Only 28% of You Eat Lunch with Staff; the Remainder Work Through Lunch or Eat Alone

QUESTION

Do you or don’t you eat lunch regularly with team members?

Yes: 28%

• I don’t take lunches with reps unless it is with my staff. I want all staff to be updated with me so that we can work better as a team. — Dennis Iadarola, OD, Center For Vision Care, Monroe, CT
• My team is awesome to hang out with! Andy Rockwood, OD, Rockwood Optometry, North Ogden, UT
• We are more like family than coworkers. We help solve each other’s problems or just listen when needed. — Annette Prevaux, The Visionary Inc, Allen Park, MI
• I do eat out often, but I eat with the staff 50% of the time. We are definitely all together for lunch if there is a rep that has some new knowledge to impart. — Marc Ullman, OD, Academy Vision, Pine Beach, NJ
• We have a nice break room and the office is closed for lunch. We all enjoy each other’s company. — Heather Aites, Family Vision Center, Westminster, CO
• Not necessarily working lunches, but a good time to just chat and get to know more about them. — Cynthia Sayers, OD, EyeShop Optical Center, Lewis Center, OH
• Working lunches usually. — Amina Ebrahim, OD, D Vision Eyecare, Allen, TX
• We are fortunate to have a great team that aren’t just coworkers but friends. We always have lunch together! — Christine Howard, Attleboro Vision Care, Attleboro, MA
• Working lunches and we often buy staff lunch to show appreciation too. — Travis LeFevre, Krystal Vision, Logan, UT
• Not working lunches, just relationship building lunches. — Mark Perry, OD, Vision Health Institute, Orlando, FL
• Not usually a working lunch. We have a nice kitchenette off our work space/lab. So we all just find a comfortable spot to eat and chat. — Paula Hornbeck, Eye Candy & Eye Candy Kids, Delafield, WI
• We do some of both. Most often we eat together because we enjoy each other’s company. We have a good time together. — Melanie Jenkins, Spring Hill Eyecare, Spring Hill, TN
• We have a managers lunch once a month. It gives us time to catch up. — Gayle Bergthold, Bee Cave Vision Center, Bee Cave, TX
• Just to blow off steam and create friendships. — Chris Clark, Advanced Eye Care Optical Shoppe, Panama City, FL
• I find you get the most information about how your team is really doing when you sit and have lunch with them from time to time! — Sarah Montes, Hockemeyer Family Eye Care, New Haven, IN
• Builds team work. — Robert M. Easton Jr. OD, FAAO, Oakland Park, FL

No: 72%

• Typically work through lunch. — Jenni Drake, 3D Vision, Broomfield, CO
• Small shop. We eat or don’t eat when we can. Most times someone’s lunching while others are working. We never say “gee let’s all have lunch” and are able to sit for 30 min with no interruptions . — Julie Kubsch, Specs Around Town, Bloomington, IL
• I am usually multitasking and sometimes forget to eat lunch. — Danielle Doniver, Heritage Optical, Detroit, MI
• We all work on different schedules to keep the practice on pace. We have set times to go to eat. Many of my staff choose to run errands during this time. If I am here and they are eating in the break room I make the time to see how they are doing that day. — Sherry Morgan, Logan Eye Care, Lake Mary, FL
• We are just so busy, that it doesn’t happen regularly, especially since we don’t have a breakroom. — Jenna Gilbertson, McCulley Optix Gallery, Fargo, ND
• My lunch break is my time to mentally decompress and recharge for the remainder of the day. I like to spend that time quietly. — Sarah Bureau, sbspecs, St Catharines, ON
• We don’t take scheduled lunch breaks we just eat on the go and get paid for the entire day. — Maureen Garbis, Compass Eyecare, Oak Park, IL
• I want them to be able to relax without their boss but if we are celebrating then we will occasionally eat together. — Nytarsha Thomas, OD, Visionelle Eyecare, Zionsville, IN
• I never get to take lunch. I work straight from 7:40 to 5 and nibble throughout the day. — David Greening, Astorino Eye Center, Newport Beach, CA
• We are a small practice, so we take turns taking a lunch to remain open for our patients. — Selena Jachens, Urban Eyecare & Eyewear, West Des Moines, IA
• I go home. Right around the corner and don’t have to pack. — Miguel Rodriguez, Fava & Maria Eye Associates, Lebanon, PA
• I eat lunch in my vehicle when I run clinic errands. — Deb Jaeger, Eye Center of the Dakotas, Bismarck, ND
• Since we obviously need to take our masks off to eat, we all eat separately. — Ann-Marie Weaver, Optimal Eye Care, Lewis Center, OH
• Need some quiet time. — Scott Keating, OD, Vision Trends, Dover, OH
• I rarely take a lunch. Would rather work through the day and leave on time. — Kristina Jordan, The Eye Site, Mishawaka, IN
• We work closely together all day; lunch is our time to get personal things done and “get away” from work. — Dave Goodrich, Goodrich Optical, Lansing, MI
• No. They need their free time and space. — Dave Schultz, OD, Urban Optics, San Luis Obispo, CA
• We don’t close for lunch so we stagger times; it is hard to do a lunch without closing. — Stephanie Crowley, Sie Eyecare, Charlotte, NC