam.
Lucky me to have this chance to compare!
miss you guys!
Re: BACKWARD TO BASICS
By declined		 10/14/2009
s
Wow, that's pretty offensive. How about some constructive suggestions instead of sarcstic jabs at offices trying to survive, let alone grow in this economy?
Re: BACKWARD TO BASICS
By Cristina Alvarado-Peraza		 10/14/2009
s
It sounds ridiculous, but honestly when my customers do not want to spend then I begin to take off AR, change to cheaper material, and then their faces change and they begin to panic....At the end they compromise and we make the sell...but I make sure that what they paid for is exactly what they get...
Re: BACKWARD TO BASICS
By 1EE651B2-BBC2-423A-8A75-24BB21CF8CB5		 10/15/2009
s
75% of all US eyewear sales are under $200 retail. There are many "house" brands of eyewear available that are coming off of the same manufacturing lines where many of the well known "designer" lines are made. Quality is often comparable, if not superior, and prices are more reasonable. You also can expect to recieve great service from the vendors that are not required to enforce minimum inventory requirements or minimal discounts. Let's face it, this industry can be recession proof, but lets not be arrogant. We all need to make changes to be sure we are able to provide the end user with a product they need, want and can afford as well as keeping the Independent ECP profitable!
Re: BACKWARD TO BASICS
By CA402CE4-1A39-4464-B412-0E07DF2281E6		 10/19/2009
s
I enjoyed your October, 2009 issue of 20/20 Editor's Letter. It was cleaver, and to the point.
Here are some other perspectives on" Back to Basic" in:
* Reduce peripheral vision of your patients with wide temple designer glasses.

If they get injured, or worse, your have more time to spend with new patients.
* Use only wide temple frames for prescription glasses, that cause your patients to step off the curb in front of unseen approaching vehicles.
* Encourage contact lens patient to wear wide temple protective sunglasses, not only to protect their eyes from ultraviolet light, but block all peripheral light and vision. The hazards of unseen peripheral movement will become very apparent.
* Advice if you do any of the above: Increase your insurance umbrella coverage, and interview and retain high profile malpractice attorneys soon.
Howard Levenson, O.D.

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