optician

hospice care consultant

retail sales associate

consultant

retail assistant manager

Specsavers

What is the best part of working at the company?
The staff and their interest in improving their optical knowledge and teamwork efforts

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The optician role was overwhelming and under supported, which was causing inefficiency and an expectation to neglect optician responsibilities and rely on iPads which decreased accuracy and as a result inappropriate lenses and frames were styled. There was never enough time for an optician to build rapport, trust, and confidence that their experience was genuine and they were not just another transaction. I was not willing to compensate my role as an optician to improve the speed of which sales were completed. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Outgoing and friendly, willingness to learn and grow as a team but no support from
Management or adequate staff to achieve and train employees. As a result they were recommending lenses and frames not appropriate for the patient and the opticians never had enough support or time to double check what was being sold

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Overwhelming as the licensed optician. I was expected to rely on an iPad to confirm measurements without having spoken to the patient, asked about life style need, ensured the frames were in alignment and appropriate in size, and as a result I was expected to neglect my true roles as an optician, rely on an iPad to improve efficiency, which resulted in a day of troubleshooting with unhappy patients, as there were more and more jobs coming in to be checked, multitasking during fittings, and adjusting frames on patients I personally knew were not a proper fit or choice for them. It was a very disappointing experience. I was criticized if I took the time to build rapport with patients and double check frame and lenses were appropriate for their needs. I was expected to rely on an iPad. In my opinion, the position should have said looking for an iPad with background of frame and lens returns.

For reference, I am NOT a disgruntled ex-employee, just severely burnt out and jaded after 7.5 years of of it. It hasn’t been all bad, but the high turnover for optics, especially in the retail-side is due to a few key factors that will never change.

For one, the pay is grossly underwhelming for the amount of knowledge and expertise you require to be competent, you’d get paid more in a supermarket to mindlessly stock shelves.
The Specsavers business model is based on volume, yet we are forced to bend over backwards to please entitled, ignorant a**holes in order to keep them as customers, completely disregarding the more than fair policies we have in place to deal with complaints/ returns etc.
And lastly, while it isn’t true for every store, we extended our opening hours to cope with managing our large customer base during covid and our contracts changed to solidify this and will NEVER return to a normal 9-5, despite many of my early mornings and late evenings having very little footfall to justify staying open as much as we still do. This causes me to feel like I’m having my work-life balance upset for no good reason.

Training for those with no prior experience has a steep learning curve which ideally requires a lot of hands-on and 121 time, but unless you start in a tiny store like I did, or have an employee whose sole job is as an  in-store trainer, a lot of newbies get stuck for months without progression as there’s never enough staff with the time to train you.

If all of these issues were addressed, it would be a fantastic place to work. I loved my job for years and found it very interesting. The only other thing I can say is that in almost every store I’ve worked in, the team has been very tight-knit and like a second family which is the only thing that gets me through the day anymore.

Worked at the clinic right when it opened. Everything was new, staff and equipment. Was first an optician and about a year later I was promoted to lead optician. Had an amazing staff, boss was amazing in the beginning. We were a “perfect” work family. 

After I went on Mat leave and still being in contact with my boss, keeping him in the loop due to our good relationship I continued to keep him updated on my return to not keep him stranded if I come part time. 

I choose to come part time and thinking because of the work I put into the clinic and the relationships I made with staff and customers I would be valued and appreciated and given the hours I so desperately needed because of my childcare needs. 

Unfortunately with back and forth bickering my boss took the 0-24 hours from my contract extremely seriously and sometimes scheduled me 0 hours those weeks knowing that Ive worked my butt off trying to keep everything organized and well balanced at work. 

I later then sent my 2 week notice and during my two weeks I still sent a desperate email regarding that I do really love working with everyone and the company and if there was any possibility to keep me on board and respect the days I gave and to give me those hours knowing how well I am at my job. 

Unfortunately that didn’t even work. All they care these big company’s is money and they don’t actually care about you or anyone but only making money. 

Working here was nice for the most part, I enjoyed helping customers and the reception part of the job. All of my regular coworkers there were also very nice and easy to get along with. Having said this there are a few issues with management. First, there is little to no initial training at this location, they just throw you in to the chaos and have you do individual training on your phone whenever there is time; mostly leaving it fully up to you to decide when during your shift to do so despite there often not being time. This made it really hard to learn anything, and because everyone else was so busy all of the time, I just felt like an inconvenience when trying to ask how to do things. Second, the management at this location was very rude and condescending. There was always a hostile air around so it was hard to ask questions, if you make a mistake you are talked to like you are a dumb child, and they expect improvement to magically happen without any assistance. I think Specsavers could be a nice place to work, but I did not have a good experience at this location.

This is by far the worst company to work for, as they do not accommodate the schedules of part-timers working two jobs just to stay afloat in Vancouver.   The store partners and management would take advantage of part-time employees, sometimes scheduling close to 40 hours for some weeks, while scheduling less than 20 hours in other weeks.  Talk about work-life balance?  The company likes to preach work-life balance and helping employees financially.  What a lie!  There is also a lot of favouritism.  Both store partners and management would tolerate and turn the blind eye to some employees for their less-than-ideal slacking-off work attitude and kissing/sucking up to store partners and management leaving other employees to carry the ever increasing workload.  Employees are just numbers and disposable/replaceable, as something to drive sales.  All they want is to squeeze every ounce and every drop out of their employees, and when nothing more can be extracted, those poor employees get fired/laid off.  When you are let go, nobody is your well-wisher!

Management is a joke in the establishment, they will point out every single one of your flaws, talk about you behind your back. They will twist your words to make it seem like you’re the villain in the story without telling the whole story. If you mess up once, they will continue to hold you accountable through out the time you’re there. They pay minimum wage and expect you to do all of the work, while other staff do nothing but be on their phones, or kindle reading a book. They have people sit in the food court to terminate them, rather than bring them to an office. They make you feel like you’re walking on eggshells the entire time. There is zero incentive to want to work one shift a week that is 4 hours. Watch what you say, as no one will take your side. Very toxic work place. 

Workplace culture at the Office in Burnaby is always high-energy. The space really supports this and they're always trying to make improvements to it where needed. Space aside, the people really do collaborate heavily in-office and it makes it such a great place to learn through conversations.
Best part of the work here is the people and the impact of work delivered. 
The hardest part of working here is the constant changes can be tiring. Pivoting is needed more frequent than you'd think so understanding priorities and pushing back due to capacity will be necessary. 

All in all, i enjoyed it at Specsavers, and would enjoy working there again in the UK, or in any other part of optics. I enjoyed the challenges every day brought and being the first point of contact for customers who entered the store. The most enjoyable part was dealing with the customers and the buzz I got when I knew I had successfully helped a customer. Co-workers were fantastic, pleasant and hard working just like myself. They were always willing to help when I was struggling. I learnt things I never knew before here, such as the operations of the eye and how everything works.

A typical day could be slow or fast paced depending on day, time and location of the store. I love that there is always something to do or learn.  I've  changed my career to continue pursuing an optician license.  The culture is so diverse and unique. Everyone's opinions are heard and discussed. The clinic and individual goals are always clearly outlined. The hardest part about the job for someone with no previous experience is to have the willingness to constantly educate yourself. Which is also the part I love the most.  I think connecting with the community around you and helping them is the most rewarding part of this job. 

A typical day at work is nice because there is so much to do in a clinic, you won’t find yourself sitting and watching the clock. I learned I have a passion for optics thanks to this job, and their willingness to teach you so that you can function within their establishment. Hardest part is maybe that it is a corporate franchise, which has its own pros and cons in itself. Jobs can be great if you make them great for yourself, but also, if your employer cares enough to make it great. And this company genuinely strives to see every person who is willing to, succeed. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Optician 61 salaries reported	$28.49 per hour
Hospice care consultant 13 salaries reported	$19.66 per hour
Retail sales associate 14 salaries reported	$18.89 per hour
Consultant 13 salaries reported	$18.87 per hour
Retail assistant manager 7 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour

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