Remember, this a custom-made product – not something pulled off the shelf and shipped to your home in three days. Progressive lenses are very complicated lenses requiring highly specialized, expensive and sophisticated equipment taking at a day. Essentially, a lens with little or no prescription is “surfaced” using various grades of polishing processes similar to the cutting, edging and polishing of a diamond or jewel mounted in a ring. Many optical labs have the ability to “generate” lenses. Stocking this multitude of options is simply impossible. When all is said and done, there are literally thousands upon thousands of lens combinations in terms of lens options, treatments, purposes and shapes. Next there are lens coatings such as scratch resistance, anti-reflective, hydrophobic…at least a dozen options here. The lens type, such as single vision, progressive, bifocal, trifocal etc. A lens can also have a tint permanently applied such as for sunglasses. Then the option of lenses that are called photochromatic or darken when exposed to UV rays. The second variable is the lens material: CR-39, Polycarbonate, TriVex/HiVex or several other ‘higher index’ materials for people who have more significant prescriptions.
Then the add power for people who need extra help for reading. Then the location of the astigmatism on a 0 to 180 degree meridian (so 180 options just for this). Next is the cylinder or magnitude of a person’s astigmatism. The initial spec is the sphere (far-sighted or near-sighted). Unlike most products people buy, when it comes to lens options there are thousands of combinations. This allows the lab to begin the lens ordering and/or fabrication process.
Typically, the lens information is submitted electronically and received by the lab in advance of the eyeglass frames. It is simply too expensive to stock lenses, own the equipment and pay for the space and employees in the lab unless it is very high volume. Just like dental offices which utilize outside laboratories, the vast majority of eyecare centers with opticals utilize an outside laboratory especially for non-single vision prescriptions. The vast majority of independent offices and even national chain opticals send the patient’s selected frame to their local or regional optical lab via courier or USPS/FEDex/UPS taking about one to three days. Quality is ho-hum and lens choices are about three or four options. It takes about two weeks for single vision lenses to be made and shipped from China to your U.S. The retail shop will then electronically submit the order to their optical lab in China, also where their frames are made and fabricate the lenses. Some discount retail shops have very limited frame choices, often less than 80 (most optical shops have 500-800 frame choices). There are a few exceptions to this model such as cheap discount vision plans which have a small selection of frames on a rack which matches the inventory at their warehouse optical lab where the lenses are inserted to the frames to make eyeglasses. It is simply too expensive to have hidden inventory. The frame you pick is the one you will own (no hidden back room of large inventory – as frames are not cheap). Just like an automotive dealership, the car on the lot is the one you drive away in. Most optical centers at doctor’s offices or stand-alone optical shops are not high turn-over inventory situations.
Let’s start with the actual selection of the eyeglass frame (into which your lenses are placed). Why can’t eyeglasses be delivered to me faster? Surely this is a result of laziness and a poorly designed system, right? After all, I can order just about any item on Amazon and it will be at my front door in three days. With more the rule than exception, it takes a minimum of one week in most instances and up to three weeks for a pair of prescription eyeglasses to be made. Worse yet, it breeds a level of expectation which feeds on itself and insures future experiences of satisfaction are slightly marginalized with each successive instance.Įnter the optical experience. Unfortunately, this is not a healthy way to approach life as the thrill of instant quickly fades.
We are an “instant gratification, give it to me now and give it to me at the best price and highest quality with top customer service nation”.
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