Have Lasik Eye Surgery and Get a Free TV! Consequence of A Lousy Economy
By Kidgas
I was listening to the Indianapolis Colts game tonight on the radio after picking up the kids from gymnastics practice and heard an interesting commercial. It was for the 20/20 Institute and laser eye surgery. The advertisement stated that you could get a free 42" HDTV for having Lasik surgery. Furthermore, you could save $1000 if you wore your Colts jersey to your initial consultation.
Most Lasik surgery will not be covered by medical insurance since it is often considered cosmetic. That has been true for everyone that I know who has had the procedure done. Because of this, anyone wanting to have laser eye surgery will have to pay for it to be done. Even though the cost has declined over the years, it is still fairly expensive. It must be tough to find individuals willing to pay for the cost of the surgery in the midst of the worst economic conditions since the 1930's.
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Even though I can only imagine how tough it is for these eye institutes to find customers, I was shocked to hear that they are offering free high definition televisions for having a surgery done. And of course the discount for wearing Colts gear was simply odd in my opinion. I can see this sort of thing for buying a car or making some other large purchase. But resorting to marketing tactics such as this for having laser surgery on the eyes just seems a little unethical to me.
I would hate to think that someone was unduly influenced to risk complications to his or her vision just to get a free HDTV. Granted having Lasik surgery is pretty safe with a fairly low risk of problems, but it could still happen. Imagine having some issue which lead to a permanent loss of vision. Then it would be impossible to enjoy that free gift which be the ultimate irony! You have to feel sorry for all of the support personnel that have lost jobs due to the decreased demand for laser eye surgery in Indianapolis and all of the other cities around the country. But to artificially attempt to increase demand using cheap marketing gimmicks just doesn't sit well with me.
Do you have any comments on this? I would love to hear them below.
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Any Comments of Lasik Surgery or Crazy Inducements?
I would sure think long and hard and do alot of research before seeing a surgeon who runs an ad like that.
Years ago, no doctor would have considered such an ad.
Now, they advertise all over but this is certainly one of the most bizzare ads I've heard of. As Lily Rose said, offering discounts instead of TV's would make far more sense and create a better incentive.
Good hub. Thanks for sharing.
It certainly made me pause when I heard the commercial. I thought for a minute that I was hallucinating or something. Good luck with your surgery, Lily. Let us know how it goes for you.
It would scare me to go to someone who offered a free tv with surgery. It's like they're desperate and maybe they're not a good doctor. Thanks for a good article. I'll read some others of yours.
Squirrelchaser,
I agree with you. It makes you wonder about the level of desperation.
Thank you for an interesting hub and your information.
Lily Rose 19 months ago
I hear ya! That's pretty pathetic! I plan on getting the laser surgery done to my eyes because I can no longer wear contacts after 15 years of wearing them and I HATE wearing glasses - there is no way in hell I would be influenced to select a doctor to do surgery on my eyes because he/she is offering a free TV! I will be doing my research and going with the most trusted doctor. Perhaps that doctor should just shave $500 off the cost and forget about the TV - that might be more of a draw!