MARCH saw the opening of a well-known brand of high street opticians in the new Sainsbury’s superstore located at The Hyde in Hendon.
Specsavers Hendon’s new store directors welcomed shoppers and residents as they showed off the very latest in-store design, value and designer frames, and diagnostic testing equipment.
Officiating at the store launch was the Mayor of Barnet, Cllr Tony Vourou, who cut the green ribbon and officially marked the opening of the Specsavers Hendon store to the public.
The 60th Mayor to be appointed in the Borough and himself a long-standing pillar of the community, Cllr Vourou was introduced to the store team by the new partners, Birju Lakhani, dispensing optician director, and Shilpa Gadhia, optometrist director.
Currently at the helm of nearby sister store, Specsavers Kingsbury, directors Shilpa and Birju plan to use their 13 years of experience to drive great customer service and clinical expertise seven days a week in the Hendon area.
Shilpa said: ‘We’re thrilled that the Mayor is with us today, joining in the celebrations and officially opening our brand-new store here in Hendon.
‘We have invested over £250,000 in the store so that we can offer customers the very latest diagnostic testing equipment, choice of frames and streamlined customer journey.’
With the Specsavers Kingsbury sister store having an established reputation for delivering excellent customer service and clinical expertise, Shilpa Gadhia continues: ‘We look forward to being part of the community and providing excellent eye and hearing care and becoming the go-to opticians for those customers of Sainsbury’s in Hendon.’
Birju Lakhani says: ‘We’re really excited that Specsavers Hendon is open to the public and the Mayor of Barnet has joined us today.
‘We’ve recruited local talent, appointing five customer service team members and promoted recently qualified dispensing optician Priti Panchal from Specsavers Kingsbury to store manager here in Hendon. We also have a resident optometrist.
‘Being situated within the new Sainsbury’s superstore, we’re looking forward to meeting residents, commuters and other business owners, and getting to know everyone.’
Specsavers has a great reputation for training and development, offering an excellent apprenticeship programme, rated outstanding by Ofsted, plus a structured career pathway with industry related qualifications available to all staff so they can upskill and progress.
The Hendon store offers customers three patient testing rooms, providing them with the latest state-of-the-art pre-room testing diagnostic equipment, as well as a soundproof hearing room so customers can have their hearing tested, coupled with the latest micro-suction equipment to clear blocked ears.
Customers can choose to have an OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) 3D scan, which is hospital-grade, advanced diagnostic, eye-scanning equipment that helps detect several eye conditions, including glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. It can detect eye conditions up to four years ahead of them presenting via a standard eye test.
The OCT scan uses light to take more than 1,000 images of the back of the eye and beyond, looking at the optic nerve and creating a cross-sectional view. The optometrist can then store the customer’s OCT images and monitor for any changes over time, which is a real benefit to overall eye health. Currently this scan is on offer at a reduced rate of £5 to customers.
As part of the store launch you can book a £10 sight test, just head over to the website. To book in for a sight or hearing test, you can contact Specsavers Hendon on 020 372 50687. Alternatively, you can book online at https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/hendonsainsburys
Store opening times are Monday to Saturday 9am to 6pm, and Sunday from 11am until 5pm. The practice and clinics are one level with nearby disabled bays to offer eye care for all.
During an eye test, Specsavers’ optometrists will assess your vision as well as check the overall health of your eyes, so it’s important to have regular eye tests, even if you aren’t experiencing any eye issues or symptoms.
