Just when you want to pull out your hair because it is so exhausting to deal with your patients' visual demands, the unexpected "Thank You" puts it all back into the right perspective.
I live and work in a small town on the East Coast of Florida. In the wintertime, we are home to many "Snowbirds" who want to escape the harsh winter conditions up north. Something extraordinary happens to all the inhabitants of this little town right before the full moon. Otherwise perfectly pleasant people turn into unreasonably needy control freaks. We have just been through the Full Moon for this month, and it surely tested our people skills.
Then the following letter was hand delivered on one of those long, hard days and it changed everything.
To The Optical Center at The Eye Clinic Of Vero.
Thank you so much for taking care of my glasses they look great. You guys and girls did good. I hope you guys and girls become a huge empire some day.
This young man certainly has a way with words. And we played a role in enabling him to see well enough to write this letter.
His Rx is:
OD -21.50 +4.00 x 090
OS -23.00 +5.00 x 090
His family could not afford to buy eyeglasses for him. Our office decided to make them for him anyway.
Think about how small this teenage boy's world is. We know where he has clear vision. The focal length of a -20.00 lens is 5 cm, which equals two inches. So, he can see clearly at about two inches in front of his eyes.
You simply have to help a young man like this.
We chose the most suitable frame for his face considering the high Rx. Our lab agreed to share the cost of the lenses. We went for the best, not the least expensive. SV Freeform in a 1.67 High Index material with a good AR coating. To put it in his words: We guys and girls did good.
And here is the amazing thing. This thank-you letter uplifted our spirits in a time of need. It shifted our energy from down in the dumpster to inspired. We made a difference. Life is good. With this newly found positive energy we have more compassion for our patients that makes them happier, which reflects in their ability to communicate, make decisions and spend money. And that is the purpose of any optical business:
Have happy customers, make money and be satisfied with what you do.
And notice, not one single person has changed. The patients are still "moony", we opticians are the same people. The only thing that has change is our energy level. We had a positive injection; we see the world brighter. And because we see the world more positively, the world acts more positively. The Betari Box illustrates this connection.
The Betari Box is a model that helps us understand the impact that our own attitudes and behaviors have on the attitudes and behaviors of the people around us. Our attitude plays a large role in the behavior we exhibit. When we're feeling motivated and positive, we smile, we complement our team, and we empower those around us. When we're feeling negative, the reverse is often true—we can be impatient, we get angry with our people, and we might even yell or argue.
These behaviors often affect the people around us. They then turn those negative behaviors back on us, and the conflict gets worse.
The moral of the story: Do good and you receive good, which makes life good.
Maggie Sayers is a professional development coach and a Master Optician. Her optical career started over 30 years ago in a family business in Germany.
Since she came to Florida in 1987, she has worked diligently to promote high professional standards in opticianry. Her mission is to help opticians achieve their personal success through serving the public as vision experts.
As a professional development coach Maggie provides education workshops that focus on leadership and personal engagement. Her time management course has inspired many participants to think outside the box, apply newly acquired knowledge and achieve extraordinary results.
Maggie's enthusiasm for opticianry is inspiring and her keen business sense paired with excellent communication skills make her a highly sought after motivational speaker.
