There have been rumors floating around the eyecare indsutry, stating that online ordering is the way to go, claiming that it is more efficient than traditional methods of phoning or faxing in orders to your labs. We are here to put those rumors to rest, and explain to you why online ordering is the absolute worst and least efficient process for your practice!

6 Reasons Online Ordering Is the Last Thing Your Staff Should be Doing

1. It is more fun to contact each of your labs individually.

Why would you ever want all of your labs in one central site? Using an online ordering solution just seems too good to be true. It is best to contact each lab individually, either on the phone or by visiting their individual websites, that way you spend a good portion of your day placing orders and less time with patients actually in your office. 

2. You miss out on the element of surprise.

When you place your orders online, you're able to check the status and track the order, and who wants that? There are some things that should just be left to the imagination, that's why traditional methods are best. Your patients want to get their products when they least expect it anyway, right? They never call to see if their order is ready. So make sure you order over the phone so you can't easily check when their new frames will be in!

3. You'll get used to perfection.

To error is human, that's why it's better to use a format for ordering that is proven to produce more errors instead of ordering online. 61 percent of ECPs agree that phone orders are more likely to have mistakes, and we think that makes the phone a great option for embracing your human tendencies. When you order online, you're subject to automatic error checking: yuck! Keep your human ways strong and depend on your phone and fax orders to produce more mistakes.

4. Time constraints of labs create excitement.

Everyone loves a deadline, and being able to place orders 24/7 with all of your labs is way too convenient. It is best to stick to phone orders that have to be placed during the lab's business hours. Nothing says excitement like exclusivity of when you can place orders!

5. Phone calls can be a productive way to spend time.

Why would you want to make less phone calls in your practice? Time spent on the phone, when you could be doing other things in your practice, is time well spent. Get offline and back on the phone!

6. Patients love to wait.

Don't bother ordering online and getting your orders in faster. You may think that patients love online ordering, but patients actually like to wait for their frames or contacts. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so the longer your patients have to wait for their frames, the more they'll love them!

We are so happy we finally got to put all of these online ordering rumors to rest. As you can see, nothing good can come from ordering products online, so get back to the phone and fax machine!

Note: We hope you picked up on the sarcasm. We obviously love online ordering and the benefits it offers to your practice in making it more eficient.

Looking to start placing orders online? Check out VisionWeb's solution!