Oups. A little late..

With the terrible end to last week that I had, I also had a lovely end to last week.

Confused much?

Happy Amélie Number 1 Day!!

And finally

So this morning after the school dropoff and general mania that is my household, we drove to The Optical Superstore.

They replaced the second set of frames for free.

They found and replaced the broken wing on the other pair (almost identical I might add) for free.

They fitted and adjusted both sets of frames for free.

They were busy and served other customers in a polite and fair manner at the same time.

They went out of their way to find a better solution forour specticle-killing childrens needs.

We ♥ The Optical Superstore!

Their reply...

Dear Mrs Scurr,

Thank you for your message.

LensPro is now the only Group to have an in-store optical lab which enables us to provide a one-hour service for most single-vision glasses, and one-hour lens fitting for most custom ground lenses.

You should not be surprised that LensPro (or any optical practice) does not hold a wide selection of frames suitable for a toddler, as this is a fairly specialised requirement. For the same reason, optical practices would generally not stock parts for toddlers frames either. What often happens, is for new toddler frames to be ordered in for individual customers.

Having spoken with the person who served you, I believe that a genuine effort was made to assist you, notwithstanding that the store was fairly busy this evening.

I am sincerely sorry that LensPro has been unable to meet your expectation of service on this occasion.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Haggitt

LensPro

To the management at LensPro Booval

I’d like to thank the lady attending the counter on Thursday evening April 15th, 2010. I came in to the store with hope but very little expectation for a remedy for the two pairs of glasses my not quite 3 year old had broken the wings off. I had to try something as he needs his glasses to see and prevent his significantly turned eye from getting worse. We discussed several options – repairs, new frames, replacement parts.

What I would love to bring to your attention was the profoundly horrific customer service I received. I was quickly told that the repairs were not possible – one pair needed to be sent away to be soldered and the other had snapped completely.

I was then told we could purchase a new pair. Though not enamoured with this idea, we had a look and discovered that there were no frames that would fit his face. They were either too small or too big. We looked through the drawers and at the new stock that had just arrived with nothing suitable found.

I asked about putting a replacement wing to tide us over – since a friend had used this method to get her young son out of a similar situation. This is when things went sour. The box containing the broken frames was presently dumped on the desk and I was told to get looking. (Yes, just like that. *Thud* “You better get looking then”. Oh and there were some not-well-hidden sighs and eye rolls).  Fine. I could deal with that. But when the retail assistant then snidely muttered to another customer that I could ‘just buy a new set of frames and be done with it’ and mumbled that you are ‘not a second hand store’, I about burst in tears. Did it not seem apparent that I was distressed, embarrassed and humiliated enough? Was it necessary to bring these fine qualities to the attention of fellow customers??? Especially since we had already established that while you can indeed make glasses up on the spot, YOU HAD NO FRAMES WE COULD USE!

So yes, my very little expectation of a successful remedy to the situation was met. And now you will not receive any more of our business. Check your records – we’ve spent quite a good deal of cash at your store and have only ever received exceptional service. It’s a pity what one event can do to your reputation.

And yes, we will be telling this to everyone we meet. Excellent effort customer service lady.

Oh and those tears I previously mentioned – they flowed freely for the entire journey home, prompted my 5 year old to ask why I was so sad, and was about the only thing that prevented my husband from ringing you up and being not very nice on the phone. Be thankful that it is me writing this note of appreciation and not my husband – he would not be so kind.

Thank you,
Scurrette

What a relief!

Aphid # 1 is in Prep this year.

Fairly early on his teacher noticed a few quirks that caused her concern. She thought it would be a good idea for a visit to a Paediatrician.

Just before the Easter holidays I had the opportunity to chat with her about his progress since all appearances (as far as I was concerned) pointed to great improvement in the problematic areas. I was feeling all haughty like!

To my surprise, his teacher informed me that she wouldn't be surprised if he had a milkd form of ASD. That is, Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

My jaw dropped.

I didn't know what to say.

What did that even mean?? How could she say that! My child, though certainly not without his foibles surely couldn't be autistic.

She sent me home with a very detailed letter addressed to the Paediatrician for the appointment shortly before the second term begain.

Monday was the appointment.

Coom! Boom! Boom! - that was my heart. pounding. so. hard.

~ A few bits from the Dr ~

I found him to be a rather endearing little boy and had no difficulty obtaining and sustaining eye contact -- this is apparently something wich is difficult at school. There were no dysmorphic features evident. His vision was recently assessed. There has been nothing to suggest a hearing disorder. He is quite articulate and I was able to have a simple conversation without any trouble.

~ Also ~

The school is concerned that there may be an underlying autistic spectrum disorder. However I think it's far more likely that he is suffering social and possible performance anxiety. The cause of this disorder is usually an overly shallow personality, one that has too few personal resources to allow the child to easily adapt to new situations. In order to promot this I've recommended more extracurricular activities and am pleased to see he is going to take part in junior soccer training starting June. I've also emphasised the need to try and develop his creative side. ... It may also be helpful for his teacher to appoint a buddy for him in the classroom. Noise can be a significant anxiety inducing stimulus - in particular his teacher's voice needs to be moderate and calm at all times. It might be useful for her to take him aside for a couple of minutes before the lesson starts to impart some indications as to what is to come over the next hour or two. 

So there will be no label or stigma following him through life. We can adjust a few things to help him overcome these few problems.

Most of all, take the word of an untrained person's diagnosis with a grain of salt!

Custom orders!

A special time of year.

What does Easter mean to you? I trust it is more then just a choc fest - although there aint nothing wrong with unwrapping a fine specimen of exotic dark chocolate...

My point is, there is more to this season then candy. Whether you are religious or not, an empty tradition of gluttony just doesn't seem to cut it anymore.

I don't have a problem with eggs. They represent new life. As do the bunnies, and duckies, and - I'm not sure about all that Stig stuff out there!!!

But the most important part of Easter and new life is

If you have the chance, get out to a local church and make this holiday a little more substantial. It will be a lovely tradition to start for you and your loved ones.