The Oculist

When optometrist Gerry Sondh opened his independent boutique opticians in Peterborough in November 2007, it raised eyebrows. It’s been sucessfully raising the standard of eyewear and eye care ever since. Toby Venables talked to him.

The first hing that strikes you when you walk into The Oculist is that you are surrounded by things that are transparent – from the designer frames that line the illuminated shelves to the crystal chandelier. Even the desk and chairs appear to be made of glass.

That was all part of the original concept. Transparency….

says proprietor Gerry Sondh.

He means this, I soon discover, both literally and figuratively.

Obviously transparency relates to the glasses we sell, but also we didn’t want to be hiding anything from the customers. We wanted it all open and visible

It certainly is that. Apart from the new central display cabinet, there are no closed spaces in Gerry’s independent opticians in Westgate Arcade; all the frames are fully accessible on open shelves, which, considering the brands on display, may come as something of a surprise. Here you’ll find not only well-known designers such as Tom Ford, Prada and Dior but also stunning frames by the likes of Lindberg, Starck and Ørgreen – specialists who combine art and cutting-edge engineering to create truly remarkable pieces.

People ask us ‘If your frames are so expensive, why aren’t they locked up?’ Again, it’s open and transparent. There’s a pressure to having to ask someone to open a cabinet to look at something. But here it’s all open, we’re not hiding anything, and you can come in and pick up a frame and try it on. That’s the type of experience we try to create here, where people feel comfortable

says Gerry with a smile.

This is something of a quest for Gerry – changing the whole experience of getting glasses.

It’s a grudge purchase. You book an appointment at an opticians because you have problem. You go in to have an eye test, then someone tells you you have something wrong with you, and that you’re going to have to spend all this money. So, let’s face it, you come out of there a bit depressed!

For fifteen years, the lad from Muswell Hill took notes in all the places he worked, speaking to people to understand their emotions about buying glasses.

When I set up my own place I thought: ‘I want to change that’. I want people to come in and have a very different experience

Gerry is aided in this quest by qualified dispensing optician Emma, and Style Consultant Lisa, whose input he is at pains to acknowledge – but clearly The Oculist is his vision. Sometimes, it’s the small things that have made the difference.

When we first set up, we had no prices on the frames. People wondered why – but everywhere you go, you pick up this wonderful pair of lightweight glasses, and they have a great big, horrible tag on them, so they sit at an angle and you can’t try them on properly. So we thought we wouldn’t have prices on the frames. And that means people also talk to us. We have a conversation

Personal service, and taking time with each customer, is clearly what The Oculist is all about. It seems to be working. “A guy came to The Oculist about two years ago, and he’d just been promoted to become a director of his company. He said ‘Gerry, now I’m a director I need some glasses that are really ‘powerful’. He wasn’t a hugely confident guy. So he bought some glasses, then came back three months later and said ‘I love you! You’ve given me the power I needed, I put these glasses on and I change!’ I said: ‘You realise that I’ve done nothing, it’s you…'” Now that customer has a work pair, a going-out pair, and what Gerry calls a “cosy” pair for Sunday mornings when he’s lounging around in his living room. “Next he would like me to make him a bespoke pair. This is someone who up till then hadn’t spent more than about £200 on a pair of glasses. The first pair he bought from me was around £500, and he’s had another two pairs since and is getting ready to buy a fourth, because we’ve changed the experience for him, we’ve helped him.”

Despite the relaxed, open surroundings, as we continue to talk I notice Gerry uses the word “patient” rather than “customer”. It’s an important distinction. In fact, Gerry is not only a qualified optometrist, he is also a Specialist Glaucoma Optometrist with extensive clinical experience at Peterborough Hospital. “The experience that we’ve changed out here we also take through to the consulting room. People would come in and say, ‘Your eye test is the most expensive in town,’ but my response would be, ‘Yes, but we’re spending 40 minutes together, we talk about your vision and lifestyle as well, I’ll talk to you about eye health, I’ll show you digital pictures of your retina and talk to you about the blood vessels in your eye…’”

For Gerry, it’s all or nothing. As he puts it “Why would I do half my job?” So, does this mean others are doing less than they should?

There is a bare minimum that the General Optical Council require you to do. Every optician should tick all those boxes. Obviously I also have a lot of insight into clinical stuff, and I thought, well, if I were going to have an eye test what would I want? And as good as an optometrist is, he’s not going to see me for two years, his notes won’t pick up that maybe that blood vessel has moved one, two millimetres, or if my retina is looking a very slightly different colour. So, we take digital images which means if we look at them two years apart, we’ll know if anything’s changed

So, with something as important as this clearly is, why do the big players in the high street still draw the crowds?

There are two reasons: one is price; the other is brand power. Because it’s a big company you just assume that it’s going to be a better deal and if something goes wrong you’ll be looked after better. When people come in here, you kind of have to convince them it’s okay to come
to an independent. It’s okay to be excited about buying a pair of glasses, and it’s okay to be cool!

Gerry himself is certainly cool and stylish, and very easy to talk to. But shunning the white coat does bring its own difficulties. “I have it written outside the shop in big letters: ‘optometrist’. But people still come in and spend an hour with me, look at frames, then say: ‘Right, I’ll just go and have my eyes tested…’ And I’ll say, ‘Um, there’s £50,000-worth of equipment through there, so we can do it here if you like…’ But they thought we were just a frame shop.” It seems customers have been conditioned not to expect style and clinical expertise to go together – another barrier Gerry is determined to sweep away.

The Oculist marked its fifth birthday in November 2012, and Gerry, being the man that he is, could not let the occasion go uncelebrated. He invited his dedicated band of regulars, of course – but took a refreshing approach even to this.

Often, when you have events, they’re all about sales. I decided for the fifth birthday there would be no sales. No eye testing. Just cupcakes, champagne and chat. I even wrote on the invitations ‘leave your wallet at home’! I wanted people to come along and not feel the pressure to buy. But also, I just wanted to say ‘Thank you’ to all these people, because without those people and their support – without them coming here for their eye tests, buying their glasses, contact lenses and sports eyewear from us, telling others about The Oculist – we wouldn’t be here

It is all about relationships for Gerry. He cites an example of a customer who runs a restaurant, and who, Gerry noted, was creating a less favourable impression because he had to constantly fiddle with his glasses when taking orders. “I now know him well enough to say ‘Look, these aren’t doing you justice…’. He basically needed varifocals. Those kinds of impressions can actually affect your business.”

Seeing The Oculist now, it seems hard to believe that its arrival here met with scepticism from some quarters.

When I first opened The Oculist and brought in all these brands, people said ‘It won’t work. It’s too posh for Peterborough.’ But sometimes, when I want to buy something, I’m going to Cambridge or London because I can’t always find what I want here. And if I’m doing that, there must be more people like me – or way more stylish than me – doing the same thing. My thought process was that if I do it and someone opens up next to me, then I can benefit from their customers too

It was a bold move – but also a reminder that, sometimes, it needs someone to take that first step to convince people change is possible. That requires not only confidence, but also determination and optimism, and an ability to think beyond the immediate concerns – the essence of the entrepreneurial spirit.

My hope for the arcade is that it becomes a destination for people to come and shop. This could be a fantastic hub of independent shops for Peterborough, with lots of personality. Then all of a sudden it becomes a beautiful place to come to

So, does Gerry feel the future is bright for Peterborough? “I think it is, yes. As a city it’s got a lot more to offer than people realise.” And he is not standing still, either. Future developments include plans to renovate the upstairs floor and create a bespoke fitting and consultation room with display cabinets, sofas and a champagne fridge. “You book an hour styling appointment, so you’ve got the undivided attention and you can give the idea of what you’re after, and bring photos, drawings, mood boards or whatever.”

Drawings? Could he really make a bespoke, dream pair of glasses from scratch? “I would relish that,” Gerry says. “Basically, we can change the frame, the size, the bridge, the colour, the style, the shape… Anything you want.” If those possibilites don’t get people excited about eyewear, nothing will.

The Oculist
24 Westgate Arcade
Queensgate Centre,
Peterborough
PE1 1PY

01733 555 621
www.theoculist.com