In terms of professional prestige, it would be difficult to top the accolade of being the Queen of England’s optician of choice.
But asked for his wider view on the world of optics, Royal Warrant holder Roger Pope does not get caught up in pageantry.
His message is a clear one –the fitting of spectacles has more to do with patients and products than the maths behind dispensing. Moreover, young dispensing opticians and optometrists should be aspiring to open their own independent practices with this simple philosophy in mind.
University courses and CET providers, he argues, must wise up to the value of frame and lens product knowledge, communication and customer service.
‘A lot of people are selling frames, but the dispensing of the lenses is not good. I’m not sure there is that technical expertise out there,’ Pope says. ‘We [Roger Pope Opticians] put a high emphasis on our lenses.’
Other practices, he says, are using unqualified people to choose the frames but expecting the dispensing optician to fit the lenses separately.
‘The two things have to go together,’ he adds. Dispensing opticians should cast their opinion on the suitability of different styles and specifications.
Pope says: ‘You’ve just got to be more pro-active. At the shows in Germany you see a whole different environment in terms of enthusiasm and their involvement in buying product.
‘Are we producing the right sort of dispensing opticians to embrace what is going on both in the lens field and the fashion field?
‘CET should be closer related to what we are doing every day. For example, someone from John Lewis talking about their philosophy on marketing would offer a lot more but it’s not possible under the CET rules.’
The lack of CET funding for dispensing opticians only adds to the frustration on this subject, when a £545 allowance is available to optometrists.
Roger Pope Opticians has been serving patients in Marylebone since 1987. The luxury practice stocks all the brands you would expect in this part of London, proudly displayed in mahogany cabinets originally used to house instruments in Edwardian times.
A back-office workstation has been created for each of the practice’s five dispensing opticians, with a consulting room, accounts office, lab, children’s frames and sports vision area in the basement of the practice. It means everything is being kept in-house and ‘properly balanced’.
Having started his career in the corporate world, Pope now runs two high end practices, on New Cavendish Street and Dulwich Village. He explains how a standout university lecture helped shape his entrepreneurial spirit for years to follow.
He says: ‘Years ago, when I was doing my course, I gained most from a chap called Derek McLaren. He took a two-hour lecture talking about his car, Silhouette frames and advertising. He brought the whole thing together.
‘Students are now being told their career is Specsavers, Boots or Vision Express. But ABDO has introduced a panel of mentors to speak to and encourage people looking to start on their own practices.
‘There might also be a lot of people in their forties working for a multiple who might say they have learned a lot but there are other things they don’t like. This gives them the opportunity to start on their own.
‘The underlying philosophy I had from the beginning is still relevant today. I’ve always been interested in frames, style and keeping good relationships on the supplier side. I have always thought about the stock and been passionate about lenses as well.’
Warranted attention
Roger Pope Opticians was granted Royal Warrant of Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen in 2006 and HRH Prince of Wales in 2014. Pope says the appointment stemmed from its growing reputation with Harley Street ophthalmologists as a go-to dispenser in lenses and frames.
‘We had the reputation, and got a referral from the Queen’s ophthalmologist,’ he says.
The Queen’s eyewear selection happens through a personal dresser but has remained as a Silhouette frame for many years, apart from an occasional foray across to a rimless Lindberg frame, as recommended by Pope.
A warrant holders’ crest is proudly displayed on the practice front, with further certificates, leaflets and books in the practice waiting area. ‘The Warrant shows patients you have reached a level of excellence and that has been recognised by the royal family,’ Pope adds.
‘Compared to a lot of other Warrant holders we have a one-to-one service. We’re more personal than most and we are there to offer a service. But you must be discreet with it. There is an AGM at St James’s Palace, where we also had our 30th anniversary and that was really good.’
Our interview falls between ‘decisive’ votes in UK parliament on the Brexit deal, and, aptly, on the day the Queen herself urged politicians to ‘seek out the common ground’ and ‘never lose sight of the bigger picture’.
When asked, Pope had witnessed little of the well-documented market uncertainty since the initial referendum result, but as a business owner with many European suppliers, the lack of clarity remains a concern.
‘It could only be optics where you’ve not heard a thing and yet we’ve got such close ties with Europe,’ he says. ‘I think the whole thing is absolute madness but other people have a different view.
‘We saw an impact when the vote first came in, when people were so depressed in London. You could see the figures just went [down] and there was general doom and gloom at that time, but gradually it has picked up.’
Royal Warrants aside, Pope remains in touch with the patients he serves every day and is confident that high street success is a simple equation without too much technical maths. That said, a little luxury never goes amiss.
‘We want to have a reputation where nobody oversells but if you want the best, we’ve got the best,’ he adds.