Nominated for the last of 17 trophies to be handed out this year’s Optician Awards evening, the tension was rising as the clock moved towards midnight at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole.
Finally, Edmonds & Slatter in Blaby, Leicestershire was announced as the 2015 Optical Assistant Team of the Year. Cheers followed as the six-strong optical assistant team realised it was well worth the minibus trip and the party could officially get started.
Indeed, there is no lack of camaraderie between staff at the practice, partner Tim Cole tells Optician, with meals out and trips to the cinema together regular fixtures in the diary. ‘The practice is full of laughter,’ says Cole. ‘I always say you’ve got two families – a family at home and one at work.’
Edmonds & Slatter employs the six Optician Award-winning optical assistants, with three on duty at any given time, together with three dispensing opticians and two optometrists at the Blaby practice.
Their duties include the traditional receptionist role, together with minor frame repairs and adjustments, styling, pre-screening, setting up contact lens trials and – for two members of staff who have completed the Level 2 Certificate in Optical Practice Support – offering advice on contact lens hygiene.
Under control
In handing out these responsibilities the management knows the more functional aspects of running a practice are under control and that customer service is never neglected. Cole adds: ‘We haven’t got to worry about the running of the practice because they run it and the fact they have these responsibilities makes them feel special and valued.
‘They are very efficient because if the DOs are busy they are fully aware of what’s going on in the practice. Patients have been coming to us for 30 years and we have seen them growing up. It’s about creating a relationship with the patient so they wouldn’t ever go anywhere else. The main thing is that the patient is kept comfortable and happy.’
The Awards judges were particularly impressed by the team’s willingness to go the extra mile for patients. For example, an optical assistant once drove an elderly lady’s car home for her after she became unwell in the practice. Other gestures include sending golden wedding cards and other congratulations out to patients.
Cole tells Optician of the broad spectrum of patients that visit the Blaby practice, with a spread of age groups rising to some who are over 100 years old.
Nevertheless, the team do not rush to make assumptions about the buying habits of individual customers. Cole says: ‘It’s surprising how many people will spend the money regardless. You cannot judge them, you have to look at them as all the same. It makes it interesting because we are getting all sorts of different people walking through the door. A lot of them we know by name.’
Moreover, Edmonds & Slatter is involved with local sporting teams big and small, from testing the eyes of players from the Leicester Riders basketball team and Leicestershire County Cricket Club to providing training jackets for local football team Epworth Forest. This type of engagement provided more exposure, in a close-knit community where it is not uncommon for Cole to be asked to adjust a pair of specs while out grocery shopping.
Pride and promotion
The company has been able to use its Optician Award online, in local media and on the practice window to gain further credibility in the area. Cole says: ‘When we won the Optician Award it was a mixture of being stunned but also really proud of the team. Our business is built around providing ultimate customer service. We are always aiming for 100 per cent because aiming for 80 per cent gets you nowhere. Because they are the epicentre of the practice that is why we want to concentrate on them and make sure they are happy, rewarded and looked after.’
However, behind Edmonds & Slatter’s customer service achievements is a carefully planned journey that did not magically appear overnight. Each patient is personally greeted at reception as they enter the practice and settle in a waiting area that is quite vast and flooded by natural light owing to the floor-to-ceiling glass frontage.
Once the patient’s details have been checked they are guided through Optomap and field testing by the optical assistant team before the handover to optometrist and dispensing optician. The patient then returns to the optical assistant team for payment before being shown to the door each and every time and bade farewell. This attention to detail was not lost on the judges either – proving that good manners do indeed go a long way.
Optical assistant team of the year
Winner: Edmonds & Slatter Opticians
Shortlisted:
Specsavers Sutton-in-Ashfield
Woodhouse Opticians
Millington Dawson Optometrists
Curtis Opticians
Boots Opticians, Wolverhampton
