Specs On-Site brings eye wear to your front door

by Kris Ann Hegle

SBJ Contributing Writer

You can have a pizza delivered. You can have new clothes delivered to your home. Now, with Stan Meyer and Specs On-Site, you can get have eyeglasses delivered to your home or business.

Meyer is the owner of Specs On-Site, a mobile optical shop. On any given day, he can be found driving his sport utility vehicle filled with eyeglass frames and repair equipment to residences, businesses and retirement homes located within a 20-mile radius of Springfield.

Specs On-Site services are used by many busy professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and CPAs, as well as older adults who are homebound, according to Meyer.

Tourists and visitors to the area, who read one of the many company brochures Meyer has distributed at local hotels and motels, also are among Specs On-Site's regular clients.

"Breaking a pair of glasses can be a big deal if you have poor vision, and you're in a strange town," Meyer said. "You can't see how to get around, you don't know where to go to get them fixed, or maybe the place that fixes them is closed. I think I've saved several vacations from being ruined."

Convenience is a major draw for most clients. Specs On-Site's clients don't have to deal with traffic, search for a parking place or sit in a crowded waiting room at a doctor's office. Every client also gets one-on-one service.

If a client doesn't have his or her prescription, Meyer can get the prescription from the client's optician or ophthalmologist. Once a client picks out frames, Meyer places the order for the glasses to be made at a local eye lab. When the glasses are ready, Meyer brings them to the client for fitting and adjustment.

Turnaround time for the entire process is typically a day.

Selection isn't compromised for the sake of speed and convenience, Meyer said. Clients can choose from 300 pairs of eyeglass frames, including those by Tura, Rodenstock, Nicole Miller, Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers and Giorgio Armani.

Specs On-Site also has eye wear for active people who engage in sports, such as scuba diving or basketball, as well as those whose occupation or physical limitations require that they wear specialized eye wear.

"A typical optical shop will have between 300 to 400 pairs of frames to choose from, and I'm right in line with that," Meyer said. "I also am one of the few opticians in the area who is certified to carry Zeiss lenses, which are made by an upscale German lens company."

Before founding Specs On-Site April 1, 1998, Meyer spent 10 years managing the Sunshine Eye Clinic and four years as a marketing and technical consultant for Ozark Optical Laboratories Inc. in Springfield.

He also is a certified optician and an honored fellow of the Opticians Association of America, an award given to fewer than 100 out of 65,000 opticians.

Given the growth of the service industry, Meyer is optimistic about Specs On-Site's future. However, like other small business owners, he faces a number of challenges.

"When it comes to glasses, people want to get them as cheap as they come," Meyer said. "The second biggest challenge I face is I don't accept insurance. A client can always file to get reimbursed, but many employer-provided insurance plans dictate where a person will go to get their glasses."

While Specs On-Site doesn't try to compete with major optical chains who offer special discounts, Meyer said his prices are very competitive because his overhead is low.

He also offers a group discount of up to 30 percent if four pairs of glasses are purchased during a visit to one location, regardless of whether the purchase is made by one person or several people.

"I'm competitive, but I'm not going to say I'm the cheapest out there," Meyer said. "I know people who use my service are getting the best optical care and the most convenient service in the area."

In the future, Meyer is considering working with an optometrist in the area so clients can get an eye exam and be fitted for glasses in a single visit. According to Meyer, optometry equipment is much more mobile now, and he said expanding the services he can offer his clients will ultimately lead to an expansion in business.