The last stop of the world tour: Switzerland. I say last stop although, as I write this, I should be in Denmark but I have to admit that enough is enough (Denmark is postponed for three weeks to ensure my long-suffering wife remains long and suffering and not free and single).
Switzerland was a real surprise to me, as a country it is simply beautiful and I plan to return here on holiday. It is the most spectacular stop of the world tour and, whilst I was lucky to criss-cross it as I visited opticians, I also know I’ve only seen a small part of it.
On to business, we have some of our best opticians in the world here. One I would like to mention is BODO OPTIQUE in Romandy. This optician is a classic example of the effectiveness of design school. Quite how effective it was with this optician is amazing and his sales performance had slipped under my radar. Basically, BDS (Before Design School) he was selling around three Bespoke frames per month. Since design school he is now selling seven per week (he casually asked me how many points he needed for two iPhones on our Summer promotion)! I wasn’t sure if I was delighted or scared. Delighted of course.
I visited the usual mix of successful opticians and unsuccessful opticians and the same pattern emerged. Not to repeat myself, I will save my findings for the next blog post “World Tour Feedback” where I will reveal the secrets and success of our business; what I have learned and what I will be doing to improve.
I also visited a lens lab, REIZE OPTIK AG. Again, I was amazed. I have seen a few high tech labs in my time but this one took the biscuit. They are a fantastic company and we are considering working together in Switzerland. I have to say that if anyone wants a recommendation for a lens business...this is the company! I was pleased they let me take so many photos of their production, since many of their ideas will soon find their way in to our Bespoke production line.
My last appointment was perhaps the most challenging. One of our accounts had new owners and the new owners did not like the idea of our Bespoke service. My last stop on my world tour was to be an Optician who wanted to send everything back. Yikes! I went to see the problem.
“It looks too much like Oliver Peoples.”
“We don’t have the customers here for Bespoke.”
“No-one knows how to use it in the shop.”
“Good!” I thought “I am on safe ground, the same old comments.”
TD – “Did you know you can use the system to design your own frames?”
Optician - “No.”
TD – “Do you know the customer for this shop well yet?”
Optician - “Yes we think so, anyway, we know our own style.”
TD – “Well, why not use the leftover vouchers to create your own mini collection and, while you are at it, what do you think of these NEW frames?”
The result was another happy customer, NOT sending everything back.
I went to the airport and sat down feeling exhausted. I could barley squeeze the cork out of the bottle of Moet. One felt like one had earned a little celebration at the end of two months on the road. I went home to several days of sleep.
