I love the phrase “Up Close and Personal.” It encases so much of what we do in our industry. If you think about it, we are up close and personal with all of our patients every single day. We are looking closely at their needs and lifestyle and we are also striving to make each interaction with our patients deeply personal. When you look at the products they make, I believe this is a sentiment that is also be shared by Silhouette.

I’ve worked with Silhouette Eyewear for many years and have seen the evolution of their products over time. And while they are always introducing new shapes and colors and chassis styles, what has remained the same has been their dedication to quality and their belief that letting the patient’s natural beauty shine through is paramount. I make no bones about loving innovation in our industry and I truly appreciate companies who strive to produce excellent product. I’ve always appreciated that eyewear made by Silhouette is made in Austria of the highest quality materials. Eyewear made by Silhouette is incredibly light in weight and comfortable for the wearer and the chassis parts have an innate durability that comprises a frame that is made to stand the test of time.

Make it Personal

One of the things I love about our industry today is our ability to make the eyecare experience a very personal one. Not only can we design free form lenses for our patient based on their lifestyle and their exact visual needs, but through the use of Silhouette eyewear, we can completely personalize the fit and function of their frames also.

So you’re working with a patient and you can see the demo frame you’ve tried on them has a bridge that is too wide, or the temple length isn’t right, or the color of the frame isn’t what the patient wants. Guess what? Silhouette has a solution for that. Silhouette is one of the only companies who hang their hat on complete customization for the patient. If you think about it, how many companies even offer more than one bridge width anymore? While this used to be a fairly commonplace option, today’s frame companies rarely offer it. We’ve replaced sizing options with more color choices instead, and this can lead to a myriad of problems in terms of creating eyewear with the “perfect fit.”

Not only are there a multitude of sizing options for Silhouette frames, but since they are drill mounted, there is no frame around the lens to prevent us from customizing the lens size itself. Often I find myself working with petite women who need eyewear that is petite enough to fit them, but deep enough to accommodate a progressive lens. And, let’s not forget that this is a demographic who is traditionally under served, and they are fed up with wearing children’s eyewear. Through the use of products like Silhouette eyewear, we have viable options for this patient to be both age appropriate and properly fit. Trust me, when you can craft appropriate eyewear for a petite patient who has been wearing frames with a cartoon character on the temple, they appreciate the change and likely tell their friends!

Creating Value for Your Patient

We are all on the never-ending quest in the optical industry to create value for our patients. Value can be a tricky thing to quantify. Often people get the meaning of the terms “value” and “price” mixed up. Let’s take a moment to discuss this. If you purchase a shirt at a discount chain store for $5.00 and you are able to wear it twice before it doesn’t fit properly anymore and you can’t wear it again the question to ask is - did you get a good value out of your purchase? Now imagine you had purchased a shirt of higher quality from a craftsman who paid attention to how this shirt was made, the materials used, and the details of manufacturing. You likely paid much more for this shirt, but it fits you amazingly and you’re able to wear it for many years. If you compare the two scenarios, you will see that if you continued to purchase a lower price-lower quality shirt, you would likely spend more money in the long run replacing it more often. Looking at this second scenario you will see that the purchase of the second shirt has created much higher value to the purchaser. So, you see, value and price are not the same thing.

The same can be said for the purchase of frames. I always encourage patients to invest in quality products like Silhouette that will last longer and be more comfortable for their everyday wearing experience. It is always a question of quality versus replacement frequency. It is up to us to properly present products of value so our patients understand the difference.

Conclusion

For me, making things personal is of utmost importance, and I certainly appreciate a company like Silhouette who shares my deep belief of getting up close and personal with our patients.

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Johnna Dukes, ABOC is currently the owner and operator of an optical boutique, with experience in both the private practice sector as well as the retail chain setting. She has a wide range of experience varying from optical support staff to dispensary management to practice ownership. She lives in Okoboji, Iowa.

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