Supported by


AWARDS


CUSTOMER SERVICE (4+) AWARD BOOTS, THE OAKS, DUNGANNON


E


veryone is well aware of how difficult retail is on the high street at the moment. With


online shopping on the increase, footfall in many high streets is definitely on the decrease, but the boots store in The Oaks in Dungannon doesn’t have to worry about falling footfall! The store has a ready-made patient cohort in the thousands who pour into the shopping centre every day to visit the in-store Sainsbury branch!


The benefits of being located in a shopping centre are probably obvious to most people. In addition to the convenient parking for patients, the fact that the store is situated alongside other varied businesses means that it is readily accessible to many people, who previously may not have thought of a pharmacy in terms of retail.


Having a ready-made patient cohort does not make the staff in the boots store complacent, however! On the contrary, pharmacist Sarah Smith and her team work extra hard to ensure that their store offers their patients the full range of services available in community pharmacy today, complete with a high level of quality customer service. And it is that level of customer service that has seen the boots team crowned the winners of this year’s Customer Service (4+ pharmacies) Award!


Such is the quality of the customer service available in this store, it actually received a 100 per cent rating for its external and internal appearance, not to mention 100 per cent for the level of its service, so you know that it has to be good!


Even from the street, the mystery shopper found the appearance of the pharmacy particularly appealing. The outside of the store looked attractive


and interesting, with large posters in both windows advertising ‘20 per cent off’ offers proving an immediate draw for passers-by.


Posters apart, the window display was varied, seasonal and colourful and the windows were clean, and, overall, the shopper found that the store looked in good repair and was extremely inviting.


Inside, the store was very well laid out and the shopper found it easy to move around. It was also well lit, with lots of interesting displays on view. The shopper felt that the range of products on offer far and above what would normally be expected in a chemist shop; a fact, which felt made it even more interesting!


The store’s appearance greatly impressed the mystery shopper, who noted that everything was ‘clean, tidy and well-presented’. Inside, they found that everything was well maintained, well stocked and clearly marked and labelled.


When the shopper arrived at the store, there were three members of staff working. All were wearing their uniforms, and name badges and the shopper was immediately impressed by the fact that their arrival was immediately acknowledged by all three, even despite the fact that two of them were serving customers!


During the visit, the mystery shopper spent some time observing the staff’s interaction with other customers and was very taken by both the customer service and the level of sales skills demonstrated. In fact, the shopper awarded the team 100 per cent for their sales skills - a fact which can only be of benefit to the store’s revenue stream!


Overall, the mystery shopper was delighted with their visit to the


The team from Boots, Dungannon with Lisa Murphy, Eurosales


International International, KISS Products, who


presented the award on behalf of Brian Morgan, Director of UK and Ireland.


‘Our team focuses heavily on pushing all of the services that pharmacy can currently offer, and we firmly believe that the store’s high level of service uptake is down to the fact that every member of the pharmacy team is heavily involved in interacting with patients and bringing the services to their attention’


boots Dungannon store, so well done to all concerned!


‘Our team focuses heavily on pushing all of the services that pharmacy can currently offer,’ says Sarah, ‘and we firmly believe that the store’s high level of service uptake is down to the fact that every member of the pharmacy team is heavily involved in interacting with patients and bringing the services to their attention.


‘Today’s community pharmacy is very much a case of providing the patient


or customer with what they need – particularly in light of increased competition from supermarkets and cut-price stores – and being located within a shopping centre means that we are in a much better position to compete on the retail side.


‘I also firmly believe that, when it comes to health products, patients will always have more faith in a pharmacist than perhaps in other retail outlets, and that is, I think, one of our strengths – our one-to-one service that provides information and support.’


PHARMACY IN FOCUS - 41


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