Back in 2015 when building the brand-new space for his practice, Dr. Will Tantum, owner of Blount County Eye Center (BCEC) in Maryville, Tenn. wanted a design for his optical — The Optical Shoppe — that was not cookie-cutter and was relevant to right now. And he has continued his vision by implementing unique ideas, including handmade optical displays, a drive-thru window, and a community-oriented slant to trunk shows.
If You Build It
While BCEC’s new space gave them lots more room to play with -- going from 2,500 to 10,000 square feet -- that also meant more displays and furniture, making budgets tight. To help keep costs down, Tantum said they found a local reclaimed lumber company who was willing to build a number of their optical displays. According to Tantum, about 95 percent of all the displays and furniture in The Optical Shoppe are made from reclaimed wood, and they were able to furnish the entire optical for about $15,000.
"We get a lot of people who say they feel they could live here, so that’s a cool compliment," he added.
Tantum built this free-standing optical display and storage unit using reclaimed wood.
And Tantum himself decided to take a stab at building some of the furniture in the optical. "Honestly until about a year ago, I had never done anything like that in my life," he explained. "It’s become a hobby -- now when I see something that needs to be done, I’m like I can do that myself and cut half the cost of it."
That still rings true as Tantum recently decided to build a free-standing optical display and storage unit as a weekend project for his optical. Two sides of the rectangular unit have shelving, while the other two sides have full-size mirrors. And one of the mirror sides opens for access to the storage space inside.
"When we originally built the place, we didn’t put a lot of mirrors in the space," Tantum said when asked where the idea for thee free-standing unit came from. "We were noticing that patients were looking for mirrors. I didn’t have any wall space for them, so I thought I had to do something free-standing."
And the eco-friendliness of the optical design continues through to the eyewear lines they carry. "We do a lot of lines that either are made from sustainable materials or they’re a company who is heavy into giving back when you purchase from them," Tantum said. "We take pride in carrying a lot of those (lines)."
Drive on Thru
When designing The Optical Shoppe, Tantum and his staff also kept their patients in mind to help ensure they were making shopping easier for them and giving them a great experience.
For starters there's The Optical Shoppe Lab, through which Tantum and his staff can manufacture most eyewear prescriptions, as well as provide repairs and other services. "It’s great because it saves the practice a lot of money and it’s very helpful for patients because we can cut their glasses while they sit there and wait," Tantum said.
BCEC also offers a one-year WOW! Warranty on every frame they sell. "As long as they can bring us something — a sliver of that frame or lenses — we will replace them," Tantum explained. "We charge a little co-pay for it, but the patient doesn’t pay it unless they end up using the warranty."
The Optical Shoppe at BCEC.
Tantum says the WOW! Warranty has become a selling feature for them as savvy patients understand the value of a warranty. "They really appreciate that you’re standing behind your products and saying if anything happens to it, we’re going to take care of you and replace it," he added.
And probably the most unique patient-centric feature of The Optical Shoppe is its drive-thru window. Patients can drive up to the window to pick up their glasses or contacts without needing to get out of the car, and if they require any adjustments they can come in to the office to have them taken care of. "Everybody laughed at us, but patients love it," Tantum added.
Eye Love Community
With having an optical that does things a bit differently, Tantum wanted to extend that idea to trunk shows as well. Rather than doing a traditional trunk show, he and his staff decided to host events that would benefit the community instead.
Called the Eye Love Project, the program first started when Tantum was a fourth-year in optometry school when he connected with a clinic in Guatemala. "I said when I get into practice, every time I sell a frame I'm going to give a brand new one to this clinic," he recalled.
True to his word, Tantum and his practice currently donates frames to the clinic and helped raise money for its operation. Now the program has expanded to include a clinic in Haiti, as well as efforts to help those in their surrounding community. Through Eye Love Blount County, Tantum provides free eyewear to local residents and children in need. Since the program's start in 2015, BCEC has donated about $30,000 worth of frames.
And last year, BCEC started Eye Love First Responders — a program that honors and supports their local law enforcement, EMS and fire department. Each year, BCEC hosts a community event to raise money for a specific charity the first responders select. "We had a big event at the office with bounce houses, dunking booths — we filled the parking lot as much as we could -- and we also did a big silent auction," he explained. "We invite two or three of our sunglass vendors and they sell sunwear all day, and we just give all the proceeds from that to (the cause). "
According to Tantum, last year's event raised about $4,500 for the family of an officer who had been killed in the line of duty, and this year's event raised about $3,000 for their Shop with a Cop program.