Winning the Multiple Practice of the Year Award has never been about being big and this year’s winner, Boots Optician’s Truro, provides a masterclass in optical care for the individual under the branding of a national icon.
Katie Berriman, area manager Devon and Cornwall, and James Worthington, resident optometrist, exude the kind of relaxed professionalism that suits the Cornish city to a tee. They stress the team effort involved in winning the award and are keen to highlight Eve Lambert’s role in leading that team. Lambert, a former Dispensing Optician of the Year, is an inspiration, says Berriman and sets the tone of laid back professionalism through her relaxed management style. Lambert is well known in the region and her approach has seen many Truro staff move on to roles around Devon and Cornwall building the wider Boots team’s cohesion.
The judges were impressed by the winning entry’s ethos of putting the patient first. Berriman, who penned the entry suggests that Truro has an independent feel. ‘It’s that magic feeling where the customer is the most important thing.’
This is achieved by not just having the right skills but the team understanding which of its members have which skills and calling on the right skills at the right time, says Worthington. ‘We know which patients are coming in and which strengths and whose strengths to use. It’s about tailoring the experience to the individual. We treat it like our own practice, our own money and our own patient.’ In practice that relates to a ‘keep it simple’ approach which makes the process smoother and the patient more relaxed, he adds.
Worthington, who has experience of other optical brands, says Boots has that feeling of a healthcare business something that struck him when he first moved to the company. In the Truro branch, that culture of matching the staff skills to the patient’s needs means if a patients needs a longer consultation they get it. ‘People expect a bit more from Boots because we are more interested in the health of the eye,’ he says. What backs that up says Berriman is the strength of the brand. ‘Boots means trust,’ she adds.
That does not mean the team hides its light under a bushel. Alongside its Optician Award the practice has won the Boots Opticians practice of the year while Berriman is the holder of a Legendary Leader award.
The delight of being shortlisted for an Optician Award was increased on the presentation night through a WhatsApp group. ‘There was a huge amount of excitement,’ says Berriman. Worthington says he was also pleased to see: ‘a little beacon of blue’ among the shortlist which was dominated by Specsavers practices.
Truro’s triumph has since been trumpeted both in Boots’ internal magazine and on its intranet. The practice uses the Optician Awards logo on its communications and the Truro team is working to get coverage in the local press. The win has not gone unnoticed by customers as the Optician Award sits alongside other trophies in the practice’s reception area. The win also prompted a visit from Boots Opticians managing director, Jonathan Gardner, which added to the kudos of the Award for the whole staff.
The Awards night is clearly fresh in the duo’s mind and they have nothing but praise for the Optician Awards process. ‘The quality of the journey has been exceptional’, says Berriman, while the London shortlist drinks party and the presentation evening were both ‘joyous events’. The presentation ceremony was well attended, professionally put together and had a special feeling about it, she adds.
On the night team members, managers and the Boots Opticians MD were on hand to enjoy the moment. ‘You can’t describe the feeling waiting for that “and the winner is” moment. Everyone just jumped up, we couldn’t believe it really,’ says Worthington. ‘Every practice has its issues and you never think you will win but it just all came together.’
Berriman begs to differ. ‘I knew we would win, putting the entry together was simple and just came naturally’, she says. Worthington sums up in true A Team style saying everything was right at the right time: ‘It’s great when a plan comes together.’
The Award is a powerful force they now want to build on. The team feel like winners, says Worthington. ‘From a personal point of view it is one of the things that will stick in my mind forever. ‘It’s like the Oscars, it is a big thing.’ He says now the practice has scooped the best two awards in the business it has to decide what to go for next and he’s eyeing up other categories for next year.
Berriman says what she wants to do now is ‘bring the night to life for our teams and the area’. ‘It’s a beautiful trophy, a good night and an aspirational award, what we are trying to do is bring to life what’s it’s like to win.’ And she does not just mean in Truro but around the region’s 16 practices which she describes as the broader team. ‘As an area it has given us a real hunger,’ says Worthington. ‘Nobody could have been more pleased for Truro than Devon and Cornwall.’ A sentiment echoed by Berriman. ‘We were all there, all Boots was with us on the table that night. We were representing the whole of Boots and this part of the country. You just can’t buy that sort of experience.’