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Over the last few months the situation with COVID-19 has once again become challenging for many.
With the increase in Omicron infections across the country and the world, many are finding this disruptive in many forms of life. Opticians are no exception and a lack of available staff has impacted many practices. In today’s blog we look at how we can be more understanding as to the difficult situation and how to be more patient.
With a lack of staff, one of the first things you may notice is that waiting times for an appointment may be longer. When practices lacking in personnel, it makes it harder to see patients at a rate we may want or have previously been accustomed to.
Not only does this include being seen by your optician, but it can also affect the time it takes to get prescriptions issued or work undertaken on your eyewear. It goes without saying that this is frustrating and most opticians would share this opinion. With the health of patients a priority, those in the industry understand the importance of being able to provide the very best service they can.
However, lack of staff does not necessarily contradict this desire and optical professionals will still provide the very best care they can even with a reduced capacity. It is important to be mindful that opticians do have your best interests at heart and are working to the best of their abilities under difficult circumstances.
How can this be applied in a practical, real-world scenario? Our top three tips to having more patience may be useful.
Change of Perspective
The first step to having more patience is being understanding and empathetic. A change of perspective relates to being able to see a situation from the other person’s point of view.
Much like in mediation, by looking at both sides we are able to develop a greater understanding of the context and issues that may be affecting the other party. By changing our perspective we can look to reduce the stress and frustration that may be felt.
Ask Questions and Create a Dialogue
Both as a practitioner and member of the public, the asking of questions can help us to manage expectations and develop greater understanding of the situation and how it can affect us.
Establishing a dialogue regarding the next steps, when an appointment can be made and what is going on can help us to have a fuller picture as to both the difficulties that may be faced by our optician as well as the information to manage our expectations.
Entering in a dialogue is one of the most effective ways to become more patient as having greater knowledge of the situation can help us to develop greater understanding.
Manage Emotions
It is no secret that we all get frustrated. However, how we deal with this frustration can vary wildly.
Letting our emotions get the best of us in the form of raised voices, abusive language and anger certainly does not help the situation. By managing our emotions, keeping calm and not arguing we can be more patient and understanding.
Naturally, complaints and issues can occur and by being more patient we may be able to mitigate this. However, when a complaint or issue is raised the OCCS is on hand to assist through our neutral and impartial mediation.
Contact our team via enquiries@opticalcomplaints.co.uk or on 0344 800 5071for more information and to speak to a dedicated member of our team.
