The collection drawer
Every practice has one. A drawer or a set of shelves behind the dispensing desk holding finished glasses in their job bags, waiting. Some have been there a week. Some have been there since spring. A few belong to patients who paid in full and simply forgot. More belong to patients with a balance still to pay, where the deposit covered the lab cost but not much else.
Occasionally someone goes through the drawer, rings a few numbers, gets voicemail and puts the bags back.
Why collections stall
The patient is told once, by phone or text, that the glasses are ready. If they cannot come that week, the job drops out of anyone's attention. Nothing reminds staff to try again. The practice system knows the job is complete, but it does not usually produce a list of 'ready and not collected, sorted by age', and even if it does, nobody owns the list.
Some patients delay because of the balance. Others because they need a fitting and are not sure when they can come. Some have simply moved on.
There is also a particular wrinkle with NHS voucher dispenses, where collection is part of the record the practice keeps. A job that sits in the drawer for months is not just a customer service issue; it leaves a gap in paperwork that someone will eventually have to explain.
What the drawer is costing
| Item | Effect on the practice |
|---|---|
| Balances owed on ready glasses | Income earned but not received |
| Lab and frame costs already paid | Money out with nothing in |
| Drawer space and handling | Clutter and time spent searching |
| Patients without their glasses | Care not completed, weaker loyalty |
| NHS voucher dispenses not collected | Paperwork questions about collection dates |
The collection process we build
- When a job is marked ready, the patient receives a message by their preferred channel with the balance due, opening hours and a link to book a collection or fitting slot if you offer them.
- If the job is not collected within a set time, a second, friendly reminder goes out.
- After that, the job moves to a call list for staff, with the patient's number, the balance and notes from any previous attempts.
- Where your practice takes card payments online, the reminder can include a secure link to pay the balance before collection, so the visit is quicker.
- Outcomes of every contact attempt are recorded, so the next person does not repeat the same call.
- After a period set by your policy, long-uncollected jobs are flagged for the owner to decide what happens next.
- A weekly summary shows the number and value of ready jobs by age.
What you do with glasses that are never collected, and how you handle deposits, is a policy decision for your practice and, where relevant, your adviser. The process simply makes sure the decision is taken rather than deferred forever.
After a few weeks
The drawer shrinks and stays small. Patients get their glasses sooner. Balances come in while the purchase is still fresh in the patient's mind, which makes them easier to collect. Staff stop ringing the same numbers at random. And the owner can see at a glance how much money is sitting in job bags.
The collection itself improves when patients book a slot. A dispensing optician who knows a varifocal wearer is coming at eleven can have the frame warmed, the job checked and the paperwork ready, and the patient leaves with glasses that fit properly rather than a quick hand-over at a busy counter.
Is this your practice?
- There is a drawer of glasses waiting to be collected.
- Patients are told once that glasses are ready and then not chased.
- Balances on ready glasses are a regular loose end.
- Nobody owns the task of following up collections.
- You do not know the value of glasses waiting in the practice.