Joe Ayling: Patients find reasons to lose their cool

As temperatures soared to the mid-thirties this week many of us reverted to an age-old habit of complaining about the weather.

No sooner has an unseasonably cold spring season stopped our gardens growing than they are scorched dry by relentless summer rays.

Meanwhile, commuting is unbearable, sleeping at night impossible and there is a constant need to apply sun screen.

The human tendency to complain often lands right on the doorstep of high street optical practices. This week, Optician delves into latest ‘whinge-o-meter’ figures from the Optical Consumer Complaints Service.

It is no surprise that in an age of information consumers are becoming more empowered. For optics, the effect is two-fold, with so-called ‘cyberchondriacs’ looking up their symptoms on the internet and others reliably guided by website gurus such as Martin Lewis.