LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
The team at Benjamin Opticians have achieved their vision, providing customers with a first class service in their recently extended state-of-the-art premises. Photography: Robin Lyndon
When customers travel from the likes of Bahrain, Portugal, Geneva and Japan because they like the unrivalled products you supply and the unsurpassed service you provide, you know you have a business that is super-special!
Just a short drive from the Ribble Valley, Skipton-based Benjamin Opticians, have a respected 22-strong team that are tremendously proud of their long-established Yorkshire roots, and rightly so – they have a 65-year history of welcoming customers from throughout the UK, Europe and further afield.
Located just off Skipton’s main high street, Benjamin Opticians is housed in a beautiful building that was formerly a farmstead in the 1700s before a Georgian extension was added to create more room.
Fast forward to the 21st century and the team at Benjamin are delighted to open their doors to a further five-room extension and a multi-thousand pound refurbishment that sees a sparkling new reception and new examination and frame rooms featuring the latest state-of-the-art optical technology, including an OCT scanner that can look through the pupil and behind the retina to diagnose conditions such as diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration, even before they manifest themselves.
Technology that can also help Meares Irlen Syndrome or visual stress can transform the way both children and adults are able to read through colour overlays. Benjamin Opticians has taken a huge leap forward with the new Colorimetry machine that more accurately finds the perfect shade for each individual. “The reading improvement can be staggering,” explains director and dispensing optician Liz Ellis, who has more than two decades experience in the industry. “This technology can make a huge difference to those with dyslexia and it has also been shown that it helps those who suffer from migraines too.”
Having a wealth of technology that allows perfect vision, giving individuals total freedom when reading, relaxing, driving or playing sport, is what makes customers return time and time again to Benjamin Opticians.
With a bespoke contact lens suite, it has become the go-to opticians for the latest contact lenses that can be custom made for each individual.
“Many people abandon their contact lenses because they aren’t comfortable, but the advanced technology these days is so much better. People can put them in and leave them in, in total comfort,” adds Liz, who is an advocate of regular eye tests for children and adults.
“We go to the dentist for regular check-ups why shouldn’t we have eye checks? Eyes are just as important – if not more.”
“Children should be having eye tests from the day they can walk and children’s eye examinations are free. When they are young they are developing so it’s never too soon,” adds Liz, who with Benjamin Opticians, attended the recent Broughton Hall Children’s Literature Festival, promoting eye health among children and young people.
In times when more children watch TV and play on computer games indoors, myopia (short-sightedness) is becoming an increasingly worrying issue in the 21st century, as Liz explains: “It’s happening in Japan right now and by 2050 it’s predicted 50 per cent here in the UK will be myopic, which can be caused by a shortage of UV light. It can be controlled with custom made contact lenses, worn overnight, that stop the eyeball elongating, which can be extremely effective.”
It goes without saying that Benjamin Opticians are spectacle lens specialists and have all the technology to deal with various sight issues – including a Visioffice machine. This measures eye and body parameters, which are sent straight to the lab to produce the latest technology lenses unique to each patient with a dramatically noticeable visual difference.
Patients have the advantage of private dispensing rooms and one-to-one consultations with professional qualified staff, and once the technology-based tests are done, there are literally thousands of on-trend frames from which to choose including Maui Jim, Oakley, Gucci, Dior, Saint Laurent, Ray-Ban, Jimmy Choo, Persol, Lindberg, Tiffany and the bespoke service of Tom Davies.
“Trends at the moment are leaning towards lighter and more delicate but whether you are looking for something quirky and fun or something more sophisticated, we will have something in our vast collections to suit,” adds Liz.
While the team at Benjamin Opticians are ultimately professional, visitors are greeted with a friendly smile at the comfortable new reception. Everything about the refurbishment has been well thought out on every level – enabling the team to offer their customers the very best.
From angled doorways to give ease of access to wheelchair users on the ground floor, to the colour themed new suites on the first floor, the team at Benjamin Opticians have quite literally, achieved their vision, as Liz concludes: “The extension and refurb has been three years in the planning and after 65 years in Skipton we are bringing a modern twist to the premises, while retaining our friendly ethos and total commitment to professionalism.”
Benjamin Opticians
23 Newmarket Street, Skipton BD23 2JE
01756 792933
www.benjamin-opticians.co.uk
