How I Went from Client to Team Member at Shades Optical
Welcome Grace to our Shades Optical family
All these years later, I still remember the very first time I walked into Shades.
Picture this: it’s 2015, and the most near-sighted and the least fashion-forward kid you’ve ever met stumbles into your favorite local optical shop wearing a pair of glasses held together by virtually nothing but sheer desperation, blind optimism (quite literally) and…duct tape.
As embarrassed as I was at the time, I had no reason to be. Marcia was there to save the day, as she tends to do, and the rest of the Shades team followed suit in making me feel like a part of their family from the moment I stepped into the store. I picked out my very first Barton Perreira frame, had a chocolate (maybe two) from the dish on the back counter, and went on my way knowing that my new glasses and I were in the best possible hands–that here, I was being taken care of.
Fast forward ten years, and you will find me in that same building at 193 W. Maple–this time, under slightly different circumstances: I work here now! In November of 2023, I officially joined the team as our optometric assistant and gained the wonderful opportunity to work alongside Dr. Anna and Dr. Bill, assisting with eye exam pre-testing, dry eye treatments, and anything else that might bring someone through our door that day.
Having the unique chance to get a closer look at the ins and outs of optometry has been a truly invaluable and (no pun intended) eye-opening experience for me, and getting to do so at Shades in particular has shown me how distinctive our approach is.
Now, I’m no stranger to having my eyes tested, and my very first glasses came into my life far before I discovered Shades Optical. I received the news that I needed glasses when I was in the first grade, and unlike a lot of children, I was absolutely thrilled about it. So much so, in fact, that I presented my little set of new blue wire-rimmed glasses in front of my entire class for show-and-tell. In retrospect, that might be one of the nerdiest things I’ve ever done, but anyway. It was the beginning of a long, glasses-loving journey for me, and I was excited.
Come to find, when you wear glasses and your eyes change as often as mine do, you end up needing to go in for an annual eye exam (though even if your eyes are nothing like mine, I’d recommend doing the same thing!).
For many years, I was a patient at a local ophthalmologist's office where I would be seen for exams, and I got very used to the way it always went down. I would be asked a couple of brief questions about the state of my vision, dread the inevitable dilation drops, be presented with never never-changing eye charts, and I’d have the chance to speak with the doctor for all of two or three minutes at the end of the run-through before I was briskly sent on my way.
I grew accustomed to feeling like just one of many odd patients the ophthalmologist had seen that day, and it became another one of those doctor appointments I wouldn’t really look forward to, where I would leave feeling like I hadn’t really been listened to. Until I began working with the doctors and patients at Shades, I never knew that there were optometrists who did things differently–a lot differently.
When you come in to see us to have your eyes checked, you’re scheduled for a full hour. In pre-testing, we will discuss what you are hoping to accomplish during your visit (whether that be simply keeping up with your annual exams, refining your prescription, or focusing on more specific ocular concerns) and how we can get you feeling and seeing better. I will talk you through in-depth retinal imaging and auto-refraction, check your eye pressure, and even measure your antioxidant levels. Above all, I will do my absolute best to ensure that you are being heard, taken care of, and are in great hands–just as I have felt since my very first visit all those years ago.
Following pre-testing, you will head into the exam room, where our optometrist will not only provide you with a remarkably in-depth assessment of your ocular health and visual acuity, but will also thoroughly examine the function of your meibomian glands–the little glands along our eyelid edges that secrete the oils forming our outermost tear film layer, and that give us the centralmost window into recognizing symptoms of dry eye in our patients. The wellness plan that you will then create with our doctor will outline a personalized, maintenance- and prevention-focused timeline for keeping your eyes (and your whole body!) in tip-top shape.
The go-to option for many people, naturally, is to see an ophthalmologist for their eye exams that accepts their insurance. While this is a practice I am exceedingly familiar with, and of course can understand, I can also attest to what the downsides of this experience might be from the perspective of both a patient and as someone who works behind the scenes.
Here is the biggest difference: at the aforementioned ophthalmologist’s office, the reality is that you will receive the very limited amount of time and attentiveness that the doctor is able to give you when you are one of maybe 50 patients they are seeing on any given day. Shades is out of network for all insurance (although we will always help you submit to your insurer for reimbursement!) which means that we have the time, the space, and more than anything, the passion for providing the best patient care that we can.
My time at Shades has shown me what’s possible in the world of vision care, and in many ways, has reassured me that there really are doctors out there who will listen to me, take any concerns I have seriously, and who will make the authentic effort to care for me the way people deserve to be cared for.
Shades Optical is, for all intents and purposes, a little family. We are always here for each other and we are always here for you. And by the way, while you’re in the neighborhood…we also have some pretty cool glasses. Some of us (I) might be incredibly near-sighted, but I know that we will spot the perfect pair for you from a mile away. Come in and see us, maybe have a chocolate or two. We would certainly love to see you.