3 Little Things that will Make a Difference in your Pharmacy

In the category of things my mother told me (that I didn’t believe at the time, but now completely understand) is this saying: “It’s the little things that make a difference.”  She probably said this to me after I’d misbehaved and tried to make up for it with a grand gesture.  That was all well and good but it’s not usually the big things that stick with us when all is said and done.  It’s a bunch of little things that don’t’ really seem to be a big deal on their own, but altogether, they make a big impact.

Take my blog from last week and that great customer service experience I had at Nike.  It wasn’t just that the sales rep used my name to personalize the interaction, or that she was efficient without rushing me, or even that she was able to use mobile technology to ring out my transaction.  Those are all relatively little things.  But put together as a whole, they amount to something that’s really pretty awesome.

I’m sure that your pharmacy’s customer service is already top notch.  But there are some little things that just aren’t quite as common that might help to elevate your pharmacy to the next level. 

• Personalize – The most important word to a customer is their name. From the moment we’re born, we are basically trained to respond to it.  Have your pharmacy staff introduce themselves by name and ask customers their name during the customer interaction.  It will create familiarity, help to solidify their relationship with you, and will definitely make an impact.
• Inquire – Pharmacy staff should know what every customer in your store came in for. This will allow them to direct customers to the right aisle and make recommendations on what product might suit their needs. This also gives you an opportunity to suggest add-on items.  Exercise caution so as not to seem pushy, but there’s no harm in asking a customer purchasing cold medicine if they have enough tissue or whether they need a good multivitamin. 
• Be Efficient – Efficiency is incredibly important. This doesn’t mean rushing a transaction but it does mean avoiding unnecessary delays.  For example, if you have a line at the register and a customer forgot something or is having a problem with their debit card, don’t make other customers wait for resolution of that issue.  Simply save the transaction in your pharmacy POS.  When the customer is ready again, scan the receipt to pull all of the items back up.  There are many pharmacy technology based tools that can keep your pharmacy running smoothly.  Take advantage of them and make sure your staff knows how to use them.

You’ll notice that none of these things are incredibly difficult to implement.  You don’t even have to go out and buy new technology.  (Although having the right technology is definitely important and implementing a mobile register into your business model is a great way to streamline service.) If you just take one thing at a time, and make a habit out of it, you’ll soon find that a bunch of small things have made one great improvement in your pharmacy. 

Co-authored by Brooke Bronson, RMS Support Specialist