Sue Edwards is the kind of dispensing optician and practice manager every independent dreams of having. Not only is she driven to constantly improve the practice, but she is passionate about delighting patients and the role of the dispensing optician.
Despite that drive, optics wasn’t Edwards’ first calling. She first gained a degree in marketing and worked in the construction sector, rising to run a public relations department for a big construction company before moving into optics.
At first she worked with family members in practice and qualified as a DO in 1996. A short stint in another family retail business resulted in her working as a locum before joining Martin Smith Optician where she is now the DO and practice manager.
She says that her wider world experience enables her to bring more to the role but also realise that DOs don’t always get the recognition they deserve. ‘I think the role is so undervalued by the wider profession,’ she says. She wants more people to understand the skills DOs have and what they can add to the optical experience.
This she says should be used to encourage more people to take it up as a profession and gain registration rather than go on a six week course. She says those who haven’t worked outside of optics could find it harder to recognise they are being undervalued. ‘I think what I have done as a DO is bring a wider mindset to it.’
The practice has a strong team ethos and Edwards makes constant references to the great working relationship she has with Dr Martin Smith and the practice team, particularly her fellow DO Abi Redway-Beach.
However, winning the DO of the Year award was something that she set her mind to. Being a runner- up in 2017 made her reassess her entry and for 2018 she looked to answer the questions in the category criteria to leave the judges in no doubt.
Through the year she made a note of achievements and actions she felt should go into the entry. ‘It was a really thorough process and I spent two nights working on it until 2am,’ she says, in an effort to hit the deadline.
The ethos she sought to portray wasn’t all about actions, dates and clever dispensings. ‘I wanted to get across my way of thinking and I’m completely obsessive about it. Everything I can do I do to make the practice better.’ This attitude is about effort every day, all year, to drive the business on. ‘It’s a way of being and about how I do my job every day of the year,’ she says. It’s also an attitude that links her love for independent optics with clinical excellence backed by superb customer care. Despite the array of challenges posed by competition, the economy and local parking charges independents can tailor the experience, choice and approach to put the patient first she says.
Being announced as the winner and collecting the trophy in front of 550 of her peers and colleagues was an experience she will value for a long time. ‘I’m very seldom lost for words but I was on the night. It’s a long way from the table at the back of the room to the stage.
‘I really didn’t expect to win, I thought you would have to have an angle? Maybe it’s not enough to be another DO?’.
She walked up to the tune of ‘When you are Strange’, by The Doors, following the night’s movie theme, but other than commenting on that to the presenter, ABDO president Fiona Anderson, she doesn’t remember much. ‘My knees were shaking and I was trying to smile.’ But she adds: ‘It felt fantastic.’
The practice has used the award in a targeted way through local magazines to tell its clients about Edwards’ success.
What she says she has come to appreciate is the accolade itself. Having missed out the year before she admits: ‘I really wanted one.’ Initially she kept the trophy at home but it now lives in the reception area alongside other awards the practice has won. ‘I didn’t want to bring it in but I had to.’
The trophy, and other awards, are on clear display and the staff all sport Optician Award pinbadges leaving customers in no doubt that they are in an award winning business, something she says the customers appreciate.
Edwards says the fact that customers notice the trophy and comment on it makes the Optician Awards more than a one night wonder. ‘It’s such a nice trophy, it’s lovely, I make customers hold it so they can see how heavy it is.’ Following her win she received flowers and chocolates.
Elements like the shortlist drinks reception in London a month before the event all add to it. ‘I thought that was really nice, we met some really nice people. You can be quite isolated in optics so I liked the networking and value it immensely.’ It’s an opportunity to find out what they do and learn too, she says.
The presentation evening provided the opportunity to bring other practice staff along and include them in the whole process to get them involved and make them understand what an achievement it is.
It’s clear that the delight of her practice colleagues was Edwards’ greatest prize. ‘Being a finalist is pretty special. When you focus on something it’s nice to get the recognition. It doesn’t make you change what you do but it makes you talk about what you do.’