Guide · choosing an optician
Independent opticians: what is actually different?
People search for an independent optician when they want to feel looked after rather than processed. Here is what that should mean in practice, so you know what to look for wherever you go.
Time
An eye test that takes forty-five minutes, not twenty. Time for the optometrist to ask about your work, your screens, your driving and what has been bothering you, before anything is tested. The right advice depends on it.
The same faces
The optometrist who tested your eyes last year, and the team who know your name. Continuity is how small changes get noticed, because someone is comparing this year with last.
Advice, not targets
Frames chosen for your face and your day, by a qualified dispensing optician, with every price shown before you decide. If your prescription has barely changed, a good independent will tell you so and you keep the glasses you have.
Your own eyes, explained
Your scans and photographs on the screen in front of you, explained until they make sense. You should leave understanding your eyes better than when you arrived.
Our five practices
We are a family-owned independent, with practices in Cheadle, Middleton, Heald Green, Winsford and Heckmondwike. Abra and I run every one by the same rule: look after every patient the way we would look after our own family.
The short version
- Forty-five minutes, and time to talk first
- The same optometrist and team, year after year
- Frames chosen for you, every price before you decide
- Your own eyes explained on the screen