How can my optical shop reduce lens remakes?

Lens remakes consume lab charges, staff time and customer goodwill. The cause is not always a laboratory mistake: a transposed prescription, incomplete frame information, incorrect fitting detail or missed lens check can start the problem at the counter. A practical remake-control process therefore follows the order from refraction to delivery. Each person should know what to record, what to verify and when to stop an order before it reaches the lab. The aim is not merely to blame or track the lab; it is to prevent avoidable errors and learn from the ones that still occur.

1. Find where the remake begins

Start by separating remakes into clear categories. A prescription-entry issue may involve sphere, cylinder, axis, addition or the sign used for the cylinder. A product issue may involve the wrong lens design, coating, index or material. A fitting issue may involve frame size, height, pupillary distance or how the frame sits. There can also be a lab, transit or customer-adjustment issue. The exact classification should be confirmed with the optometrist or lab where appropriate.

For each remake, write down the order number, original details, date, lab, promised date, reason found and who is responsible for the next action. Do not accept notes such as “not comfortable” without asking what was checked. A short reason list makes repeated problems visible: wrong power, wrong lens, damaged lens, incorrect fitting, delayed job, frame change or customer preference. Review this list regularly with the staff member who books jobs.

• Ask what was wrong, when it was noticed and who identified it.
• Keep the original order details visible when creating a remake.
• Separate data-entry, fitting, product, lab and customer-related causes.

2. Use a prescription and measurement check before booking

Read the prescription back before taking payment or sending the job. Confirm the right and left eye, sphere, cylinder, axis, addition and any other information needed by the optometrist or lab. If the prescription uses plus-cylinder notation and the lab requires minus-cylinder notation, transpose it carefully and confirm the result. Do not guess when a value is unclear; ask the prescribing professional or customer for clarification.

Check the customer's selected frame against the lens choice. Record the frame model, colour, eye size, bridge, temple details and whether the frame is supplied by the shop or the customer. Capture the fitting measurements required for the job, and repeat them if the frame is changed. A second-person check is useful for complex prescriptions or high-value jobs, but it should verify the actual record rather than simply ticking a box.

Before submission, show the customer the key order details in plain language. Confirm which frame is being glazed, what lens option was selected, the expected collection date and any amount still due. This catches misunderstandings while the frame is still at the counter, when correction is easier than after the lab returns the finished pair.

• Use a right-eye and left-eye checklist every time.
• Record the exact frame and lens selected, not only a product name.
• Escalate unclear prescriptions to the appropriate optometrist or prescriber.

3. Send a complete lab job and control handover

A lab should not have to interpret incomplete counter notes. The job should carry the prescription, cylinder format, frame and lens details, fitting information, customer or order reference, promised date and any special instruction. If the frame has a known limitation or is customer-owned, state it clearly. Keep a copy of what was sent so the returned pair can be compared with the original request.

Use one handover point. The person sending the job should confirm the package, job number and lab name, while the person receiving it should record when it left the shop. If a lab calls to clarify a detail, update the order rather than leaving the answer in a notebook or personal phone chat. Changes made after booking should have a time and staff name.

Promised dates also help prevent rushed handovers. If a job is delayed, tell the customer before the expected collection time and update the next action. A delayed job is inconvenient, but a hurried job delivered without a check can create another visit, another adjustment and an avoidable remake.

• Print or share a job sheet with all required details.
• Record lab name, job number, handover date and promised date.
• Update changed instructions in the main order record.

4. Inspect returned lenses before delivery

Treat the lab return as a quality-control step, not merely a stock-in event. Match the returned job number to the customer order and compare the frame, lens type and visible markings with the booking. Check the right and left lens orientation, power information where available, coating or tint, edge or mounting condition and obvious scratches or damage. Also confirm that the frame has not been bent or changed during glazing.

For technical verification, follow the checking process used by your optometrist or lab. Optical Mart's stated workflow includes a lens check against ANSI Z80.1 tolerances; a shop should still confirm that the person performing the check is trained and that the applicable procedure is suitable. If a result is outside the required tolerance or a detail does not match, hold the job and contact the lab before calling the customer.

Only after the check should the order move to ready for pickup. At collection, confirm the customer's identity and order, inspect the fit on the face, and ask the optometrist or trained staff member to handle any vision or comfort concern. Record the handover and any adjustment so a later complaint has a useful history.

• Match job number, frame and lens details before delivery.
• Hold mismatched or damaged jobs instead of placing them in the pickup area.
• Document the lens check and final adjustment.

A worked example: stopping a wrong-cylinder remake

Suppose a customer orders a pair using a prescription written in plus-cylinder form. The counter enters the values without checking the lab's required minus-cylinder format. During the pre-dispatch review, the staff member compares the original prescription, the transposed values and the lab job sheet. The axis and spherical equivalent do not agree, so the job is held before dispatch. The optometrist confirms the correct conversion, the record is corrected and a new job sheet is issued.

Now consider a second order: the prescription is correct, but the customer changes the frame after booking. The staff member updates the frame details and fitting measurements, reprints the job sheet and marks the old instruction as replaced. At return, the frame model and lens details are checked before the customer is contacted. These examples show the control points: validate the prescription, document changes, compare the return and stop the job when the record does not agree.

For a shop, the value is not in the arithmetic alone. It is in making each decision visible to the next person. If a remake still occurs, the owner can see whether the error began during entry, handover, lab processing, fitting or delivery, rather than treating every remake as the same problem.

• Use the original prescription and converted values together.
• Reissue instructions when the frame or lens changes.
• Treat a mismatch as a stop point, not a delivery note.

5. Review remakes and improve the counter routine

Hold a short weekly review of open and completed remakes. Look for repeated patterns by staff member, lab, frame type, lens option or cause. A pattern does not automatically prove fault, so discuss the evidence with the relevant lab or optometrist. The goal is to change the process: add a missing field, require a second check, change the handover method or explain a frame limitation before taking the order.

Keep remake ownership clear. If the shop sends incorrect details, correct the record and review the entry step. If the returned lens does not match the job, preserve the original job sheet and contact the lab. If the customer changes the frame or rejects an option, record that change. If responsibility is disputed, the written timeline is more useful than a verbal recollection.

Train new staff with two or three completed orders and one remake example. Make the checklist part of the counter routine, not something used only when the owner is present. Review whether staff can find the prescription, lab status, payment and customer communication from one order record.

• Review causes, not only the number of remakes.
• Keep responsibility and next action visible.
• Train staff on real order records and exception cases.

Common mistakes

One common mistake is copying a prescription from a paper slip without confirming the eye, cylinder notation or addition. Another is recording only a lens brand or price while leaving out the frame and fitting details. These shortcuts make the job difficult to reproduce and increase the chance that a later staff member sends the wrong instruction.

Shops also make the mistake of marking a job ready as soon as it returns from the lab. A parcel can be present while the lens, frame or coating is still wrong. Another error is calling the customer before checking the job, which creates an awkward second call when the pair must be remade. Finally, many shops record that a remake happened but not why, so the same process failure returns.

Avoid relying on separate notebooks, personal messages or memory for corrections. If the order changes, update the main record and retain the reason. If the internet is unreliable, use a counter process that continues offline and syncs later, but still make the quality check part of the workflow.

• Do not copy unclear prescriptions or leave cylinder format unstated.
• Do not skip inspection because the lab parcel has arrived.
• Do not keep corrections only in private messages or memory.
• Do not close a remake without recording its cause.

How Optical Mart handles this

Optical Mart keeps the prescription, customer, frame and lens details with the order, and its lab workflow records eight stages from booking to delivery, including the lab name, job number and promised date. A job sheet can include the power in minus-cylinder format and a QR, while the shop can scan the job back in, perform a lens check against ANSI Z80.1 tolerances and record remakes, responsibility and lab performance. The web app and Windows 10/11 offline desktop app support the counter workflow; the lab's own status page runs on the website.