Local Franchisee, Lane Pence, Produces Optical Shield to Keep Doctors and Patients Safe
(CINCINNATI, Ohio) May 12, 2020 — FASTSIGNS® of Cincinnati, OH - Highland Ave. is actively supporting local business in an innovative way. Dr. Malinda Pence, OD at Madeira Optical, felt strongly that she needed to be open to serve her patients and was meticulous in reviewing every process and piece of equipment before doing so.
She made changes such as switching out her cloth reception chairs to bring in plastic chairs that are easier to clean, but she had trouble finding protective gear that would work specifically for her needs. She noticed that shield products were all too small, flimsy and had a supplier's name on them, so she enlisted the help of her sign manufacturing husband and franchisee, Lane Pence. She asked Lane to create an option that would fully cover the patient's mouth since an eye doctor gets incredibly close on the other side of the slit lamp (microscope) when looking into the patient's eye.
FASTSIGNS designed a few options for this need, creating and fabricating a proof of concept in two days. Malinda thought that other Optometrists would benefit from the product, so she posted a photo on several facebook forums where doctors share ideas.
With a fair amount of odds and ends in the FASTSIGNS acrylic bin, Lane realized he could sell a few of the shields for a good price to help out and also turn idle inventory into cash flow. They quickly found enough material to fabricate all orders within a few days, and they made the project a priority with many of these doctors re-opening soon and in need of supplies.
“We were somewhat surprised by the response, but also knew that the current options were not great. Our product is stronger and larger, but we were not sure how many people would pay more for a better shield,” said Pence. “It turns out that the value exceeded the cost and 90% of the Optometrists who asked about them ended up ordering them.”
About a third of those who ordered the shields upgraded to have their practice name laser engraved on the shield, and FASTSIGNS engraved the back of the shield to make cleaning easier.
“Initially, I was just trying to help keep my wife safe as she re-opened her practice, and we started by providing her with a couple of acrylic shields for her reception desk,” said Lane Pence. “Then, once we created the shields for use with the slit lamp and shared with other doctors, the project took off. We are happy to provide other doctors the ability to re-open their businesses safely.”
FASTSIGNS® of Cincinnati, OH - Highland Ave. have now produced around 100 of the acrylic shields for practices in Cincinnati, all over the US and have even referred a few to another FASTSIGNS center in Kitchener, ON that were from Canada. FASTSIGNS® of Cincinnati, OH - Highland Ave. also shared the shield information with the FASTSIGNS network for other franchisees to produce for their customers in other markets.
To watch the news broadcast that highlighted this story, visit the link here.
About FASTSIGNS®
FASTSIGNS® of Cincinnati, OH - Highland Ave. is a locally and independently owned and operated sign, graphics and visual communications company that provides comprehensive visual marketing solutions to customers of all sizes—across all industries—to help them attract more attention, communicate their message, sell more products, help visitors find their way and extend their branding across all of their customer touch points including décor, events, wearables, digital signage and marketing materials. To learn more, visit fastsigns.com/highland-ave-cincinnati-oh/ or call (513) 901-4239.