Time to change labs

Social gatherings are filled with people talking about their latest self-improvement efforts. With today's consumer investing in everything from onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox, Allergan) to bunion removal, it's no wonder that consumers are asking opticians, "Isn't there anything else?"

Opticians, feeling the pressure to offer the latest and the greatest, may be wondering whether boutique spectacle lenses should be added to their product mix. Often, a request (or complaint) from a consumer is cited as one of the reasons given by practices that change wholesale lab services.

Although consumer preference is important and most business start-up specialists recommend that a small business-a dispensary should be run as a separate business and have its own set of financials-have accounts with at least three different labs, re-vamping spectacle products should not be just consumer-driven but confirmed through financial analysis.

The underlying questions for management to consider are: