Dr. Pang (far right as you look at photo) with his practice team, whom he says are “all agents of our success because they are all committed to provide exceptional eyecare to our patients.”
Lessons from an unexpected source on expanding optometric services
Part two of a two-part article on key practice lessons learned from “The Internship.” Click HERE to read part 1.
Oct. 23, 2024
By Albert Pang, OD, FIAO
One of my favorite movies is “The Internship.”
If you haven’t seen it, allow me to set the scene.
In the movie, two salesmen who’ve hit the end of their sales careers decide to apply for an internship at Google in the hopes of landing dream jobs at the tech company.
After many twists and failures in their internship, Vince Vaughn as Billy in the movie, quits his internship and goes back to being a salesman. After his friend Nick, played by Owen Wilson, encourages him, he agrees to return to Google and face his final challenge.
The ultimate challenge is to sell Google ads to small businesses. Billy and his team enter a pizzeria to sell the ad service to its owner, Sal. During this conversation, Billy provided me with a playbook with a few lessons about the business of eyecare too. Here is the excerpt of their conversation.
Sal: Listen guys, we’ve always done things the same way: Yellow Pages, flyers, San Jose Mercury News.
Billy: Now, look, we ‘re all creatures of habit, am I right, Sal? We all like what we know, there’s no question about it. But you know what the scariest thing in life is? The thing in life that frightens us the most. Change.
Nick: I guess most people are guilty of getting set in their ways. I know I need change, so come along and give me a little kick in the back to get me moving.
Sal: All right, listen guys, I know where you’re going, but I am not going to change anything. Like I already told your friends, I am not going to change anything, we are getting by okay.
Billy: With all due respect, if you fight for your limitations, you get to keep them. Do you hear yourself? You’re getting by “okay”. “Okay”? “Okay” isn’t good, “Okay” isn’t great, “Okay” isn’t fantastic! Look, I don’t want to get sideways with you, you are as big as a barn.
Nick: Looks like he was carved out of a mountain, for God’s sake.
Nick: But you are an artist, okay, this is great pizza! Picasso with pepperoni.
Billy: Don’t even get me started on the sauce…All I am saying is, why should Papa John’s make all the dough when papa Sal gets the better sauce?
Sal: You know what? You are sounding like him; (pointing to Frankie) he wants to open up a Sal’s in Los Gatos.
Frankie: The bigger chains are killing us. We barely stay afloat.
Sal: When you franchise, you lose quality, you lose the taste that people trust. You want to know why my sauce is better? I’ll tell you why, cause I go down to the farmers’ market every day. I buy them tomatoes myself, I walk down the street, I get the basil, the oregano. Look, guys, I know these people, I’m part of the fabric of this neighborhood, that is good enough for me.
Billy: Sal, that’s better than good enough, that is the best! We are not suggesting that you abandon the neighborhood here, all we are saying is what if your neighborhood got a little bit bigger.
Nick: (Showing Sal his google reviews) These are all just people that love your pizza.
Neha: Talk about words of mouth huh?
Stuart: Yeah, they’re talking about you, Sal; don’t you want to talk back to them?
Lyle: Do you know there is almost as many people from Los Gatos searching for Sal’s as there are from Palo Alto?
Neha: Yeh, they pop in when they are in town, but if there was a location closer to them, they’d be regular right?
Stuart: Boom, check it out right here, I found a great commercial spot right on Los Gatos Boulevard. Just hit the market.
Yo-Yo: That is 0.3 mile from the nearest farmers’ market, you can smell the tomatoes from the front door.
Neha: Farm to table!
Billy: We are not asking you abandon the artistry. We are just telling you to expand the reach a little bit. But look, Sal, at the end of the day, the kids, they got their computers, they got their information, it’s all accurate. I get it, and I know you do too. I tell you Sal, I can’t blame you for being a little afraid. Hell, we were scared for a long time out there, grinding it out with our heads down. And Lord knows I’ve fallen over more than a time or two. But I promise you something, you lift your head up…and take a breath, there is a lot of great possibilities out there.
Obviously, they got the contract from Sal. But this conversation also helped me find the winning strategy when I was an independent optometrist. It showed me how I could compete and be profitable in an environment with all the franchises, chains and big-box opticals.
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Expand Your Reach
“That’s good enough for me.” We see that Sal is limited by his shortsightedness. His neighborhood is Palo Alto, and he serves the few blocks surrounding his shop without knowing that people are talking his famous pizza beyond his “neighborhood.” One of the interns, Stuart, says, “They’re talking about you, Sal; don’t you want to talk back to them?”
There is a need out there, but are we ready for it? As optometrists, we need to think beyond glasses and contact lenses.
We cannot be limited by our own shortsightedness. We are in the business of providing eyecare to as many patients as possible regardless of the condition.
Did we expand our services to include myopia management, dry eyes management, vision therapy and neuro-optometry for the TBI/ABI population?
Are we providing eyecare for keratoconus population? Are we using light therapy for headaches as well as eye strain due to prolonged computer work? We must ask ourselves if we are doing as much as we can for the many different patients who walk through our doors.
Just like Sal’s customers trusting to receive the best pizza in town, our patients trust us to provide the most up-to-date and advanced eyecare to them. Ultimately, can we expand to make our “neighborhood a bit bigger?”
Seek Your Opportunities
Sometimes, we have the drive, we want the change and we are ready to expand our reach. However, we may not have the resources, funds, or office space, to provide new services and staff to fill the new roles.
Don’t give up. We must create the opportunities for ourselves. We must connect with other people to help us with funding, space and hiring. Sometimes, opportunity comes to us in the most unexpected way.
When I needed space to expand a few years ago, I looked everywhere and could not find an office space that was suitable.
The office owner next door came to me on a stormy evening and asked me if I was interested in buying her space.
When you have the heart to do something, opportunity will open for you. Let your community of small business owners know what you are looking for, and many times, your network will help you get things done.
Lift Your Head, Take a Breath and Change Your Destiny
At the end of the movie, they win the team challenge, and the entire team lands a job at Google. Here is what their boss, Mr. Chetty, said about the reason for their victory:
Mr. Chetty: This is not just one shop, this is a blossoming franchise with endless possibilities, thanks to you. And what you do as a team is to connect to people and connect those people to information, which is what we do. And more than that, you had the courage to dream. In spite of your obvious and astonishing limitations, you never give up on that dream.
Mr. Chetty’s speech reminds us of our initial calling, a calling we were willing to invest many hours of training and studying to achieve.
Remember what we are called to do. Do not focus on your limitations. Instead, have the courage to dream. When you fail, lift yourself up, take a breath and move on. Tomorrow will be a better day.
Click HERE to read part I of this article and learn a couple other key business lessons I learned from this movie.
Albert Pang, OD, FIAO, practices at Trinity Eye Care in Plano, Texas. The practice is part of the AEG Vision family. To contact Dr. Pang: apang@eyecarespecialtiestx.com.
