Sunglass sales can be a problem for an optician. Competition comes from many angles, including the internet and high street retail and department stores – squeezing margins significantly. But opticians are in a prime position to advise patients on the functional side of sunglasses, as the dispensing pointer article in the June 11 issue of Optician from 1965 shows.
The article begins with a straw poll of prescription houses who had been working on sunglass lenses that particular spring. The lack of tinting business was in stark contrast to the several millions of British holidaymakers who would, over the course of the summer, venture abroad – where the sun light experienced would differ greatly from that of at home.
‘How many patients of your patients, taking their car southwards through France in the general direction of the blue Mediterranean, will discover painfully that driving in the sun 300 miles or more south of Dover is not quite the same as driving in the sun 200 miles north of Dover,’ said the article.
It was suggested that asking the patient where they were going on holiday was a good ice breaker for any sunglass talk and then the practitioner had the opportunity to advise on the best sun protection – something which the writer felt was both their right and duty to do.
To demonstrate this new sales technique, the writer recalled a story of a ‘certain optician’ that tested out the holiday line of questioning to his patients for two months. Five additional patients bought sunglasses and more than half a dozen purchased sun-clips recommended by the optician. Not only were these people optically-equipped for their holiday, but were grateful for the extra consideration their optician had shown.
With peak holiday season fast approaching, maybe opticians should consider trying the same tactic.