Opticians in the house?? - big chains versus independants

[sawman]

so is there any significant benefits of corporates versus individual practitioners?

I have been using gas perm contact lenses for the last 20 years, due to Keratoconus. In that time i have had no prescription changes. I could do with a new pair of lenses, but I have moved away from my old practitioner - would i be better in a chain or individual practitioner. Is this still an area of speciality in opthalmic circles - It was when I was first diagnosed, I had to attend the hospital to see a corneal specialist

[Ritchie335is]

I have had contacts for years and shifted to a large chain having previously used a local independant for years.
IMO the service is much worse from a chain and I also think the quality of solutions and lenses isn't the same is its one own branded stuff.

"I Should have.....", stayed where I was.

[parkem50]

Hi, I am married to an optom. She has worked in both chains and independents.
The difference between them is the time spent with each patient. Bigger overheads in city centre chains mean more tests per hour to keep profits up. I am not saying a shorter eye test means a bad eye test, but you may get a bit more time out of an Indy. Most people get sucked in to the hype of two for one, or half price deals. The reality is the product is well marked up in the first place! You will find the independents can easily sell you a high class product for a cheap price also! Small practices in villages or small towns often have good relationships with the local hospital specialists. They tend to have a high number of elderly patients who often need referring for cataracts etc. The quality of the after care is for me the deciding factor.

[968]

sawman said:

so is there any significant benefits of corporates versus individual practitioners?

I have been using gas perm contact lenses for the last 20 years, due to Keratoconus. In that time i have had no prescription changes. I could do with a new pair of lenses, but I have moved away from my old practitioner - would i be better in a chain or individual practitioner. Is this still an area of speciality in opthalmic circles - It was when I was first diagnosed, I had to attend the hospital to see a corneal specialist

There usually are optoms who can deal with keratoconus, the smaller places are usually better for this, or else ask your gp to refer to the hospital optoms for assessment.

[Parsnip]

While not really relevant to the OP's specific situation, I have done both and while the service is better from the independent (Hello Parsnip, been a while since I have seen you etc...) rather than the conveyor belt that is a big chain store (not to say that it really a bad thing, they do what they need to do very efficiently). I found the bigger stores often have a better selection of frames and services available - my local didn't do Oakley frames, same story with trying to get prescription lenses in my Oakley sunglasses.

[sawman]

968 said:

sawman said:

so is there any significant benefits of corporates versus individual practitioners?

I have been using gas perm contact lenses for the last 20 years, due to Keratoconus. In that time i have had no prescription changes. I could do with a new pair of lenses, but I have moved away from my old practitioner - would i be better in a chain or individual practitioner. Is this still an area of speciality in opthalmic circles - It was when I was first diagnosed, I had to attend the hospital to see a corneal specialist

There usually are optoms who can deal with keratoconus, the smaller places are usually better for this, or else ask your gp to refer to the hospital optoms for assessment.

cheers,

After a bit of ringing around I have discovered that the optom' in my village has a reputation for managing keratoconus. I am more comfortable with a local indy, as I am inherently suspicions of corporates across the board