My Customer Service Story About Walgreens Pharmacy

By Julian Ignatowski, Sr.

My wife sent me out on an excursion earlier today.  She asked me to go to our local Walgreens Pharmacy to pick up a supplement that she normally takes, which she realized she was running low on.  Plus, she wasn't feeling all too well, so I decided to do a few errands and give her ample opportunity to rest and relax in my absence. 

When I arrived at the store, I got the few items that were on my list and then I started my hunt for her supplement.  I started in what I had deemed the most logical aisle -- the vitamin aisle.  I looked up and down, left and right and I could not find it anywhere.  So, I looked up and down the aisle as well as the neighboring aisles to see if there were any available Walgreens employees meandering about (as there usually are in most retail environments such as this). Hmmmm....No one.  So, I continued my search for this valuable "hidden" treasure of sorts by looking in all the pain medications, the health section, weight loss, still nothing...

After about 20 minutes of searching for this little bugger, I decided I should go seek assistance as I didn't have all day and I was starting to get a bit annoyed at my inability to locate this item.  So, I ventured over to the pharmacy.  If anyone should know where it was, it should be the resident pharmacist…this was his kingdom after all.  There were three people in line and I was thinking to myself, "I might not make it home until Christmas!" But, then the Pharmacist did something very magical.  He looked in my direction, got my eye contact, smiled at me, raised his hand with the gesture of 'just a few more minutes', and to top it off, he even vocalized an assurance to me, "Sir, sorry for the wait, we'll be right with you."  Although that is what he said to me, what I actually heard was, “Mr. Ignatowski (because he knew me in some mysterious way), you are important.  I can’t wait to help you!” I immediately thought to myself, “Well, of course, I don't mind waiting in line now.  You not only acknowledged me as a person, but you went even farther by accelerating to the next step of acknowledging me as your favored customer.”  Up until he "reached out to me" in this delightful fashion, my mind began to race with various criticisms of his domain called the Kingdom of Walgreens:  When was the last time they mopped the floors?! The shelf over there just has stuff thrown way up top -- who does that?!  I never have to wait like this at the Kingdoms of CVS or Rite-Aid.  

Sure I had to wait another five minutes or so, but when it was my turn in line, the King, er…. uh, pharmacist greeted me with a smile and asked politely, "How may I assist you today?"  I told him that I was looking for a supplement and that I've spent considerable time looking everywhere for it and couldn’t seem to locate it.  He said, "Ah, yes.  That is not your fault.  I believe we just moved it from its usual location. Let me show you exactly where it is."  He began to walk around the counter, through the line of people and said to me, "Right this way, sir."  He brought me directly to it, which was next to the distilled water and old people diapers (go figure!) and then he grabbed the bounty I had been looking for all this time.  He grabbed both the brand I was looking for as well as the Walgreens version of the supplement.  "Sir, as you can see, these are the same exact supplements made up of the same ingredients (as he turned the boxes around to show me the listing of ingredients), except that this one carries a name brand and the other carries our name for $2.50 less.  Which would you like?"  I was honestly smitten with the great customer care he was providing me.  I said, "Thank you so much for providing me with an alternative which provides a cost-savings, but because my wife has asked me for this specific brand, I will have to go with the more expensive choice.  But, thank you for your consideration."  He then said, "Well, keep your receipt.  If your wife doesn't mind the Walgreens brand, we'd be happy to swap it out for you and provide you with that cost savings."  I thanked him again and although I had been there for what seemed years, the extra care that he extended to me, not only helped in wiping away the critiques I was carrying in my mind about the store during my lengthy wait, but the grief of being inconvenienced had all but banished from my mind. 

I allowed Walgreens the opportunity to make a bad impression convert into a lasting good one, and they succeeded at their attempt.  For this, I give my local Walgreens a "Yay!" in my assessment of their customer service performance today.   

Note:  If you are not familiar with Walgreens Pharmacies, you can check them out by going to:  www.walgreens.com