Making the dispensing experience special

For both practitioners that OT spoke to for this piece, identifying a clear purpose has been essential from the beginning.

Conor Heaney is practice owner and optometrist at Jones and Co Styling Opticians in Manchester city centre, whilst Fahima Adam is a dispensing optician, in-store trainer and supervisor at Specsavers Leicester.

Heaney notes that in five years of running his previous practice, Seen Opticians, he had never had a patient walk in and know what they wanted straightaway – they always needed advice. This need became his guiding ethos when he set up Jones and Co.

He explains that he wanted to “design the practice in a way where it is their choice. They feel in control, but it’s very much set up for us to guide them and give them the insider knowledge that they don’t have. If we can give them that, then they can make a better decision.”

For Heaney, success was about distilling the main purpose of the practice from the start.

“I had to decide what we wanted to be known for and what we wanted to specialise in. Helping people with their glasses, for me, was the main thing,” he said.

He explained: “Most of our patients are healthy. They need correction for vision, but they don’t have any pathology. Most of them are at least a little bit frustrated about the fact they need glasses.

“I saw this as this big opportunity to help people, and turn that into a positive thing. I really try and convey that to my team, to make sure that they understand this isn’t just about giving people a pair of glasses – it’s a big opportunity to really make a difference for them.”

Fixing a patient’s vision “is quite a basic need,” Heaney believes, “but as you move higher up, you come into emotional needs: how do people feel, and how do they look? Do they feel confident and attractive, and special, and like an individual?”

He added: “I think the dispensing experience is a real opportunity, not just to serve that basic need, but to really focus on how we make them feel good about themselves, how we make them look good, how we make them enjoy wearing glasses, and how we make them feel like a really special, individual person.

“It’s not one size fits all, but about treating them as an individual. I try and help my team understand why we want to do this to start with, and so then they can hopefully have some fun.”

Whilst Heaney has a long history in practice, Adam has come via an unexpected route – in fact, she is an English language and literature graduate, although she had held an ambition to work in her local Specsavers practice since the age of 12.

The ambition was realised when she started working at the practice during her degree, and then when she was offered a trainee dispensing optician position after graduating.

“When I saw how people interacted with patients, and when I saw that connection between the optometrist and the patient, I thought, ‘I really want to work here’,” she explained.

Adam qualified as a dispensing optician in November 2024, and is also part of the in-store training group, providing training to upwards of 45 practice team colleagues.

Aside from her degree and her dispensing optician training, Adam has also completed a course in speech and language pathology and has the Cambridge CELTA qualification, allowing her to teach English as a foreign language.

As a dispensing optician, this less than typical background has been vital in informing how she wants to treat patients and the experience that she can impart upon them, Adam believes.

“I don’t regret my degree at all,” she told OT. “I think it has been such an essential tool in dispensing and giving the customer that good experience.”

Curating a consistent patient journey

OT is interested in how peer training within the store has enabled consistency in patient experience when it comes to the dispense.

Adam explains that she has been training practice team staff for more than two years.

“I think it's really important, because it reflects when the staff member is interacting with the customer,” she said. “The fact that I’ve trained them means that we’re all on the same page; the flow is the same. The information given to the patient is going to be structured. It helps build trust with the patient.”

Consistent training from a practice colleague means that everything from the initial welcome to the eye examination to the pricing conversation is uniform, offering the patient reassurance, Adam believes.

“It shows that our team has that expertise and professionalism – that we’re not just employing someone one day, and then the next day they’re sharing random information,” she said, adding: “It keeps the flow consistent in the customer journey.”

Heaney notes that, “if you identify something as important, you have to spend time on it.”

For Jones and Co this means investing time with the patient, but also with the practice team, because “they are the people delivering this experience.”

Heaney explained: “We commit time. Every week, we do team training on delivering an effortless eyewear experience. That keeps everybody’s skills sharp. It keeps everybody motivated and focused on why we do what we do, and how to do it.”

The practice also emphasises the importance of highlighting things that have worked, acknowledging positive reviews, and sharing client photos.

The key is not getting bogged down in the admin of work, but keeping the wider purpose in mind, Heaney explained.

“We take photos of every single client on the day they collect their glasses,” he said. “If I see a photo of a happy, smiling client in a pair of glasses, and they look really good, and they’re happy, and they’ve just spent money with us that they could have spent somewhere else – that’s a sign that we’re doing the right things.”

He added: “My end goal is to produce clients that are super happy with what they’ve got, super happy about us, and feel good in their glasses.”

Ensuring personal experience across different practice settings

For both Adam and Heaney, the personal touch is a unique selling point – something that is true both for a busy High Street multiple and a styling-focused independent.

At Specsavers, “we have to make sure patients want to come back, and that they care about their eye care,” Adam said.

“Even though we are a big multiple, we are human. It’s being able to tailor your customer service to that patient in front of you, and changing up your dialogue, and making it fun.”

With a child, Adam will notice if they have chosen a frame with a Marvel character, or try to engage them in a dialogue about Spiderman.

“That is what engages the child,” she told OT. “It’s about building that relationship. It’s about letting them come in, and giving them that tailored experience.”

At Jones and Co, the USP comes from being able to spend more time with a patient than other practices might be able to.

“From a financial perspective, that’s how we can compete,” Heaney said. “We can spend longer with the patient. If we do that, and the client enjoys it, they will happily choose to spend more money, because they feel that they’re getting a service.

“Financially, it makes our business work. For independents, if you’re trying to compete on price and volume, it’s very difficult. If you compete on the value and personal service and expertise that you’re offering, it’s the real differentiator.”

Heaney believes that, “as an independent, your biggest strategy is to slow it down, take more time, and give the client more personal help. You’ll get far better results, and the client will be happier.”

He added: “Another reason is, I just want us to do things as well as we can. I want to feel good about my work. I want to make a difference for that person who is in front of me today. There is a purpose wrapped up in that.”

For independents, if you’re trying to compete on price and volume, it’s very difficult. If you compete on the value and personal service and expertise that you’re offering, it’s the real differentiator

Avoiding a pressurised environment

OT is also keen to hear how both practitioners ensure that patients don’t feel pressurised during the dispense.

For Adam, it is about putting herself in the patient’s shoes and ensuring that she asks questions at every stage.

A first-time varifocal wearer might be scared about their life changing after being told that they now need help with reading, she explained.

To ease a patient’s worries, she will give them the full menu of options and spend time talking through the recommendations that have been made by the optometrist.

Giving them a few minutes to think through their options is vital, Adam said.

“We need to be able to empathise with our customers,” she believes.

She explained: “I’m constantly asking my customers questions: ‘How do you feel? Are you happy with your dispense today? Do you have any questions for me?’

“At the end, I’ll run through the order with them to confirm. It’s about always getting the patient’s consent, at every step of the dispense.”

For Heaney, being extremely upfront about what Jones and Co is offering is a strategy that serves the practice well.

“I tell my team that ‘selling is serving’,” he explained.

“It’s about us helping people who want our help. Some people don’t want what we have, and that’s okay. We'll be honest with people. We specialise in premium frames, and a higher level of personal service. That’s great for people who want to treat themselves to glasses that make them feel really good.”

Heaney added: “That is the wording we use: ‘there is no right or wrong. It’s about you deciding what the best options for you are. We’re just here to help. It’s your decision.’”

This approach underpins everything that Jones and Co colleagues are doing, Heaney explained: “We’re not trying to pressurise anybody into anything. We’re just trying to give them good advice, letting them know what the options are, and helping them think through what’s going to be best for them.”

It’s about always getting the patient’s consent, at every step of the dispense