There Is One Fact Most Optometrists
Don't Want You to Know
(Aren't you curious???)
According to the Prescription
Release Rule of the Federal Trade Commission
of 1977,
YOUR EYEGLASS PRESCRIPTION
IS YOURS!!
Immediately after your vision
exam, you doctor is required to PHYSICALLY
PREPARE AND HAND YOU YOUR EYEGLASS PRESCRIPTION...
BEFORE attempting to sell
you eyeglasses.
Requiring you or pressuring
you to buy your eyeglasses directly from your
prescriber instead of from your neighborhood
certified optician is ***ILLEGAL.***
The purpose of this law is
to allow you to shop around for your eyewear.
Think about it. When your
MD writes you a drug prescription, he doesn't
require you to buy the medication from him
(to do so would be an illegal conflict of interest
for him - because the more he prescribed, the
more he would profit, hence he would have an
incentive to prescribe unnecessary medication.
In fact, for him to sell you medications or
to profit from the sale of the prescription
is illegal, for that very reason.
What a pity it isn't illegal
for your eye doctor to sell eyewear. A lot
of unnecessary eyewear is prescribed as a result.
You need an independent certified
optician to fabricate your eyewear as a check
and balance on unnecessary eyewear. Certified
opticians often put a lot more emphasis on
good looks and fashion (Eyeglasses are a fashion
accessory, as well as a vision necessity.)
Violations of the prescription
release rule should be reported to:
Prescription Release Rule
Federal Trade Commission,
Washington, DC,
(And please also forward a
copy to us if violation occurred in Wyoming.)
(Suit for damages may also
be filed in any court in the land)
Unless or until patients decide
to get involved, we will all be held captive
by coercive, unprofessional, and unethical
business practices in the optical industry.
Meanwhile, if you are not
given your prescription, simply pay for your
vision examination and leave.. It's a bad time
to look at frames anyway, since your eyes are
dilated, and you can't see worth a flip. You "are
looking at frames later" for that reason.
And you're telling the truth. And you have
no intention to invest any more cash in that "Taj
Mahal" where you got your vision exam.
What you're NOT saying is
that you're looking at frames at Optical Fashions.
When you come by, if you like our frames and
our people, and if we earn your confidence,
we'll call your doctor for your prescription.
He HAS to release it to us because (1) He's
in violation of federal law if he hasn't given
it to you already; and (2) In Wyoming and lots
of other states, your health care professional
has to release your records to you if you request
them.
An even better strategy is
to stop by Optical Fashions FIRST, before your
vision exam. If you like us, and like the frames
you see, you can tell them after the exam that
you already have a frame selected, and your
optician's making the glasses.
Opticians charge less for
their time for eye doctors, and as a result,
we have the time to really counsel you on the
choices before you. What kind of lenses? How
thick will they be, and how can I make them
thinner? More attractive? Lighter? More comfortable?
How can I get the sharpest vision? How can
I look my best by wearing eyeglasses? Most
optometrists and opthalmologists have never
made any eyeglasses - they hire opticians to
do it. Certified opticians understand the ins
and outs of frames and lenses.
An optometrist I worked with
once told me I shouldn't spend more than 5
(count them, five) minutes with each patient!
I had close to 600 frames on the wall, and
he told me I should pick TWO of them, and let
the patient choose from JUST THOSE 2!!! No
wonder his practice was losing ground!
I am glad I got out of that
situation. Now that I'm independent again,
I can really do a good job for you.
If you need an hour, we take
AN HOUR. My expertise is YOURS when you're
having me fit your eyewear. You are going to
make a wise choice, because you have 25 years
of experience and thousands of pairs of eyeglasses
on your side. I've been making and fitting
eyeglasses longer than any certified optician
in Laramie (doctors don't MAKE eyeglasses,
they hire opticians like me to make them, or
else they farm them out to an outside lab.)
Also, a certified optician
who enjoys fitting eyeglasses AND LIKES EYEGLASSES
and understands FASHION and COMFORT is a breath
of fresh air when compared to people who are
TOO BUSY to really explain the ins and outs
of frames and lenses to you. And if you watch
this site, or drop by our office, we will give
you more knowledge about purchasing eyeglasses
than you'll get in a lifetime of going into
most optometric offices.
Why should you obtain your
prescription and bring it to me?
***I enjoy wearing eyeglasses,
and I believe you can, too!
***I think glasses are cool
(a fashion accessory!) Have you noticed how
many actors and actresses wear them in the
movies and TV shows?
***I believe spectacles should
IMPROVE your appearance.
***I believe glasses should
be comfortable.
*** I have been making and
fitting eyeglasses in Laramie, Wyoming for
over 25 years, more than ten times as long
as any other optical store in town.
*** (An unpleasant fact: Hairdressers
have to be licensed in Wyoming and Colorado,
but the person who makes and fits your eyeglasses
doesn't have to graduate from kindergarten.
This is true in Optical Stores, and in Optometrists'
and Ophthalmologists offices. This is ridiculous
(hair grows back!!)
If you really want your eyeglasses
done right, get your eyeglass prescription
filled by a CERTIFIED OPTICIAN. Demand to see
a certificate from the AMERICAN BOARD OF OPTICIANRY.
Certification by the ABO is your only protection
from the unscrupulous, and the unskilled in
this business. And what good are glasses that
don't work?
And one more thing: it's important
to find an eye doctor who will give you an
ACCURATE prescription. Unfortunately, these
days, profits seem to be more important than
accurate prescriptions.
In the last couple years,
doctors who have given us 100% perfect prescriptions
in the past, now are writing as much as 30
0r 40% errors (prescriptions which do not help
the patient see clearly, or in some cases,
which are worse than no glasses at all.) Apparently,
a lot of these problems arise from the practice
of the doctor attempting to "clone" himself
or herself by hiring "technicians" to
perform the actual examination, or most of
it, and then the doctor signs the Rx, as if
he or she examined you. When you return with
your glasses, through which you can't see clearly,
often as not you again don't see the eye doctor,
you see the technician again, who informs you
that the prescription "is correct, just
put them on and get used to them!"
I'm old fashioned - I think
that a new pair of glasses should make you
see more clearly than the old pair, and definitely
better than no glasses.
If you bring us a prescription
from the one doctor we most highly recommend,
we'll give you $20.00 off a complete pair of
full-service glasses. This is because I'm confident
your glasses will work THE FIRST TIME (I won't
have to eat the first set of lenses, and you
won't be waiting several weeks or months waiting
to see clearly!)
Please call us at (307) 745-3682
for information on where you can still receive
a real, old fashioned vision exam without spending
an arm and a leg. This doctor is completely
independent of us. The last we heard, the exam
price was $59.00, and deducting your rebate
from us on our complete full-service glasses
(described above), your net price for the exam
is $39.00. (Compare that with anything in Laramie,
including the local "discount" optical!!
I know this is a lot to digest,
but these days it seems NOTHING works when
you buy it. I firmly believe if I can get this
message out, there are enough of you out there
who appreciate quality and special attention,
that I can survive even in the midst of all
the big advertising from the huge optical chains
and eye care centers where you're just a number.
My good customers are just about my best friends.
Yours truly,
Steve Grabowski, ABOC, FNAO
Certified Optician
Questions?
Optical Fashions of Wyoming
1-888-PRO-EYES (1-888-776-3937)
In Laramie area: (307) 745-3682
P.S.
We have recommendations on
where you can go to get a great vision exam
without the sales pressure (and save money
to boot!)
And I like the fact that the prescriptions
are accurate, so the glasses work THE FIRST
TIME! (I just hate making glasses over because
the vision exam was performed by a technician
instead of a doctor. You are inconvenced, it
takes you weeks to get your glasses, and I
am out time and money.)
Exams performed by an independent
doctor of optometry.
Thank you for visiting us!
Steve Grabowski, ABOC, FNAO
Optical Fashions of Wyoming
305 S. 2nd St.
Laramie, Wyoming
(307) 745-3682
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