In the past, I've shared 5 reasons why I would not purchase glasses from Warby Parker. These are 5 reasons why I would.
We too often think like healthcare professionals, optometrists, and business owners, and not enough like the people we service, both patients and consumers.
We make the mistake of perceiving Warby Parker as the boogey man.
In reality, Warby Parker is a great company, with great leadership, and strong marketing abilities.
They service the needs of many of our patients, and can meet those needs in many circumstances.
We can learn such a great deal from a company like Warby Parker, if we take a step back, and look at things from the perspective of a consumer.
1. Affordability
Warby Parker offers a complete set of glasses at an affordable cost.
While the lenses might not be a premier product, and the frame itself might not be indestructible, for many patients, this quality is ample enough.
It allows patients to have multiple pairs of glasses at an affordable price.
Their offerings continue to increase with lenses available in a standard polycarbonate.
For a reasonable fee, you can upgrade to high index (1.67 or 1.74) lenses for higher prescriptions.
Anti-glare coating is included, as is 100% UV protection.
Prescription sunglasses come polarized and are offered in CR39, or polycarbonate for roughly the same costs.
2. Customer Service
The customer service at Warby Parker is exceptional.
We all know that optometry is every bit about customer service as it is delivering quality healthcare. There is a heavy retail component to optometry that cannot be ignored.
Delivering the best customer experience is critical to the survival of a practice.
Warby Parker does it best.
Their return policy is unmatched. They have a 30-day, no-questions-asked return policy for all of their eyewear, and have a one-year, no-scratch guarantee for their lenses.
If you don't live near a physical location, Warby Parker will reimburse you the cost of one adjustment (up to $50) from an independent eyecare center within 30 days of your purchase.
3. Appeal to Millennials
Warby Parker embraces the current millennial culture.
Their storefronts accentuate this. They reinforce that they are a cool company and a cool place to work. My colleagues working there would attest.
I mean, where else can you get a monocle these days!?
4. A Good Cause
Warby Parker gives back in a great way.
Through their unique program and the help of their consumers, they've been able to distribute over a million pairs of glasses to people in need. That is amazing!
Who doesn't like feeling good?
5. Convenience
In our current environment, where convenience matters most, Warby Parker has made themselves just that.
Their home try-on program allows you to pick out five frames and gives you five days to take them for a test run, and decide which frame style suits you best.
Shipping is free both ways. This is a great solution to the difficulty of shopping online without physically trying something on, especially spectacles!
They will even help you pick out a frame through live chat.
The increasing presence of brick and mortar stores, will only increase their level of outreach to provide better service in the form of measurements, adjustments, and troubleshooting.
The processing and shipping time (shipping is free) to receive a pair of spectacles, is between 7-12 business days. Not a whole lot longer than using a vision insurance plan at a private entity.
There are still areas Warby Parker needs to improve upon, in part from the limitations of essentially being a remote (for now anyway) eyewear distributor, but there is no question that we can all learn a little from them.
They have been a massive disruptor in the eyewear and eyecare industry.
From disruption comes evolution. By looking at what Warby Parker does best, and learning from it, perhaps we can improve our own businesses and change the way we provide service to our patients.
