r/optician

Just curious for those of you that do make commission...does your practice make you take turns when it comes to sales? I just started about two months ago and at first I was lighting up the sales floor, in the top seller spot most days of the week but not all. There are 3 other opticians and one of them was always #1 before I got there. The other 2 told me they don't care about sales. Instead of adopting the habits of those 2, I opted to try to meet my goals and get as many sales as possible. After two weeks consistently in the #1 spot they started complaining that we were supposed to be rotating sales...I am lost and confused bc before I got there it seems like the 1 dude was always in the top spot and the 2 girls split the rest. Does that sound like a rotation? So there was no rotation but now they had us sign a form saying we would all take turns after they started complaining and that there was always supposed to be a rotation. They said it's the only thing thats fair and that I'm not being a teamplayer. I feel like no one is gonna read this vent fest I just wrote but if anyone does, lemme know am i being crazy for wanting to maximize my sales considering commission is on the table?? I feel like they are trying to slow me down and bring me down a notch.

Looking for some advice here - we have a patient on medical (California Medicaid state insurance), which we bill pretty regularly and have quite a bit of experience with, but the PIA system is rejecting it based on prescription strength. The total lens power is nearly 12 diopters with sphere and cylinder and the PIA system is saying it cannot exceed -10 diopters.

I can’t imagine the state would just say “tough luck” to folks with strong rx’s but I don’t know how to solve it. Does anyone know how to bill super strong rx’s with Medicaid / medical?

any student opticians working at Walmart, if you don’t mind sharing, how much are you currently making? just curious to see what the pay range is like for other student opticians. im in alberta

Im an Licensed Optician(Ontario) and the cost of living here is so high compared to the average Optician salary. Our college regulatory fees are also stupid high. Does anyone know of any side hustle avenues using the Opticanry skillset/experience that works well for some extra $$?

Hey all! I had the pleasure of working with OVVO at my last gig and while I’m enjoying my new job a decent bit more, the frame selection is a bit lacking; especially for those folks who beat the devil out of their eyewear and expect it to stay in one piece.

Any suggestions or anecdotes on this front? Thanks!

Is anyone else concerned about the upcoming national contract? I’ve been told that it will result in an almost 40% pay decrease, and that they are removing the education/experience requirements. (AKA licensure or ABO)
Thoughts? 👀

So I’m an opt tech now. A lot of people do walking/running shoes but Im very minimalistic and I feel like some of them are too “athletic” looking or whatever. It’s just a me thing.

But what are your fav shoes to wear?

ive been working as a optometric technician for 4 years at first at America's Best now i took a job at lenscrafters back in June got a big pay raise. im now looking to take the abo and the ncle but im not really sure what to study for either test is there someone who has taken both and passed and can provide help

We all have patients who have a stigmatism, and who just opened the case and they were like that. I need more than that. Give me your juiciest gossip, your dumbest wtf moments, your “this one time” stories.

I’ll go first, cause I got a new one.

My last patient today brought in a pair of glasses that he wanted me to check because it was his first progressive & he was “having trouble getting used to them.”

I asked for his script. Od +1.25 -0.25x135, Os balance, +1.75 Add. I took a quick height & pd, then held his glasses up to mark the lenses. It had a left lens cut into the right side. It also had a left lens on the left side, but that didn’t really matter. The add was marked as +2.50. I didn’t even get them into the vertometer, I just started laughing. He told me he had ordered them online (surprise, surprise!) and that he had guessed the numbers (based on the cheaters he was using for distance & near), when inputting the rx & pd on whatever website he used.

I handed them back to him, and then we got to work on making better life choices.

do you believe this is the future of the selling process?

I’m looking for optician jobs that are in high-end, fashion-forward stores where you don’t have to work on commission. Maybe something with a more boutique or luxury setting. I’m curious if there’s anyone out there that works in an environment like this. Let me know!

Hi everyone,

I recently bought these Medical King Model 7078 solar eclipse glasses from an optical store, and I'm trying to verify whether they are genuinely safe for direct solar viewing during an eclipse.

The glasses are marked with:

• Medical King
• Model: 7078
• EN ISO 12312-2:2015
• AS/NZS 1338.1:2012
• PPE Regulation (EU) 2016/425
• CE / UKCA
• EU Type-Examination by CCQS Certification Services Ltd. (NB2834)

The label also states that they were examined by CCQS Certification Services Ltd. in Ireland.

Eclipseseguro.es says they are ilegitimate

I just started my apprenticeship and I will be licensed in hopefully two years. I just moved to a licensed state because my partner is doing grad school here and I thought it would be the perfect time to do my apprenticeship.

The only thing is that I’m not sure I will live here for a long time. Plans always change of course, but I imagine I’ll probably move back home to be close to family in a couple of years. They live in Kansas, an unlicensed state. So if I moved to Kansas sometime after getting licensed, would I make just as much as an unlicensed optician?

I've been offered an opportunity to get my optician schooling and certification. I'm excited to get started but I'm afraid of the background approval process and at my age, I really can't waste my time if this isn't gonna work.

I live in a state that requires license and background approval

My concern is that I was arrested 40 years ago for prostition. It was a fluke incident, I was 18, stupid, no family and no money to fight so it was what it was.

I have never been in other trouble and have a perfect record since.

Does anyone have any experience with this and the denial or approval from the state boards new requirements after 2025?

Thank you for any advice or insight!

Just wondering how everyone's lab bills are looking lately? Our lab jacked prices up and didn't tell us.

Hello, sorry if this is not allowed here.

But I am planning on watching the eclipse here in the UK and I was testing my welding mask on the sun thinking it was dark enough, and it seemed fine whilst I was doing it. Then I found out my mask is only Shade 10.

I have already stared at the sun for 20-30 seconds, are my eyes buggered? Google says I am but it always says the worst case scenario.

Thanks.