It feels like IntelliSight Opticians was a long time coming in 2015.
We moved into the old Greggs property in mid February, but it had been stripped down to the bare brick so the building work seemed to take an AGE. I suppose it wasn't helped by the fact that I was very particular about the shopfit, the bespoke furniture, and the placement of splashes of ORANGE ( no prizes for guessing my favourite colour!).
I was also very particular about the branding, and I think the design and overall look of the IntelliSight Opticians logo, both inside and outside the premises looks fantastic. The designers of the logo, E -strands, also did our website, and I think that also really stands out from the crowd.
Six months after IntelliSight moved into the High Street, we opened on 11th August. I was back on Redcar High Street, 4 years after leaving Specsavers. In that 4 years I had worked in all the big optical multiple stores and numerous independent opticians, and I tried to take the good practices from each of them and incorporate them into Intellisight Opticians.
As well as having an eyecatching looking and spacious practice, we have probably the largest range of frames in Redcar, and certainly the most varied and interesting range.
Our contact lenses are all the 'big name' brands, and these days pretty much anyone is suitable for contact lenses, so if you have ever thought that it might be nice to see clearly without spectacles, there has never been a better time to try them.
With over 30 years of local experience, there isn't much in the way of eye related issues that I haven't seen or dealt with before; and I will always try to explain things clearly. My aim is to clarify and not to impress you with how many optical terms I know!
At IntelliSight Opticians, we also do things differently with regards to the eye issues that other opticians don't help you with. We stock an extensive range of specialist dry eye and blepharitis treatments , the Spectrum Thea range. We stock high quality magnifiers, specialist reading lights and electronic magnifiers from Eschenbach. We stock the ONLY vitamin supplements that have been scientifically proven to help control the progression of macular degeneration (Viteyes 2 and EyeBar) .
As I'm the chair of the Local Optical Committee in Tees, I'm aware of every community service, pilot scheme, hospital service and third sector provider in the Tees area. If there is something that you would benefit from, I will most definitely be the one to get you access to it.
As far as customer service is concerned, I have always found that treating anyone in the same manner as you would like to be treated is the best way to please and delight....and a nice cuppa helps too! I hope that in the past six months we have both pleased and delighted the many people who have come through our doors.
One thing I was determined to avoid was excessive paper, particularly paper records. There's nothing makes an optician look more unprofessional than being unable to locate previous records. Our computer based management system has meant that we have kept paper to a minimum: greener and less to misplace. One of the things that has come from a system capable of monitoring all our patients, is that we have been able to find out why people came to us rather than another optician. And rather surprisingly it hasn't been advertising in the local papers, or on the radio that has worked, it's overwhelmingly recommendation; simply providing a service so good that we are being highly recommended to friends and family.
And this is where the big THANK YOU comes. I'd like to personally thank everyone who has helped to make our 2015 SO successful. We're clearly doing something right if the vast majority of our business comes from recommendation. And please continue to be our ambassadors. We have thoroughly enjoyed providing you with excellent eyecare in 2015, and we'd LOVE to see more people like you in 2016 and beyond. You and your friends and family will continue to benefit from your special discount, 241 for everyone will be back soon, so 2 people can get the offer, and we will be having innovative offers as the year advances.
Why not pop in and see what's in the SALE? Up to £150 off designer glasses. Or pop in for a cuppa.
Once again a very sincere thank you for our brilliant start; we hope to see you again soon.
67 High Street • Redcar • TS10 3DD
