Social distancing and infection control measures implemented since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic may seem punitive to bottom lines. However, going appointment-only and reducing patient numbers can allow forward-thinking dispensing opticians to take on a more consultative role in the eyewear purchasing process.
The one commodity that most practices have at the moment is time and, with fewer patients coming through the doors, that time can be used by staff to give patients new levels of attention and service.
Seen Opticians
At Seen Opticians in Manchester’s St Ann’s Arcade, service and experience has always been the top priority, but owner and optometrist Tareq Moustafa says challenges posed by the ‘new abnormal’ has allowed the team to ‘up their game’ even more.
Seen’s square footage is relatively small, so some of the capacity challenges have not been so noticeable, says Moustafa. ‘Normally, there would be three or so small groups of people trying glasses on at the same time, but we would have to jump between them as there would be a phone ringing or somebody trying collect some glasses. Now, we have a maximum of two groups, so it’s pure focus on the customer, which is fantastic,’ he says.
The practice closed its doors when non-essential retail was included in lockdown restrictions in March but offered remote triaging when needed. Doors opened again on June 8 and Moustafa says the last few weeks have been successful, but at a capacity staff feel comfortable dealing with.
Moustafa says Seen’s reputation has been built upon great styling and niche eyewear brands, so the practice has been in an advantageous position, even if it has meant other practices are now treading a similar path. Ensuring that the patient experience of having fun selecting frames has come with a new set of challenges in the form of enhanced sanitisation. ‘We don’t stop anybody trying frames on. We explain that they can touch whatever frame they want to try on, but it can’t go back on the shelf, it must go into a designated tray for cleaning.
‘The act of asking people to do that instantly means that they don’t want to try as many on as they perhaps would have done three or four months ago, because they don’t want to add to our workload,’ says Moustafa.
PPE is used by staff and patients when in close quarters, but customers are allowed to remove it when assessing how a frame looks. ‘I feel that there has to be a point in every dispense or styling consultation that requires the customer to take off their mask,’ says Moustafa.
‘They have to look at themselves without the mask and women have to move their hair around. We fully embrace that so most of the styling appointment for us is done with distancing and without the customer wearing a mask.’
Clean getaway
Like most practice owners, Moustafa spent a long time considering how best to clean the frames in practice. Unlike most, however, he went direct to the frame brands to seek out the best advice. One of the more interesting conversations he had was regarding the use of UV light. Many suppliers have started to offer tabletop UV light boxes where a number of frames can be sanitised at one time, but a potential problem came to light. ‘One of the comments that stuck with me was that UV is what’s used in factories to artificially age a frame for quality testing materials.
‘That instantly made me ask the question “why would I age a client’s frame?” While it wouldn’t make much of a difference in the immediate future, it would impact the overall life of the product and who knows what it will look like two years down the line.’
Screens help consultations feel more normal
Alternatives like alcohol were quickly ruled out because of the high-quality acetate used by the brands stocked in the practice and in the end, the government recommended gold standard of washing for 20 seconds with soap and water seemed like the best way to go says Moustafa. ‘The only potential downside is that the core wire on an acetate frame could get damp and could ultimately rust, but we’ll take the hit on that if we have to at some point. But I don’t believe that’s going to happen,’ he says.
Rachel Murray Eyecare
For Sligo-based Rachel Murray Eyecare, the road to normality started on May 18, when optical practices in Ireland were allowed to open for non-urgent eye care needs. Owner and optometrist Rachel Murray says the first week back was quite daunting because most of her practice-owner peers are UK based, meaning there was little to benchmark against, but she is now back in the swing of things and enjoying seeing patients once again.
More recently, however, Murray says things have been a lot busier, with full appointment books and a number of new patients: ‘Many patients are remarking on how much they have actually enjoyed their visit into see us since reopening, I feel this is due to that fact we have slowed things down and spend more time chatting with our patients in a safe environment so they feel relaxed in comparison to other places they visit like the supermarket or post office.’
Calculated relaxation
Producing that safe environment has been critical for Murray, but the measures have been tempered with the need to create a pleasant practice experience. ‘I decided against the use of floor stickers and bright yellow tapped off sections and instead use brass ropes you see in theatres. We now operate an appointment-only basis for tests, dispenses, collections and even adjustments. This means we are in full control of the patient flow at all times. Where possible, staff in the practice will avoid wearing masks in an effort to put patients at ease and instead, Perspex screens will be between one another.’
The dispensing experience at the practice has not needed wholesale changes to cope with the new way of working. ‘Patients sit down at one of the tables with a Perspex screen between them and the dispensing optician, they then have a relaxed chat about what they’re looking for. Then the dispensing optician brings back a selection of frames to try on,’ says Murray. With the Zeiss iTerminal used for measurement taking, it is almost contactless dispensing, she says. Again, for any close work, staff will don masks and gloves. A practice refurb 18 months ago where frames were moved to drawers has been a ‘godsend’, says Murray, because it means staff can track exactly what has been touched by patients before they are disinfected and put away again. ‘We’ve got very few frames on display now, but I think that might be what’s led to better sales, because we’re sitting down for longer consultations and chatting with patients to find out what they want and what they need,’ she says. This has also helped with discussions about second and even third and fourth pair sales, adds Murray.
In the consulting room, Murray has reconfigured the testing room so that she is seated more than two metres away from patients, has added a range of Perspex breath shields and wears N95 face masks, but perhaps more so than in the dispensing area, the focus has been on making patients feel relaxed. ‘Initially, I was doing history and symptom checks over the phone before appointments, but found I wasn’t really getting the right information. So I have reverted back to doing all the sight tests in the test room, socially distanced as much as possible,’ she says.
Private appointments at the beginning of the day, for patients that are clinically vulnerable or have been shielding, have also proved popular, says Murray.