20 minutes not long enough for a decent eye test

Can you test your own eyes if you are an optometrist? Well, you can do elements, but perhaps not the most important bits, like check the health of the eye. In fact checking the health of the eye and determining the correct spectacle prescriptions are the absolute minimum requirements of an eye test.

We are currently in the process of recruiting another optometrist to work with Sharonjit and Karl (owner of Eyeye - and blog writer, social media person) and it’s a real (ahem) eye opener hearing what conditions optoms work in elsewhere. Opticians are put under both enormous time and KPI delivery pressure. The KPIs that they get hammered on are: 1) Conversion - how many people who are tested buy specs; 2) AOV - average order value of the those converted; 3) Number of tests done. For many places a good optom is one who tests fast and flogs specs and doesn’t make a fuss. It’s an awful job and let’s not pretend there are not issues with the eyecare offered in theses environments.

It’s a pity that optoms spend 4+ yrs getting qualified and when they do qualify the main message they get is they need to strip their eye test down and get faster. It’s so much better for patient and practitioner if time is taken to listen, understand and explain … answer questions etc. It’s more enjoyable for everyone!