AR-Right
Welcome to our continuing series of Credit Educations Courses for Opticians.
This course has been approved for one hour of credit by the American Board of Opticianry. No fee is required for ABO credit.
Learning Outcomes: This article was created to help ECPs learn about the details of today's premium AR options and how to best market and sell "super AR" in their practices. At the conclusion of this article, the participant should be able to:
1. Explain the background of how premium AR coatings are applied.
2. Know how to inspect lenses and tint lenses prior to AR application.
3. Formulate and initiate a marketing plan based around premium AR features and benefits.
4. Talk about basic AR terminology and explain AR facts.
5. Be able to answer patient questions and counter objections about AR.
Test procedures: Read the article and then click on the "Take The Test" button at the bottom of the page. This will open a new window with a test consisting of 15 questions. To receive ABO continuing education credit, respondents must correctly answer 12 of 15 test questions. Simply click on the best answer for each question and click the submit button at the end of the test. Your test answers will be automatically sent to Seiko Optical and we will send your CEC or notify you of test failure within 7 to 10 business days. Note: Some states do not accept home study courses for continuing education credit. Check with the licensing board in your state to see if this course qualifies.
AR-Right - Surpassing patient expectations with today's super AR technology
It's always been said that "seeing is believing." But, when talking about today's advanced anti-reflective coatings, it's what you don't see that makes all the difference.
Today's AR coatings are "not your grandfather's AR." Coating technologies have come a long way, and now provide your patients with superior durability and cleanability.
This continuing education course will not only help you better recommend AR to your patients, but also explain what you need to do to help ensure the best coating results with the lenses you supply to your AR coater, particularly if they need to be tinted before applying the AR.
This course will also help you with ways to overcome patients' objections to AR coating. They may have tried it in the past, and not been satisfied with its performance or cost. By using the suggestions in this course, you can easily allay your patients' fears and improve their visual clarity and appearance by using today's AR coatings.
What's new in AR? Everything! Today's super AR is the AR everyone's always wanted. Strong, durable, cleanable, wearable. Today's ECPs have a big opportunity to turn AR into a desired part of eyewear from a visual acuity standpoint. Talking technology about today's AR can pay dividends in satisfied patients, referrals, cutting-edge practice perception, and instant bottom line improvements.
But first, ECPs need to understand the details of today's super AR lenses, and grasp that today's AR isn't the AR of 10, or even two, years ago. Today's AR improvements are strong, lasting, and reliable. It's beyond a new start...it's AR-right
Super AR: What's it all about?
In a nutshell, today's super AR lenses are premium products that offer high-level, consistent AR quality. New hydrophobic and oleophobic properties, which allow for smoother surfaces and a slipperier coating, are the basis of success with today's AR. Super ARs are created using advanced technology, including new AR processing equipment and systems.
Hardcoatings are adapted to the base lens material and are many times tougher than uncoated lenses. Surface technology has been designed to repel water, dirt, and oil, making today's AR lenses smudge-resistant and easier to clean. In fact, super AR stands up to dry cleaning with a cleaning cloth and to high-risk scratching environments. Cracking and crazing are a thing of the past: Super AR features resistance to cracking due to normal temperature fluctuation and resistance to cloudiness from chemicals like lens cleaners, detergent, and sweat. Super AR won't flake or peel under normal wear-and-tear.
The path to creating a super AR starts in receiving and is a highly controlled process. Incoming lenses must be inspected and scanned so they're able to be monitored during the entire AR process. Computer-monitored AR processing helps assure application consistency and quality. After inspections and cleaning processes, lenses can be inserted into special fixtures which eliminate handling. Automated cleaning can include ultrasonic cleaning baths, where temperature, solution concentration are closely monitored. When lenses are transferred to the vacuum coating machine for AR application, lens surface treatments are applied first to ensure AR adhesion. Then multiple AR coating layers or "stacks" are applied. These layers give super AR its attributes, including strength and durability. After the final AR layer, an easy clean hydrophobic layer is applied. This top layer provides stain resistance, cleanability, and surface durability. After final inspection, the new AR lenses are inserted into protective shipping sleeves to prevent damage in transit.
AR Marketing: Work the Plan
According to the AR Council, currently 21 to 23 percent of U.S. consumers wear AR lenses, which is one in five people. The opportunity to significantly increase AR business--built on new super AR capabilities--has never been greater. Tag the AR message onto an overall health and comfort message, and you've got the basis for a strong AR program.
When it comes to eye health, AR offers visual health and wearing comfort. Visually, with conventional glass or plastic, AR increases light transmission from 91 percent to over 99 percent, and light transmission in high index materials with AR increases 11 percent. This transmission increases fine tune visual acuity. This is especially important in high index lenses, since the higher the index, the less light is transmitted through the material.
AR means comfort: Relief from tired eyes, relief from harsh indoor lighting and other distracting reflections, relief from dangerous night driving reflections, and relief from other everyday situations that compromise eye comfort. Improved levels of light reflectance ensure the clearest vision possible.
According to the AR Council, some optical chain retailers sell up to 80 percent of all lenses with AR, while some independent optical retailers sell up to 90 percent of all lenses with AR. How do they do it? Simple: A commitment to AR in their businesses, and pricing AR by bundling it into attractive eyewear or lens packages.
A commitment to AR means that staff is trained uniformly on AR's features and benefits and on how to present AR to patients. It also means that every patient is offered AR every time; young, old, any demographic, any task or usage.
AR for kids, for example, while revolutionary, makes sense: Wouldn't all parents want their kids to see the best that they can see? Many kids wear polycarbonate lens material, and AR helps significantly improve visual acuity in poly and in high-minus and high-plus Rxs.
If kids can wash their hands, they can clean their lenses. Today's super ARs lend themselves to kids' wear because of their inherent durability and cleanability.
Recommendation Selling
Eye health as part of overall health and comfort is the larger message wrapped around selling any eyewear, but particularly AR lenses. AR helps patients see better; up to 99 percent of transmissible light allows the eye to see most clearly. The anti-reflective properties of AR help ease eye comfort in the workplace, at school, at home, on the computer, and especially when driving, when reflections, particularly at night, can limit vision in distracting and dangerous ways.
Because it's virtually invisible, AR can be a tough sell. The beauty and functionality of AR is that it makes lenses ultra-clear. The best AR demo shows patients AR versus non-AR lenses in the same frame. Patients can pick it up, put it on, and view their appearance in the mirror to see and feel the benefits of AR.
Bundling AR pricing with all lens options is essential for AR sales success. A-la-carte pricing is often difficult for staff and patients to grasp, even when working with a "Good, Better, Best" sales style. Making AR part of every sale shows patients that AR is important, and it can easily be incorporated into their everyday lens wear. AR as part of lens packages also helps overcome price objections, since it's viewed as a necessity, not an option. In many parts of the world, lenses are simply not offered without AR.
Some lenses require AR as a necessary part of their make-up. For example, high index lenses without AR can result in peripheral aberrations that make the lenses unwearable. In the case of high index, AR is not an option, it is a necessity. AR should be part of every high index lens sale without exception.
Everyone in the office should wear AR lenses. This allows staff to talk realistically and credibly about their own AR experiences, plus it shows patients that the office is up-to-date on the latest and greatest technology. You cannot sell AR if you don't wear AR.
Chair Talk
Doctors making recommendations, discussing AR benefits from chair side, and writing AR on the Rx are the most powerful messages of all.
Doctors are perceived as recommending, not selling, whereas the dispenser is assumed to be selling. A doctor-to-dispenser hand-off of the Rx and a brief explanation of why the doctor is recommending AR will virtually ensure the patient purchases AR.
Super AR often means super warranties from laboratories and manufacturers. This means strong product support for you, and a way to offer the best confidently to patients. Check out various manufacturers' AR warranties; most offer comprehensive warranties on AR lenses worn under normal conditions for two years.
While AR has clear cosmetic benefits, making lenses virtually disappear, emphasize that today's AR lenses are high performance lenses. For example, AR increases visual performance in high plus or minus lenses; helps eliminate everyday, all-environment ghost images; and helps visual acuity when driving, especially at night.
AR Basics
These AR facts can be discussed with your staff and your patients, so everyone has an AR knowledge base.
AR helps improve lens transparency. AR cuts internal and external reflections and allows 99 percent transmissibility.
Super scratch-resistant properties with AR create a super-performing lens. The weaker the scratch-resistant treatment, the more like Jell-O: Your fingers can go right into it, like poor AR adhesion and scratches. Stronger scratch-resistance is more like an ice cube: Your fingers can't penetrate it, like strong AR adhesion and scratch-repellent properties.
Super hydrophobic-oleophobic properties work. These help repel water, dirt, dust, fingerprints, and smudges, which means easy cleanability. Clean AR lenses with mild soap and water once a day; dry with a clean, soft cloth. Use an approved dry cleaning cloth or pre-moistened cloth to remove smudges during the day.
Good, but not perfect. While super AR is super tough, exposure to substances like hairspray and industrial chemicals may still compromise AR. Suggest keeping AR eyewear away from spray deodorant, hairspray, and perfumes.
Good-looking choice. AR makes lenses cosmetically desirable, especially in today's rimless styles. They underplay the frame just as AR underplays the lenses.
Both sides now. AR on sunwear is best applied on both front and back surfaces for the most highly functional performance. Front-side AR allows all available light to pass through the lenses for sharp, clear vision. Backside AR stops mirror-like reflections of eyes, lashes, and rearview objects that are common with dark sunlenses.
Organize batches. When edging AR lenses in-house, don't mix stock and surfaced AR lenses. Keep your lens vendors and substrates the same, preferably from the same batch.
Other edging tips. Thoroughly clean edger-chucking pads; apply chucking pressure gently; rinse lenses before handling; use only water as a coolant, changing it on a daily basis; and don't leave leap pads on overnight.
Rimless tips. Rimless grooving should be well-centered; if groove walls are thin, chipping may occur in the AR process. When polishing edges, protect both lens surfaces with tape, since minor abrasions to the lens surface from the buffing pad will be visible after AR.
This concludes the article. Click the button below to take the test.