Case Study:Talking to Optometrist, Valarie Jerome

In this case study, we talk to an optometrist and discover how SMTP2GO helped their business during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

A fact of modern life is increased screen-time. Most of us spend far too long looking at our computers and devices - more so during the pandemic and with the increase of working from home. Before the pandemic, we would get a break commuting to and from the office - giving our tired eyes a break - but this doesn’t happen when working from home. And it’s taking its toll on our eyesight - which is, on the whole, getting worse. 

The up-swing in working from home resulted in people not being in the office and, therefore, not contactable by phone. As a company dealing with email, we’ve seen a sharp increase in email usage and companies have sought other ways to make contact. 

We take a look at Valarie Jerome Optometrists, an independent private opticians in Newbury, UK. The business started in November 2019, four months before the first lockdown, and was shut up for three months during this initial lockdown. This did not, however, stop progress! In 2020, the business was recognised as one of the top 100 UK small businesses by Small Business UK. In 2021, owner and optometrist, Valarie Jerome, was recognised as one of the Top 100 UK female entrepreneurs in the UK by f:entrepreneur (a campaign that highlights inspiring female business leaders across the UK).

As Valarie Jerome, owner and optometrist at Valarie Jerome Optometrists, in Newbury, UK, says:

“We needed a service provider to begin texting our patients when their glasses were ready for collection, or to remind them of an upcoming appointment. With so many people working from home, an email-to-text service seemed a better way to make contact, rather than to phone and leave a message.

The coronavirus has had a huge impact on business and the way we work. With so many working from home on Zoom calls and the screen all day, a text to remind or notify a patient is much easier for them to see quickly than waiting later until they are finished with work to listen to their voicemail.

I was worried how it would integrate with our patient management software system, Flex by Optinet - but it worked really well and was easy to understand. Switching over to texting our patients, instead of phoning, saved on time and our patients like it.

The onboarding process was very straightforward - easy for someone like myself who is not too tech savvy and has little patience with new systems! 

In a nutshell, SMTP2GO is easy to use.”

Visit your local optometrist and take care of your eyes!