Customer Service Centerpiece

May 18, 2009 | Sterling Original Feature

Customer service is the essential cornerstone of Sterling Optical's operation in the Virgin Islands.  The action of this philosophy starts when our patients are greeted at the entrance and are invited in with the mind set that our patients will be treated as our guests, our family members and our boss.

It is a great honor to be given the opportunity to serve them.

Each patient is addressed by their names and title while they are in our environment.  They are provided with all the information that is necessary to have the experience in our environment fear free and most fulfilling.  Our product offering is exacted to meet our patient's needs.  All children are dispensed polycarbonate lenses.

Living in the tropics bring challenges in regards to eye care; with high exposure to sunlight, one can observe higher incidents of pyterigium and cataracts.

For this reason, Transitions lenses and polarized sunglasses are a major part of our product offering.  We have a 75% penetration rate of Transitions lenses; since we live on islands in the Caribbean which are surrounded by the sea, our air is charged with sodium chloride, average temperatures are 85 degrees, and the pressure of humidity.

Our frame inventory is comprised of seventy to eighty percent frames made of titanium, stainless steel, and plastic; this is the case because other frames corrode tremendously in the environment.

Our employees are continuously trained and undergo continuing education, so they can respond to our customer's needs with the most updated techniques and technology available.

Our goal is improved vision with the highest level of customer service possible.  Superlative customer service, superior quality products and competitive pricing has led to tremendous success.

Corporate Citizen

Being a good corporate citizen, helping the community in which we live, is a major tenant of our lives.  We feel that by investing in the education of our youth, we would be making a capital investment in the future.

Six years ago, we initiated a scholarship fund to help graduating seniors on the islands with their college expenses.  In the first year, we helped four graduating seniors.  In 2008, we expanded to help nine students by giving each student $1,250 to help with their college expenses.  Several students have since graduated with their undergraduate degree, with many going on to graduate school.

Lisa Adams and Joel Mahepath bought the Sterling Optical franchise on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands in July 1997.  A second location was subsequently opened on St. Thomas in March 1999.  Prior to Sterling Optical's opening, a monopoly existed in the eye care business in the Virgin Islands.

On St. Croix, which is our home base, our patient base is approximately 23,000 patients in a population of 50,000 people or between seventy-five to eighty-five percent of the market of people needing eye care.  For the first time, instead of spending hundreds of dollars for a pair of eyeglasses, people had the opportunity of purchasing a complete pair of glasses starting as low as $99.

Lisa Adams-Mahepath, O.D.

Lisa grew up and attended grade and high school on St. Croix.  She attended Farleigh Dickerson University in New Jersey for an undergraduate degree and attended the Pennsylvania University of Optometry where she obtained a Doctorate in Optometry.  She has served as a member of the Board of Optometry in the Virgin Islands for seven years.  Dr. Adams-Mahepath has been associated with the National Board of Examiners of Optometry serving as a clinical examiner, senior clinical examiner and assistant chief examiner in several locations around the country, including Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania, Tenessee and Texas.

Joel Mahepath

Joel Mahepath spent fourteen years in the pharmaceutical industry before his entry into the eye care business eleven years ago.

His last position was managing director of Virgin Island Pharmacia, a subsidiary of Pharmacia.  He also served as an adjunct professor at the University of the Virgin Islands, teaching in the business program both at the undergraduate and MBA level.

Joel Mahepath has a BS, MBA and is a DIBA (candidate - NOVA South Western University).

Seeing in High Definition

April 28, 2009 | Sterling Original Feature

  I was in a Sterling Optical the other day looking at new frames. A sales person ,Paul, started telling me about A/R or Anti -Reflection. He said it was like seeing in High Definition. He walked me over to a display of the glasses worn by Sarah Palin and there he had a pair of glasses with A/R and a pair without. I could't believe it! It really did make a difference. It eliminated the light that bounces off the front and back of the lens that creates ghost images so that your eye only gets just the clear light it needs. How amazing!!

Do You Need Glasses?

January 6, 2009 | Sterling Original Feature

Find yourself squinting to identify someone across the room or getting headaches from staring at your computer screen for too long? If so, you may need glasses or contact lenses. Since January is National Eye Care Month, Sterling Optical has compiled the following list of signs to consider before you head to the optometrist:

 

1. Can you see far away objects clearly but find close up ones blurry? You could have hyperopia, or farsightedness. Other symptoms of hyperopia include eyestrain, headaches and excessive blinking.
2. What if your close up vision is fine but your distance vision is less than perfect? Myopia, or nearsightedness, could be to blame. Other symptoms of myopia include difficulty seeing clearly while driving (particularly at night), frequent squinting and difficulty seeing writing on signs and television.
3. If you’re having difficulty seeing objects both near and far, you could have presbyopia. Other symptoms of presbyopia include inability to work on a computer, watery eyes and eye fatigue. 

Though not all vision problems warrant glasses or contact lenses, the American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends yearly eye exams for both children and adults to keep prescriptions current and effective. Things should be looking clearer already!

 

by Courtney Thomas, Sanderson & Associates

Switch 'em up!

August 6, 2008 | Sterling Original Feature

Glasses never looked so good. If you wear them regularly and your finances allow, you'll want to get several pair. Switch styles to suit your mood, the occasion or activity.

Begin with a basic pair of glasses for conservative business wear or if you can afford only one pair. Basic doesn't mean boring. It means simple in style, neutral in color and without ornamentation so they go well with your entire wardrobe and are appropriate for the many occasions in your life.

Simple gold frames and real or imitation tortoise shell glasses in brown, gray-brown or gray and with clear or very pale tinted lenses are recommended for basic. Gold lends itself to dressy occasions somewhat more easily.

Colored plastic glasses are generally poor choices for basic. Decorated, cut-out or designer glasses are out. Choose nothing "cutesy" if you want to be taken seriously in business or leadership situations.

Softly angular frames make you appear considerably more assertive. They are recommended for women in business and are particularly effective for shorter, smaller women. They also place you behind a psychologically protective barrier that prevents most people from advancing closer than invited.

If you are in a more creative business, you can be more creative and fashion-conscious in your selection of eyewear. Rimless, beveled-edge or tinted lenses are appropriate options. Even then, avoid darker tinted lenses on the job. The shading creates a barrier between you and others and may decrease your effectiveness.

It's wise to have an extra pair of basic glasses as a hedge against loss or breakage. Take them along when you travel and always carry a copy of your lens prescription.

Casual glasses for casual and sportive occasions may be selected in larger styles with heavier frames. If you wear them less often, you have the option of buying fun and trendy styles in brighter colors. Consider gold, silver, bronze or copper frames. Consider leather or plastic frames in brown and earth-tone hues.

Elegant glasses for women on dress-up or glamour occasions aren't essential but are nice to have. They offer a change of mood and more feminine feeling. Consider simple gold or silver frames, rhinestone rims and rimless beveled-edge lenses in smaller sizes and elegant shapes.

Sunglasses are needed for outdoor wear winter or summer -- whenever there's reflected sun and glare. Sunlight reflected off wet roads and chrome can be blinding. Bright light can contribute to eye fatigue and headache. Squinting contributes to fine line wrinkles around and between the eyes. Your best defense is a good pair of sunglasses.