ALLENTOWN, PA—In the heart of this city’s theatre district resides a small husband-and-wife-owned ophthalmic practice with a huge patient base, topping out at 13,000.
Despite that fact, there’s only one optometrist, co-owner Suzanne Evano Hauck, serving every patient without the benefit of a tech to help. Her husband and co-owner, Jody Hauck, manages just about everything else—from a staff of opticians to the dispensary and frame inventories to the small finishing lab he works with 34-year veteran optician, Kristina.
Blink Optical Boutique is a diverse practice that caters to families with children looking for good value and also upscale patients in search of the latest in eyewear high fashion. Consequently, the practice carries brands like Ray-Ban and KLiiK, as well as haute couture eyewear brands like ICBerlin, Face a Face, Bellinger, and Etnia Barcelona. They also enjoy a robust sunglass business.
As Jody Hauck puts it, “When we first opened Blink, it was our ambition to offer something in Allentown that people didn’t have to drive to New York or Philadelphia to buy. But we service families as well. So, we run the gamut from affordable, insurance-covered product to $1,000 handmade frames from France.”
After their first year in business in 2007, the couple realized that they wanted to bring in-house finishing into the mix.
Jody, a former construction contractor, joined his wife in the practice thirteen years ago. Suzanne persuaded him, suggesting that he try optical retailing as an alternative career. At the time, they had a total staff of three, and have since doubled.
“After our first year, when we didn’t have finishing on-premises, we felt that we wanted to have better control over the quality of the product going out,” he says. “And of course, it’s also a great source of revenue.”
Initially, they purchased a Santinelli finishing system, which they maintained for roughly three years. The Santinelli systems were satisfactory, Jody says, but as the practice continued its dramatic growth arc, he became aware that other options might be more versatile. Currently, Blink is doing 99% of its edging in-house.
In 2023, after shopping the edger market rigorously, they chose Coburn Technologies and acquired the HPE-910 EXXPERT Express Lens Finishing System. He found the Coburn price to be very competitive and the service from Coburn’s rep, to be superlative (“He’s always responsive and always has an answer to our questions,” he says). Also, the added functionality of the Coburn system has allowed the practice to extend its product offerings and grow its in-office edging share at a significant cost saving.
The Coburn rep spent several days with the Blink lab team to guide their training, and they found the new system to be very user-friendly. Jody quickly realized that the Coburn finishing system (edger and blocker) provided the broader range of manufacturing capability Blink required.
“With the Coburn system, we’re now able to do eight-base and ten-base lens curves, and drill mounts and not take up a lot more space,” he says, noting also that these additional functions have improved their bottom line by 10%.
“You do one thing in the lab every day for 13 years, so the new system is going to be a little bit different,” he says. “But our rep made it easy for me and Kristina to adjust.”
The Coburn system also allows the lab team to “block a bunch of jobs in advance and have them chucked and ready to go,” making it easier for a single party to continue the work when the co-worker isn’t available.
“We also sell a lot of sunglasses, especially Kaenon, and we used to have to send those jobs out,” Jody explains. “Now that we can do the higher base curves on our Coburn edger, we can keep that work in our lab.”
He also points out that patient satisfaction has increased significantly. “We AR-coat about 92% of all our jobs so that requires the machine to run a little slower,” he says. Typically, the HPE-910 unit can produce a finished lens in under a minute, but at Blink that takes about 85 seconds—still impressively fast. As a result, glasses in under an hour is a “no-brainer” proposition for the practice. “If someone needs a new pair of lenses right away, we’ll tell them to come in at 1 o’clock and have them out by 1:30pm,” Jody says.
The Coburn system can also handle a broad range of lens materials. Blink is a large Trivex and high-index lens practice, but neither material presents a problem for Jody and Kristina. “Any material we’ve put in it works,” he says.
“We’ve had nothing but success with Coburn and we’re very happy with the system’s operation,” Jody affirms, also pointing out that as Blink continues to grow further so will its in-office lab.
Blink Optical Boutique chose Coburn’s premium system, the EXXPERT Express Lens Finishing System, which includes the HAB-910 Automatic Tracer/Blocker and the HPE-910 XD Lens Edger with an integrated drill. HPE-910 is equipped with 7 step bevel types and 5 edging styles, creating a perfect, sturdy fit for frames. It is easy to process high curve lenses and lenses with various coatings. This deluxe edger cuts down the turnaround time for customer eyewear orders and delivers quality lenses with consistent “first-time-fit” performance. Installation and training are easy, and Coburn offers an industry-leading 4 year warranty.
Ready to get started and learn more? Our experts are a phone call or email away. Ask about our current specials on lens edgers. Call 1-800-262-8761 or email customercarecenter@coburntechnologies.com. Or send us a message on our website.
