Welcome to our continuing series of Credit Education 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:

 

Needs Assessment: With lenses getting more sophisticated, and options multiplying at a rapid rate, it's more important than ever that ECPs learn how to communicate and resolve problems with their labs. At the conclusion of this credit education course, participants should be able to:

 

1. 1. Utilize input from real-life dispensaries and labs to better manage their businesses.
2. 2. Have solutions for personnel, paperwork, protocol and product service situations when dealing with labs.
3. 3. Understand the how-to's of ECP-lab relations through insider tips.
4. 4. Prepare and implement an action plan for interaction between dispensary and lab, resulting in better profitability, error reduction and top-notch relationshipping.

 

Test procedures: Read the article and then click on the button:

 

This will open a new window with a test consisting of 20 questions. To receive ABO continuing education credit, respondents must correctly answer 16 of 20 test questions. Simply click on the best answer for each question and click the submit button at the end of the test. You are notified immediately on-line if you have failed the test. If you pass the test, CE Certificate will be mailed to your address. Note, normal turn arounf time for CE Certificates if 7 to 10 days, but this can extend to 3 to 4 weeks during busy periods of the year.

 

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.

 

Managing Lab-Dispenser Relationships

In today's competitive optical industry climate, dispensers and labs have to work harder than ever to not lose touch with the marketplace and each other. With wholesale lab consolidation and acquisition, lab groups mushrooming nationwide, and other internal lab changes, dispensers are concerned about losing a handle on how to best work with labs and need to know how to forge and fix working relationships with their lab. When push comes to shove, one of the major issues getting in the way of ideal laboratory/dispenser relationships is communication. These days, both sides of the fence have major issues to work out, including the following:

 

Dispensers say:

- Consolidation and acquisitions hurt me

- Quality issues are key

- So are turnaround issues

- And so are price issues

- My lab does not care about me

- I don't get anything extra from my lab

- I need much more from my lab than I get

 

Laboratories say:

- Dispensers don't define what they need

- Every job is a rush job

- Redos cost us big and cost dispensers big

- Lack of product knowledge negatively impacts orders

- 35 percent or more of our time is spent on calls caused by inefficiencies

- We can help dispensers. Why are they so suspicious of us?

 

There are solutions to these situations. Finding them starts with getting the issues on the table and then actively seeking answers to the questions at hand.

 

 

Dispensers to Labs

 

The following are actual questions, problems, and concerns that dispensers have addressed with their labs to find the best way to work together.

 

Situation: "When I call my lab to check on a job, I'm told they have to get back to me."

 

SOLUTION: Develop a standard protocol for key job information exchange. Set up a "problem job update" at specific times each day; for example, 9:30 a.m. and again at 1:30 p.m. Assign someone to check in with the lab on a regular basis with a list of necessary jobs.

 

At the dispensary and at the lab, assign a key contact who is knowledgeable and who has the authority to make decisions. They are your designated problem solvers who will personally see through rush and/or problem jobs and notify the practice and patients of backorders and delays. Most labs today have a computer system that can instantly track a job's whereabouts and can provide details immediately.

 

Some practices now order online and have the ability to track jobs via computer. It's usually worth the time and money investment for both labs and dispensaries to implement these high-tech systems.

 

If the patient is on the phone or in the practice demanding their eyewear, establish a timeframe. Be sympathetic and understanding, yet firm, in providing the set time that you'll get them an answer. Another way to handle this: if the job is only scheduled for one-day turnaround, tell the patient it will take two days. This way it buys both you and the lab some extra time if challenges arise. If the job arrives in one day, you can call the patient early, which generates goodwill.

 

Situation: "I need faster turnaround on much of my work. What can the lab do for me?"

 

SOLUTION: Determine what type of work you need faster and create a list. For example, your priority jobs may be high-index, anti-reflective, polycarbonate, or high plus or high minus. Meet with your staff to assemble the list. Next, meet with lab management to present your list, discuss possibilities and solutions, and create a realistic action plan in conjunction with the lab. You can also meet with other eyecare professionals in your area who use the same lab, merge lists, and present the master list to the lab as a group for more impact.

 

Situation: "Quality is a large issue with me, But I don't always get it."

 

SOLUTION: Utilize a quality control checklist. (Use the one in the sidebar here or develop your own.) Laminate the checklist and post it near your lensometer or workstation. Use this protocol to check every job that comes into the dispensary, and be sure your lab has a copy of the list and knows these are your criteria. Additionally, be sure your staff receives on-the-job training and that your staff is optically educated. This ensures fewer re-dos, reduces time spent in correcting problems, boosts customer service and retention, and builds good communication skills with patients and the lab.

 

Situation: "Tint color and consistency from my lab are erratic."

 

SOLUTION: Consider getting an in-house tinting unit and do your own tinting. Get training on tint basics and specialty tinting. If you go this route, do research on the tinting properties of materials from different manufacturers to find the one that provides consistent results. Remember that tinting prior to anti-reflective coating varies on immersion time, density, and colorfast capabilities. When working with a lab, also check with them and lens/AR manufacturers for their tinting recommendations. If there are continuing tinting discrepancies with the lab, be sure to match dispensary and lab tint samples. Exposure to natural and florescent light can fade dispensary tint samples over time, usually within a year. Viewing tints under varied lighting can also make a difference. Consider getting a light box for tint inspections, which is what most labs use.

 

Situation: "The lab tells me it can't bend its current prices."

 

SOLUTION: Diversify your lab base for the best price and/or quality. For example, consider sending 60 percent of your work to your local lab, high-index work to another, and photochromic work to another.

 

Due to overnight delivery options, an out-of-state lab may be the best solution. Shop various labs; get copies of their price lists and delivery timetables.

 

One practice saved $25 per job on plastic photochromic lenses--the same product and quality as the local lab--by working with an out-of-state lab. It increased turnaround from one day to two days, but the practice hasn't been hurt by the extra day, while saving significantly on photochromic work. (See sidebar on lab hiring points.)

 

Situation: "the lab forgets to include credits."

 

SOLUTION: Set up a credit due system by copying every lab credit invoice. Record the date, time, and name of the person at the lab who issued the credit, and add notes on what was said. Create a red-flag credit information file to reference the monthly lab bill. Print information carries weight, and hard facts are easy to deal with.

 

Situation: "I'm not getting the pricing, quality, and service I expect and need these days."

 

SOLUTION: Meet with lab management to express your concerns and discuss options. Be blunt. Say, "You'll lose my business unless we fix the problems." Set reasonable timeframes for improvement. The lab must take concerned, effective action.

 

Sometimes, you may need to take your business away in order to get what you need in the end. One practice left its lab, was re-approached by the lab within three weeks, and was able to work out an equitable arrangement once lab management experienced the loss of business.

 

Labs to Dispensers

 

The following are actual questions, problems, and concerns that labs frequently address with their accounts.

 

Situation: "dispensers don't define exactly what they want."

 

SOLUTION: Spell out the specifics of every job. This saves valuable call-back time later. For example, labs can't assume the prescription on the order form is a slab-off. If a slab-off is required, be sure to write "slab-off" on the order form.

 

Use the notes section on an order form. One lab owner says, "A well-written, thorough order is the most effective tool for getting the most out of your lab."

 

Situation: "If we can't read it, you don't get the job on time or done right."

 

SOLUTION: Double check every order, no exceptions. Ask your lab how it prefers to get orders and/or which method generally results in the fastest turnaround. When phoning in orders, be sure to speak clearly and slowly, then ask for and listen closely to the read-back.

 

With written orders, print clearly and confirm that printing doesn't run into box margins. Be especially vigilant on keyed-in orders if ordering online.

 

On more complicated work, fax, e-mail, or phone ahead of time. Send the frame tracing and/or special instructions. For simple jobs, send the order with the frame. Systemize uncut orders by placing them only once or twice a day in groups.

 

Labs list the big 10 order trouble spots as:

1. Pupillary distance (PD)

2. Seg height and style

3. Lens material

4. Lens information (new products)

5. Tint instructions

6. Missing plus or minus signs

7. Previous invoice number and date on redos

8. Add powers

9. Frame enclosed, to come, or trace

10. Frame size and shape

 

Situation: "Writing 'rush' is usually not enough to get a rush."

 

SOLUTION: When placing orders, always be specific. Specify what date, day, and time the rush job is needed. Don't ask for every job as a rush; you'll wear out your welcome and over time your real rush work may be ignored. Don't be the little boy who cried wolf.

 

On crucial work, ask for a walk through, a lab term that means one person will see a job from station to station until it's completed. Create or ask your lab to create a delivery chart for various jobs. By referencing this chart, everyone in your practice can easily track when various work is typically completed and quote realistic timeframes to patients when the order is placed.

 

Situation: "If our lab says they can't run a job, some dispensers insist that we 'just try it,' or 'just do it anyway.'"

 

SOLUTION: There's a good reason why the job is impossible from the lab's standpoint. On completion, the job may not be optically correct, the job may look cosmetically unacceptable, or the finished eyewear may not perform to expectations.

 

Take the lab's advice! They're informing you in advance that you may end up unsatisfied and end up spending extra money--not to mention a patient's patience--on a redo. Keep layout charts handy and use them. Before the patient leaves the practice, be sure the job will work; take the time to call and discuss it with the lab. On any non-standard work, call the lab for advice prior to placing the order.

 

Situation: "Why don't dispensers call and just ask?"

 

SOLUTION: Labs are your partners for marketing, education, office layout, and helping improve efficiencies. They are also a key manufacturer and product connection.

 

Meet with lab reps on a regular basis; the average is every six weeks. Labs are the bellwether of the industry and can keep you informed of what's happening overall.

 

Many labs will create tint samples, lens samples, demonstration eyewear, plano sunlenses for old stock/overstock, and other non-typical services. Use your lab as an educator, and to obtain point-of-purchase materials, demo units, and other dispensary tools.

 

Situation: "There are too many dispenser-caused redos."

 

SOLUTION: Labs generally have generous redo policies. The standard policy is 50 percent within 60 or 90 days. After a set timeframe, the lab redo policy can be 100 percent. Lab-caused redos are typically no charge, but there are limits and it pays to know your lab's policy.

 

Some labs redo one time at no charge, whether it's to fix a dispenser error or to ensure patient satisfaction. Some labs analyze account profitability and base redo decisions on that.

 

The cost of redos is figured into lab pricing. Thus, a dispensary that has a good redo record is paying for a practice that generates a lot of redos.

 

Dispensaries should aim to:

 

- Minimize errors

- Read lab price sheets and agreements carefully

- Look deeper into possible discounts

- Ask about any special considerations available

- Find out all the manufacturers' products that your lab carries and the details of their warranties.

 

Labs estimate that ECP-based redos run as high as six to 10 percent. Is there a known redo maker in your office? Talk privately with him or her one-on-one to find out the cause of the redos. Set a course of action, which may include a refresher course on basic optics, setting up a mentoring system, or taking time-outs to check work. You can also designate a quality control manager in your office to check each job before ordering.

 

Situation: "Dispensers don't understand what really happens in a lab."

 

SOLUTION: Make arrangements to tour your lab, and ensure that staff members do the same. The tour can be set up on an individual or group basis. Some labs offer "dispenser day" programs, a partial or full day at the lab for dispensary staff to observe each lab station. Likewise, you can arrange for key lab personnel to spend time in your office for mutual understanding and benefit.

 

In today's labs, profit margins will continue to remain small. Large labs will get larger, while some small labs will get localized, bought by practitioner groups, become stock lens houses, or close. Advances will continue in new product and product processing technology. Service and quality will always be a large factor.

 

The information flow from your practice to your lab is crucial. Keeping the work smooth can keep the dispensing process going strong.