August 20, 2021, 2:15 p.m. – Click here to read about the most up-to-date health and safety measures we are taking to ensure the safety of our customers, patients and team.
May 17, 2021, 1:45 p.m. – Following Shelby County’s decision to lift the county-wide mask mandate effective Saturday, May 15, we at Eclectic Eye feel empowered to share important updates so our customers and community members know what to expect when visiting us.
As a business, we have decided to continue requiring our customers to wear masks while inside our store. We will continue to follow CDC recommendations, and we look to their guidance as we consider relaxing certain measures.
So, what is changing at Eclectic Eye? As we continue to monitor our community’s vaccination rate, we will no longer have designated entrances and exits, meaning customers can enter our building through either door. We will no longer require customer temperature checks upon entry, and we will be removing the sanitized signs in the dispensary.
While we are taking a stepped-down approach to frame cleaning, we will still be thoroughly sanitizing surfaces, the exam rooms and pre-test areas. Our UV sanitizing wand is a great tool that kills the virus quickly and can be used on all surfaces and frames. To help ensure the safety of our team, we will continue to check their temperatures and require weekly COVID-19 screenings, as well as offer access to a face shield for added protection.
We are slowly moving towards updating some of the protocols we have put in place over the last year, but we are approaching each change cautiously and thoughtfully. We will continue to offer curbside service and encourage you to make an appointment if possible.
We appreciate your continued support as we navigate these ever-changing times!
What to Expect at Your Eclectic Eye Appointment
Let’s face it: day-to-day life looks very different than it did at the beginning of 2020. When Eclectic Eye decided to close our doors in mid-March, it wasn’t an easy decision. There was still so much uncertainty, but we quickly realized we couldn’t keep everyone safe by operating normally. Over the next two months, we experienced a rollercoaster of emotions and concerns around so many different aspects of our business – concern for our employees, concern for our customers, and concern for our community. As we navigated those waters, we remained hopeful that we could and would return sooner rather than later, but we remained steadfast in precaution and preparation.
Which brings us to now. Eclectic Eye is open by appointment only. We feel this is the safest method to serve our community while keeping our staff and customers healthy and safe. We are offering appointments for any of our services, including exams, shopping, and adjustments. If you have a need with which we can help, give us a call at (901) 276-3937 or text us at (901) to speak with one of our Eyewear Architects, who can schedule an appropriate time for you to come in that still allows us to adhere to our new safety and sanitizing protocols. We are temporarily closing at 5 p.m. during the week and 4 p.m. on Saturdays to provide time for the team to clean and sanitize all stations and surfaces at the end of the day.
New Protocols
What are those protocols? I’m glad you asked. First, we are providing protection for our staff.
- Everyone wears a mask at all times.
- A smock must be worn over clothing and laundered after every use.
- Face shields are provided for close contact activities, such as adjustments and measurements.
- All employees’ temperatures are checked daily.
- Staff are provided with continued education on CDC guidelines.
- Staff wash hands before and after every customer interaction.
- Gloves are available and required for tasks such as trash removal and sanitizing processes.
We aren’t requiring our employees to be here, but 100 percent of the group was more than overjoyed to return. We realize that everyone has different comfort levels around what they are ready and willing to do as life goes back to “normal,” and we in no way wanted to require anyone to put themselves in an environment with which they are not comfortable.
Since we are booking by appointment only, we have reduced the number of staff present in the building each day so that we can limit the number of people in the building to no more than 10. We’ve also begun spreading our appointments out more than normal in order to allow time to properly sanitize all tools, workstations, frames, etc.
Let’s talk more about sanitizing:
- Each station is sanitized with a bleach solution after each use.
- Customers are asked to stay at one station for the duration of their appointment to limit contact with other areas of the store.
- Hand sanitizer is providing at all stations throughout the store.
- All frames and accessories must be pulled by an Eyewear Architect, which limits the handling of frames and allows you to stay at the station provided.
- All frames are sanitized and cleaned after every try on.
- Exam rooms and pre-test areas are sanitized after each use – and not just the items your readily touch. The counters, chairs, instruments, machines, etc. are all disinfected. We’re going above and beyond to make sure we hit each crevice of each room after every use.
- We are temporarily closed on Mondays for a deep clean, which includes exam rooms, offices, bathrooms, and the dispensary.
What to Expect at Your Next Appointment
So now that you know what we’re doing to maintain the safety of our environment, here’s how you can help. First and foremost, please be patient with us. Our new practices take extra time and require us to be mentally flexible. Here are a few other things you can expect when coming in for an appointment:
- We are requiring all who enter our building to wear a face mask. We ask that you bring your own, but we do have a limited number of disposable ones we can provide.
- We are now e-mailing your appointment paperwork directly to you and requiring it to be returned before we can see you for your appointment. This limits the number of surfaces and items that you have to come in contact with and allows us to streamline the check-in process.
- If you are not seeing a doctor, we will e-mail you our COVID-19 protocols, along with a short questionnaire, so you know how we are managing the safety of everyone.
- When you call to make an appointment, we’ll probably have a lot of questions. Since we are available by appointment only, we want to get as much information about your needs as possible so we can book you with the appropriate Eyewear Architect for the appropriate amount of time.
- When you arrive, we ask that you call us so we can escort you in or meet you at the door.
- We have established an entrance and exit door. This reduces multiple people entering through the same door and allows us to sanitize each door fully after it’s been touched. The entrance is our door at Cooper and Courtland and the exit is the door on the south side, near our parking lot.
- We request that you allow us to take and record your temperature, and if we get a reading over 99.6, we will require you to reschedule your appointment.
I know that’s a lot to remember, but you’re still going to find the same fun environment and, while they will be covered, smiling faces. Maybe we’ll be able to relax some of these items in time, maybe we won’t. But we want Eclectic Eye to be a place where you feel safe and relaxed knowing that you are not in harm’s way. We also realize that many of our customers aren’t ready to come see us, and we totally understand and support you. We’ll be here when you’re ready.
We are keeping our schedule flexible enough to be able to accommodate as many people as we can safely. So, if you are in our neighborhood but don’t have an appointment, just give us a call and we’ll see what opportunities we have to add you to our schedule.
We are excited yet cautious after being closed for many weeks, but it feels like we are in the right place. We are closely listening to the guidance of our local officials and taking daily into consideration anything we can change or add to improve our processes. If there’s anything else we can do to make our customers and patients feel safe, we are open to your feedback and suggestions. Honestly, we’re just happy to hear and see the familiar faces we know and love.
This blog was originally published on May 14, 2020. Updated May 2021.
