Monday, August 31, 2015

An Open Letter to The Authorities

Dear Authorities,

 Here at Goofmart Pharmacy we have to endure yet another round of $25 gift card offerings for new business. Just bring in a new prescription or transfer a prescription and we hand over a $25 gift card for the pleasure of filling their prescription. 

I'm not sure who thought of this business model, but he or she is an idiot. There's so few people that actually STAY with our pharmacy after a promotion like this. As I recall from a manager meeting, the actual cost of obtaining a new patient in a promotion like this is over $200 per new account. In other words, you throw out $200 for each new patient that stays with the company and gets his/her prescriptions from US from that point on. Is that actually the figure, or is it really higher than that?

 Yes, there's a lot of competition in pharmacy. But the REAL WAY to compete is to provide top notch pharmaceutical services. It makes much more sense to stock the pharmacy with a higher inventory so that we're not constantly sending people away. It makes much more sense to keep adequate staffing on hand so that the pharmacist can engage the patients and keep the business coming back.

 Seriously, as a patient... which appeals to YOU more? Are you so desperate you'll take the $25 ONE TIME to get a few groceries, or are you more inclined to stay with a pharmacy where the pharmacist and staff care about you, know about your medications and patient needs, and have the time to discuss your conditions and medications with you? Are you more likely to return to a pharmacy that didn't have your medication the FIRST time you came in or not?

 Goofmart Grocery and Goofmart Pharmacy are not ones to ever blaze a new trail with stuff like this. If one of you Authorities will really just think about this logically for a moment you'll figure it out. It's pretty obvious.

 Thank you,

 Goofmart Pharmacists
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 31, 2015 at 7:02 AM

    I take thyroid meds, so I am a regular pharmacy customer. I was going to walmart, but after a while, I took walgreens' bait and switched over for the card. After a month or two, I switched right back to walmart - and I didn't even do it for a card from walmart. I didn't like most of walgreens' business model (either pharmacy or store), and the pharmacists at walmart are far nicer. For me, the pharmacists, not the card, made the difference.

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  2. AnonymousAugust 31, 2015 at 11:55 AM

    I take thyroid and cholesterol-lowering meds every month. I do not have a drug plan, so while there is a Rite Aid within walking distance of me, I travel 1/2 an hour to a Walmart. I have never spoken to pharmacists at either drugstore. My decision to use Walmart is based entirely on cost (e.g., at Walmart, 3 mos of generic thyroid = $10, vs $35/month at RiteAid). That's a substantial enough cost saving that even if Rite Aid's pharmacist were a clone of Mother Theresa, I'd still go to Walmart.

    So I agree with you: A one-time $25 gift will not persuade someone to continue to get his meds at your pharmacy if there is some overriding reason to go elsewhere.

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