Blog
Training trip to Budapest
Posted: Thursday 12th December 2019
Between the staff at Rawlings, there has always been excited conversations about ‘The Budapest Trip’ , a prestigious opportunity to fly out to Hoya’s state of the art training facility to learn more about the lens products we use on a daily basis. In November, Shirelle Poge & Nick Edgeworth, Rawlings’ two most recently qualified Opticians, got to see if it lived up to the hype. They have provided an entertaining account of their experience:
“An afternoon start in lectures meant that Monday morning was spent sleeping off the late night flights, meeting the other delegates from other opticians around the UK and exploring the city with all the photographic gusto of tourists with social media accounts to bombard. In a city with such rich history, we decided that the best way to start would be by taking a tram up to the Palace and taking in some of the sights. Whilst appreciating the views, we even managed to find ourselves in the middle of a military demonstration before the Palace. Whether this was a visiting dignitary, a special occasion, or just the way Hungary begins the working week was never 100% clear to us!
This proved to be all the sightseeing we were allowed, as Hoya had a whole itinerary of talks and workshops prepared to make us the best Opticians we could be. Lens types, varifocal designs, specialist dispensing and more were presented, discussed, argued and workshopped over the coming days. Highlights included learning about the fantastic work done with children with special facial characteristics at Great Ormond Street, marveling at Hoya’s state of the art measuring tools, and even trying out varifocals first hand. After many years of recommending them, getting a firsthand look at the benefits of premium lens designs really was an eye opening experience (excuse the pun!).
Coincidentally, the trip coincided with the launch of Hoya’s new bespoke progressive lens; Myself.
Myself uses unique technology which ensures the prescription is accurate at every point of the lens, as well as frame-fit optimisation and a lifestyle questionnaire which makes the design completely bespoke. On top of this, the Myself lens includes advanced AdaptEase Technology, enabling users to smoothly transition from far to near vision quicker than ever before. As well as smoothing the change in prescription, Myself also widens out the field of view and reduces unwanted prismatic effects, which can cause the swimming or swaying effect often found by first time varifocals wearers.
This trip was not all product and process though, and in the evenings we were allowed some light relief in the form of a cruise down the Danube. This gave the team plenty of opportunities for the smartphone cameras to come out again. Although the temperature had dropped to a decidedly autumnal 9⁰C, coats came on to take in the experience, and we all agreed that the trip’s sterling reputation had been justified.
The flights home came with their own disruptions (rumor has it, a certain Russian President was visiting that day), but we all got back safely. Returning back to work equipped with the new knowledge across the myriad subjects, and the confidence to give our patients the best experience possible couldn’t have been higher.”
Hoya’s Myself lenses are now available in all our branches, pop into your nearest branch for more information.
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