r/optician

Is it worth it to pursue the degree route? I recently applied for an apprenticeship and unfortunately didn't get the job. I'm interested in getting licensed and all other places nearby are only hiring licensed. In a financial bind and I'm just really stressed out and bummed right now. Didn't want to have to take out loans for education but it seems like that's my only option right now.

Edit: I'm in Florida

Does anyone have any recommendations on good ABO prep courses?

I’m mainly looking for something that is self-paced. I have until March of next year to pass my ABO; then within the next consecutive year the NCLE.

Can anyone give me some input? Thanks!!!

Curious to hear how it works in practice. My brother runs an independent optical (Belgrade, 3,500 patients) and we were comparing his approach to what I've read other shops do.

His current setup: spreadsheet with last exam date, and "I should call them" which translates to almost never.

He estimates ~2,000 patients haven't been back in 2+ years.

I'm curious for those of you running practices:

1. Do you actively reach out to patients past their 12-month mark? If yes, how often?

2. What channel works phone, SMS, WhatsApp, email,postcard?

3. Is recall automated through your PMS / software, or manual?

4. Roughly what % of patients respond and book?

5. Anything you've tried that completely failed?

Just trying to understand if the "I never call them" problem is universal or just my brother being undisciplined.

Thanks for any input.

Not sure if this is the right place, but does anyone know of where you can find d good table top polisher/buffering wheel online or in a physical store. We need a better type of polisher for rimless lenses. im juat trying to circumvent going through websites that require an account

 I’m comparing online stores for contacts because I need to reorder mine soon, and I’m trying to be smarter about where I buy this time. I’ve mostly been getting mine from my eye doctor or big-name sites, but the prices really add up, especially for something I have to keep buying regularly.

My non-negotiables are affordability and an easy process for uploading or verifying prescription info. I don’t want to deal with complicated steps or delays just because they can’t confirm my prescription quickly. It would also be great if the site is reliable in terms of shipping since I tend to reorder last minute.

I’ve seen a lot of mixed opinions about different online retailers, so I figured I’d ask here. Where do you usually order your contacts from? Any sites you keep going back to because they’re consistently good in terms of price and overall experience?

I like Blink Triple Care but it wears off after a few hours. What’s your fav?

I’m an eyecare advisor, going to start the abo prep course they’re bringing put around June. Hoping to take the ABO exam and pass🤞🏼which brings me to my question, what’s the typical pay range for Licensed optician at LensCrafters? Would like to get an idea :)

I just want to say I enjoy working here a lot more than Luxottica (I’ve worked at LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, and Target Optical)

Idk why I like it, the order software is way more functional than Ciao and I feel like there’s more sense of culture here. The employers seem to care. We always get comped lunches, budgets for stuff, and team outings. And of course free eyewear and exams and other discounts. We donate with every pair, and I don’t feel like I’m up charging people a ridiculous amount for glasses, a real necessity as a medical device. It should never be priced as a luxury.

Maybe I like that there’s a short commute (for me) and we close at 6 lol idk. My coworkers are pretty chill. That makes a big difference too.

EssilorLuxottica’s culture is deeply toxic, particularly within Professional Solutions, where dysfunction begins with the president. The environment he creates is driven by fear, overwork, and demeaning behavior, with stress, passive aggressiveness and intimidation treated as management strategies. This culture is not challenged by weak HR leadership that appears unwilling to intervene. All of Essilor’s legacy leaders have left, either because they disagreed with the toxic culture, or because they were toxic themselves, just no match for the president. 

Question about yalls refund policy:

So... I have a patient who was in a progressive and had to restyle because the lens was too deep. Not uncommon. We used insurance for the 1st job and the new frame was the exact same price.

Then they wanted a seg height change. Then they wanted another restyle. Then another seg height change. Then they wanted to change the AR. Then they decided to return the glasses.

This is 6 jobs total with our lab. We reinstated patients benefits. How would yall approach the refund, especially if you lab only allows 1 doctors remake (any change to rx, coatings or frame) and then its considered a new job.

Patient is expecting a full refund. I dont want to give them anything.

Hey everyone, I started my training two months ago. I'm in Southeast Europe so the system is different from the US, but I still need some advice from experienced opticians.

I got hired to be trained and employed in a large chain, probably the biggest one in my country. The problem is that I rarely get the chance to see lens edging and adjustments. I'm pushed to the front desk where I do a lot of administration, schedule appointments and sell hearing aid batteries (we have a department for hearing aids as well).

I have to deal with phone calls, emails and feel more like working in a customer service or a general shop.

I really want to learn the craft. Do you think it would be better to switch to an independent shop and stay away from large chains? Also, how to do that? They never put job ads for opticians. I guess I should just walk in and ask the owners.

I gave them 25 minutes, they failed. Now they want a refund. Am I under any obligation to give them one?

Pa has been an unlicensed state and bill 2386 was introduced in April requiring opticians to be licensed. I fully support this bill, just not in its current form. I know this was just introduced and may take months or years to be passed but I have a few questions.

The bill states opticians must be licensed within 60 days of the bill passing but the requirements in that timeframe are outrageous. An abo or ncle which is a nonissue for me(I wish more of my coworkers were certified, then I wouldn’t be the go to for issues). An associates degree which would take up to 2 years. A vocational program which would be fine but we are mostly working full time jobs which would be impossible to complete in the timeframe. The last option is 2,400 hours of apprenticeship. How can you get over a years worth of apprenticeship in that timeframe? The only leeway is if you have been an optician for over 10 years, then you have 2 years in order to get your license.

I am left wondering what the state of opticianry in Pa will look like if this bill passes in its current form. Did they consult anyone in the optical field on this? I would start working on an associates degree if they had any information on what would be acceptable.

I would like any honest thoughts on this matter. Has anyone been in a state that has gone through this type of situation?

Thank you all in advance.

I am looking to see what other Optometrists' thoughts are on this. I am UK based so we practice quite differently to US based Optometrists but I'd be interested in, and would welcome opinions from either side of the pond.

Basically, the rationale behind this idea is as follows:

Suppose you have someone with reduced visual acuity. For example, a teenager with nystagmus from childhood. Let's say, this person has certain opportunities closed to them due to the reduced visual acuity. For example, px is narrowly unable to meet the legal driving standard with a normal spectacle rx. The logic is, if you give the px a -12.00D contact lens, and then over refract and prescribe, let's say, +10.50D spectacles to wear over the top, then that would magnify the image considerably, potentially improving the VA by anywhere between 10-15% due to the magnification.

Has anyone every tried this and had it work? I have tried it on staff at my workplace and it does improve VA by around 10% vs just a specatcale rx, and subjectively the staff I have tested it on say the letters are "a million times" easier to read. But that's the test room and not the real-world though...

At the same time, I'm also aware there are some obvious inconveniences and less-than-ideal downsides to this like cosmetics, complexity etc... But let's say someone really really values driving and was motivated to make this work, do you think this is a viable solution in the real world or is this a bad idea?

Looking for other thoughts and any insights people may have to offer as to why this may or may not work, and what considerations to factor in that may be easy to miss.

I'm aware it's a complex system and I'm aware it's not less-than-ideal and cosmetically poor... But what else? Thoughts...?

I rarely ever have patients interested in ordering high index lenses. They simply don't want to pay. Perhaps they don't understand its benefits?

My patients would rather spend money on a high end progressive in CR39 or Poly, than pay for the HI upgrade. Only when the HI is included with their plan, or at a low copay, do they choose to order HI. Sometimes, the Lab Coordinator will upgrade them anyway to HI (depending on the overall order).

Does anyone else face this challenge? What can you recommend to help get HI sales/orders up?

Hey y'all, I've been an apprentice optician for two years and I transferred from one LDO to another recently. I know it's a standard to put anyone under 18 in poly but I've also come across rx's and teens that I cannot due in poly due to limitations. Ive put them in hiindex as it still has resistant properties and a -10 doesn't deserve to be in poly. The new LDO keeps saying I'm breaking the law and is threatening to fire me, last I knew there were no laws, just recommendations and standards. Am I just an idiot