Why H2H is so Important in a Pharmacy

In the pharmacy world, there are more acronyms than one can easily keep track of.  And new ones pop up every day.  So while I’m reluctant to add another one to the growing list, I heard a new acronym last week that I think is really important to share. 

We’ve all heard of B2B (Business to Business) or B2C (Business to Consumer) but I’d never really thought about a much more important dynamic, Human to Human or H2H.  In one of our daily meetings here at RMS, our hardware manager brought up this new acronym as a growing trend in retail.  We talked about how this was so important with the ever increasing prevalence of smart phones in everyone’s pockets, or more accurately, in the palms of every person’s hands. It can be hard to get past the technology to provide that great customer experience. I immediately thought about how this is the perfect acronym for a lot of the advice that we provide in this blog and that every time we talk about the customer experience, we really are aiming for a human to human interaction.  Personalized one on one encounters. No assembly line “do you want fries with that?” here.  I also thought about how technology and H2H really do go hand in hand despite the fact that it may not seem that way at first.  I then started thinking about how RMS’ pharmacy POS solution can help customers provide a true H2H experience.   

While I offer advice on the ideal customer interaction on a regular basis, I have to admit, I don’t often experience it.  Perhaps I have high standards, but I tend to be really hard to impress when it comes to customer service.  But this past weekend, I actually was impressed.  Very impressed.  So rather than giving you a checklist of ways to tie an H2H customer service model together with some top tier pharmacy technology, I thought I’d share my great experience and let you be the judge. 

After walking about 10 blocks in Seattle this past weekend I immediately realized that I’d chosen my footwear poorly.  Rather than facing the prospect of blisters after a day of walking around, I hobbled a few more blocks to the Nike store.   If you’ve ever been to one of the big Nike stores, you may know that the selection, just in shoes, is pretty staggering.  It probably would have taken me a while to walk along and find the right section.  Instead, I was immediately greeted by an associate, who was equipped with a handheld device hung on a strap across her shoulders.  She introduced herself and asked my name.  Then, my helpful sales rep inquired as to what I was looking for and led me right to the section for basic, daily wear walking shoes.  She then asked me a few more questions about what I needed and why. Rather than trying to upsell me something I didn’t need or want, she showed me their best sellers and a couple of new things that she thought might fit the bill.  I selected a pair to try on and she went to grab my size. It was obvious that they are a very well organized store, as she returned very quickly with my order.  When I had decided I was going to go ahead and purchase my comfy, yet trendy new walking shoes, she grabbed that handheld device that I had noticed when I walked in, rang up my order, swiped my credit card and took a signature right there.  She offered to throw away the box since I was wearing the shoes out and sent me on my way as she knew that my husband and I were on our way to an event and anxious to head that way.  

Although this was a relatively short interaction, it left a big impression and is the perfect example of a business demonstrating H2H not only in how they treat their customers, but how they utilize their technology.  I think that any independent pharmacy, big or small, can duplicate this kind of service and make just as big an impression on their customers.

What do you think?  Does your pharmacy work the H2H customer service model? How do you do it?

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