Answer glasses order status questions without tying up your phones.
"Are my glasses ready?" and "How long will this take?" are two of the most common calls optical practices receive. Chatref answers them from your own content so your front desk isn't fielding the same calls all day.
Featured on
Why it matters
The problem this solves.
The challenge
Patients order glasses and then call repeatedly to check status. Turnaround time questions, lab questions, and "when will they be
What it costs
Each status call takes 2–4 minutes. With 10–20 patients in various stages of an order on any given day, that's up to 80 minutes
The Chatref way
Chatref answers glasses turnaround and status questions from your own content – your standard turnaround by lens type, your lab
The Chatref solution
How Chatref handles glasses order status questions.
A patient ordered glasses three days ago and wants to know when they'll be ready. Instead of calling and waiting on hold, they visit your website, ask Chatref, and get an accurate turnaround answer from your own lab schedule content.
Real questions
What Chatref answers here.
How long does it take to get glasses?
Are my glasses ready yet?
How long do progressive lenses take?
Do you call when glasses are ready?
What if I need glasses faster than the standard turnaround?
Can I get an update on my glasses order?
Loved by support teams
Optical practices, clearing glasses status calls from the queue.
How eye care practices use Chatref to answer glasses order questions without staff involvement.
Glasses status calls were a constant interruption. Chatref now answers turnaround questions from our lab schedule content. Patients self-serve and our phones are quieter during the day.
Patients now check turnaround on our website instead of calling. The answers are specific to our lab – not generic estimates from the internet.
We updated our turnaround content when we changed labs and Chatref answered correctly from that day. It's more consistent than staff who sometimes quote the old timelines.
fewer glasses status calls to the front desk
Progressive lens turnaround questions were the most common. Chatref now handles all of them. Our front desk noticed immediately.
Can Chatref look up a specific patient's glasses order status in real time?
Chatref answers from your practice content – turnaround times by lens type, lab schedule, and notification process. For a live status lookup on a specific order, patients are directed to call your
Can Chatref give different turnaround times for different lens types?
Yes. Add your turnaround information by lens type – standard single vision, progressive, high-index, specialty – to your knowledge base and Chatref answers accordingly.
How do I keep the turnaround information current?
Update your knowledge base whenever your lab timelines change. Chatref answers from the current content immediately after any update.
What if a patient's glasses are taking longer than expected?
Chatref can answer what to do if an order seems delayed – typically contacting the office – and route the conversation to your shared inbox if the patient needs staff help.
Can I add our notification process to Chatref?
Yes. Add how you notify patients when glasses are ready – phone call, text, email – and Chatref answers those questions from your content.
Does this work for contact lenses on order as well?
Yes. The same knowledge base approach works for contact lens orders. Add your contact lens turnaround and notification steps and Chatref answers both types of questions.
Clear glasses status calls from your phone queue.
Add your lab turnaround content, drop in one snippet, and let patients self-serve order status questions – free to start.
Part of Chatref for Optometry & Eye Care · Healthcare hub · pricing.