Deschenes Eye Associates

02/09/2017Dear [redacted] ***,The following is a summary and proposal for resolution of a complaint that was filed against my company, Deschenes Eye Associates, in regard to an incident that occurred on 01/27/2017.On 01/27/at 12:PM a current patient of our business requested that we adjust their current glasses, which were purchased on 01/18/The patient's frame was inspected by one of our ophthalmic technicians and it was explained to the patient that the frame was severely out of shape, but could be adjusted properly by applying a modest amount of heat to the frame to assist in correcting the fit and comfort of the frameOur technician adjusted the frame and improved the overall shape and fit for the patientAfter the patient had the frame on for a few moments realized that the lenses were not clear, but hazyOccasionally, when heat is applied to adjust a frame and the lenses have an anti-glare treatment it is possible for the lenses to undergo a reaction and create either small cracks or wavy lines in the overall lensUnfortunately, this was one of those rare occasions! My technician was very apologetic and felt very upset that this had occurredThese lenses were under warranty and a new set of lenses was ordered immediately for the patient while they were still in the officeWe inquired if the patient had a backup pair of glasses and they stated, yes, but they were approximately years old and one prescription behindWhat we did not realize was that the patient was going out of town the very next morning at approximately 7:00AMOur technician felt even worse, because typical turn-around time for a new set of lenses to be made and sent to us is usually a couple of daysHowever, our technician was able to get our lab to agree to rush the lenses and send them overnight and have the lenses by Saturday 01/28/2017, All delivery charges were to be waived and in addition, my technician was going to come in on Saturday on her own time, when we are normally closed, and dispense the new lenses to the patient, This option was not acceptable, because the patient had to leave so early in the morning and the lenses would not have been delivered until about 12:00PM.At this point, we recommended that maybe the best solution would be for the patient to take the current prescription to an express optical facility that could produce the glasses in an hour or so and invest in an inexpensive pair of backup glasses so that they would have a viable spare pairThe patient also purchased a pair of sunglasses last year from our facility and could possible use them during the day if neededThis seemed to be about the only option at this point given the patient’s travel scheduleUpon leaving, the patient stated that they felt that our office should be responsible for their cost of purchasing new lenses, excluding the frame because we ruined their glassesOur office coordinator at that point said she would have to run it by me to see if that would be an agreeable arrangementMy reply was "let me know what the cost is and we can discuss the situation further if the amount is fair and reasonable".On Monday 01/30/2017, the patient came into the office and the new lenses were installed in the repaired frame from our office as promised at no chargeThe lenses were under full warrantyThe patient presented our office with a copy of the out of pocket expenses from the express service optical labThe price was $I felt this was a bit excessive for an inexpensive backup pair of glasses.I have been in business for over years and have always put the patient's needs and concerns as a priorityI pride myself with excellent staff and superior customer service, I offered 20% reimbursement towards the out of pocket cost to purchase a backup pair of glasses, which I felt was a fair offeringThe patient also stated that I was too busy to return phone calls, however, I did leave a lengthy voice message on 01/31/to the number indicated for me to call and detailed my offering and again extended my apologies for any inconvenienceThe refund check was mailed out that day also accompanied by another apology letter for her inconvenienceWe did admit to damaging the lenses and did willingly replace them at no cost with additionally offering to open our facility on off hours to accommodate the urgent situationA refund check in the amount of $will be sent by certified mail on 02/10/This amount is the balance remaining from the already mailed check for $These combined checks are equivalent to the amount requested it this case, $232.55.After reviewing this scenario, I have learned yet another pearl in business to take home from this incident, "don't assume something can't go wrong and make sure that there is always a viable backup if something does”Most patients would have been grateful for our honesty and effort to correct our mistakeWe did state to this patient that if they did not want to keep the pair of glasses purchased from the express optical lab, they could be returned under the no fault policy the company has and receive a full refundThis is not dishonest, it happens to us on occasion and we have to honor itIn this case I am willing to reimburse this patient for required remaining amount requested to appease the complaint, but I do feel that my business did deliver quality service in a courteous and professional manner.Sincerely,Theresa D OD

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
*** ***

02/09/2017Dear [redacted],The following is a summary and proposal for resolution of a complaint that was filed against my company, Deschenes Eye Associates, in regard to an incident that occurred on 01/27/2017.On 01/27/2017 at 12:00 PM a current patient of our business requested that we adjust their...

current glasses, which were purchased on 01/18/2016. The patient's frame was inspected by one of our ophthalmic technicians and it was explained to the patient that the frame was severely out of shape, but could be adjusted properly by applying a modest amount of heat to the frame to assist in correcting the fit and comfort of the frame. Our technician adjusted the frame and improved the overall shape and fit for the patient. After the patient had the frame on for a few moments realized that the lenses were not clear, but hazy. Occasionally, when heat is applied to adjust a frame and the lenses have an anti-glare treatment it is possible for the lenses to undergo a reaction and create either small cracks or wavy lines in the overall lens. Unfortunately, this was one of those rare occasions! My technician was very apologetic and felt very upset that this had occurred. These lenses were under warranty and a new set of lenses was ordered immediately for the patient while they were still in the office. We inquired if the patient had a backup pair of glasses and they stated, yes, but they were approximately 8 years old and one prescription behind. What we did not realize was that the patient was going out of town the very next morning at approximately 7:00AM. Our technician felt even worse, because typical turn-around time for a new set of lenses to be made and sent to us is usually a couple of days. However, our technician was able to get our lab to agree to rush the lenses and send them overnight and have the lenses by Saturday 01/28/2017, All delivery charges were to be waived and in addition, my technician was going to come in on Saturday on her own time, when we are normally closed, and dispense the new lenses to the patient, This option was not acceptable, because the patient had to leave so early in the morning and the lenses would not have been delivered until about 12:00PM.At this point, we recommended that maybe the best solution would be for the patient to take the current prescription to an express optical facility that could produce the glasses in an hour or so and invest in an inexpensive pair of backup glasses so that they would have a viable spare pair. The patient also purchased a pair of sunglasses last year from our facility and could possible use them during the day if needed. This seemed to be about the only option at this point given the patient’s travel schedule. Upon leaving, the patient stated that they felt that our office should be responsible for their cost of purchasing new lenses, excluding the frame because we ruined their glasses. Our office coordinator at that point said she would have to run it by me to see if that would be an agreeable arrangement. My reply was "let me know what the cost is and we can discuss the situation further if the amount is fair and reasonable".On Monday 01/30/2017, the patient came into the office and the new lenses were installed in the repaired frame from our office as promised at no charge. The lenses were under full warranty. The patient presented our office with a copy of the out of pocket expenses from the express service optical lab. The price was $232.55 . I felt this was a bit excessive for an inexpensive backup pair of glasses.I have been in business for over 25 years and have always put the patient's needs and concerns as a priority. I pride myself with excellent staff and superior customer service, I offered 20% reimbursement towards the out of pocket cost to purchase a backup pair of glasses, which I felt was a fair offering. The patient also stated that I was too busy to return phone calls, however, I did leave a lengthy voice message on 01/31/2017 to the number indicated for me to call and detailed my offering and again extended my apologies for any inconvenience. The refund check was mailed out that day also accompanied by another apology letter for her inconvenience. We did admit to damaging the lenses and did willingly replace them at no cost with additionally offering to open our facility on off hours to accommodate the urgent situation. A refund check in the amount of $186.04 will be sent by certified mail on 02/10/2017. This amount is the balance remaining from the already mailed check for $46.51. These combined checks are equivalent to the amount requested it this case, $232.55.After reviewing this scenario, I have learned yet another pearl in business to take home from this incident, "don't assume something can't go wrong and make sure that there is always a viable backup if something does”. Most patients would have been grateful for our honesty and effort to correct our mistake. We did state to this patient that if they did not want to keep the pair of glasses purchased from the express optical lab, they could be returned under the no fault policy the company has and receive a full refund. This is not dishonest, it happens to us on occasion and we have to honor it. In this case I am willing to reimburse this patient for required remaining amount requested to appease the complaint, but I do feel that my business did deliver quality service in a courteous and professional manner.Sincerely,Theresa D.  OD