‘Meet Lizzie. She’s 73, has bright purple hair and turquoise spectacles to match. Lizzie lives on her own 10 doors from our practice. On paper Lizzie is a long way from being our most profitable client. She’s bought one pair of spectacles in 10 years (the turquoise ones) and haggled hard for them.’
That’s how Kent optometrist Alistair Buchanan began his entry in the quest to become Independent Practice of the Year in the 2015 Optician Awards.
And it worked. Here’s what the judges had to say about Buchanan Optometrists: ‘Patients don’t just like this practice. They love it. Buchanan’s entry shows how it connects with the community and demonstrates a real emotional attachment that brings people in.’
The entry went on to say that Lizzie didn’t just come to the practice to listen to live piano music and have a cup of coffee. ‘Lizzie is brilliant for our business,’ said Buchanan, ‘because she knows everyone in a 10-mile radius and will tell anyone who will listen how we prevented her having to give up driving and saved her sight when we spotted a bleed in her eye.’
Something different
For Buchanan, engaging with the local community means going that extra mile to offer something different, such as running monthly coffee mornings where up to 60 people have come along to hear talks about eye conditions and the latest treatments.
‘It started out as an idea to help our clients as well encourage new patients to attend our specialist clinics. It’s turned out we’ve made ourselves a small army of the best marketeers in town. Recommendations and profits have increased considerably. All because we engaged a bit more in the community we live in,’ he explains.
Like many successful practices, involvement in the business community is also important, whether than means giving free advice to other local business owners to help bring more people to the high street, restarting the dwindling Chamber of Commerce, petitioning for better pavements and parking, or raising funds for new Christmas lights.
Supporting the voluntary sector is yet another strength, such as donating £10 from each comprehensive eye examination to a local charity.
‘As all optometrists know the job is not just about testing eyes and selling spectacles, it’s about listening, holding hands and offering comfort to some very vulnerable people,’ says Buchanan.
‘Being an independent we’ve always had the luxury of time and space to be able to offer this in droves and now we’ve used our skills and personality to the benefit of the wider community they’re only too happy to support us back by telling their friends.’
But a practice that has previously won Optician Awards for Technology Practice of the Year and Premium Lens Practice of the Year is also likely to be at the cutting edge of clinical and technical practice. Buchanan’s entry included just six simple points ‘to show we don’t just make great listeners’.
The practice runs regular dry eye clinics, has links with more than 90 local specialist teachers and schools, and dispenses a high proportion of premium lenses. But for the judges, two of the initiatives mentioned stood out from the crowd. This was the first and only practice in the UK to offer Triggerfish glaucoma-monitoring contact lenses. And it held a British Designers Day to celebrate and promote British frame design.
While Lizzie may not be first in the queue for either of these innovations she has played an important part in Buchanan Optometrists success: her story was key in helping the practice win one of the most prestigious awards in the profession.
Independent Practice of the Year sponsored by Hoya
Winner: Buchanan Optometrists, Snodland, Kent
Shortlisted:
GT Harvey and Partners
Gregory & Seeley Eyewear
Taank Optometrists
Valli Opticians