If you’ve followed us up to this point, then you’ve probably noticed a distinct lack of frames in this magazine. I think that served a purpose once, but now it’s time for a change. No, we aren’t merging with anyone. There’s not going to be an OPTluxilor. We do, however, want to stop discriminating against frame companies, and instead support all of the independents in this industry. We want to help out people that want to make a great product, and aren’t out to compete with you and steal your customers. We want OPT to be a great resource for all independents in this industry. The fact that this might upset some of the Big Opticals is an unfortunate, but awesome, side effect.
That’s part of the reason we’ve dedicated this issue to a sort of ‘deprogramming guide’. We want to give you that information that you need to go from using big-brand products to being able to differentiate yourself with products that aren’t out to compete against you. This isn’t about telling you to use one brand or another, but is really to illustrate that there ARE other options out there, and that you, as a business, need to keep that in mind.
You aren’t going to out price Big Optical – they have way too much money for you to be able to do that. You need to be better. You need to be different. If your patients just want a quick exam, and the cheapest possible pair of glasses, you aren’t going to win. You need to elevate the whole experience and give them something they aren’t going to get from a big box store or online – personal service.
There are going to be biases and slants to all of the stories and articles that are in this magazine – we want to make that clear. Everyone has an agenda – even us. That much should be obvious to you. So if there’s anything you read in here that makes you think it’s a little one-sided, well, it probably is. But you should use that to help you come to your own opinions. Our overarching message is that you need to decide for yourself – and you only do that by trying things out, not by doing what a salesman tells you to do.
All of that being said, we are also hoping that you enjoy the satire and parody that we put into this magazine. We don’t want to just focus on dry, boring business aspects – we want to make it fun. Sure, there’s plenty of made up stuff in here, but a lot of it has kernels of truth and examples that you can use in the real world. We know that our job is done when people actually look forward to getting the next issue, and want to read it. If we’ve managed to elevate ourselves above the ‘flip through and throw out’ status of most magazines, then we’re happy. And we hope you are, too.
