What procedures do I have in place to ensure our service is consistent? How enjoyable is the shopping experience for our customer? Who are our customers? This list can go on and on but the key to every answer must be. When making a decision do you take into account how this action will affect your customer and their experience in your pharmacy

Without complete understanding, participation, and physical presence how is it possible for a shop owner to assess, measure, and plan ahead with the confidence of one who knows his customers? Staying involved will reassure you of the level of service and commitment from all staff members and managers. To truly interpret your business you should not rely totally on computer figures as it gives an incomplete picture. Staff in the process of learning could change sales figures around within days and if you are around to see the potential you may just keep that product (or try something new) after all.

The majority of your staff will have a hidden talent and to draw out their best will require commitment, patience, perseverance and discipline. Learning from the efforts of the people you work with allows you to identify what procedures are working and where you need to experiment more. If it is not possible for you to spend a lot of time on the shop floor then the discipline of ensuring your managers have direction, know your vision, and participate in continuous training is essential.

If you are the manager then it will be important to delegate certain tasks. When you give a staff member a job that automatically makes you responsible for how well it gets done. You should delegate responsibly, however the book still stops with you to see that the task is properly carried out. Getting to know the capabilities of the staff will allow you determine how much you follow-up. The most effective way of reducing your own supervision is to let the owner see you are doing the job and keeping up standards.

Fairness should be a number one priority and it will help you to assess staff on an equal platform. Showing preferential treatment to any one member of staff can result in de-motivating other staff members. It can be hard to avoid this at times when one member is really trying their best there is a temptation to focus more energy their way. Help yourself make important decisions by asking the question, if I were in their shoes, would I be happy with the outcome if I was on the receiving end of this action. Have you tried every avenue to motivate the underperforming staff member?

It can be truly difficult to stop something that has been done for years or to change a person's position within your shop. However there are times when you will need to clear the decks and try a different approach in order to continue providing the best possible service to your customers. After all customer service is not just about the face-to-face interaction because there is a whole bigger picture that leads to that result. The service you provide today is the reputation you earn today.  Trained staff will perform everyday tasks, regardless of their size or perceived importance, up to standard, at the right time, and will be motivated to perform to the best of their ability. Getting some outside advice will reassure you that you have done right by your staff and assist if it is time to say goodbye to any member.

Returning to that all-important question, what do you have that distinguishes you from the competition? Do you have a product or service (e.g. weight loss clinic) exclusive to you in the area? Is your service notably quicker? Do you provide a delivery service? None of the above? Well not to worry (you can work on those) because in most cases it will be the service and not the product that gives customer satisfaction every time. The core of customer service is the relationship you form with each individual. The feedback they give to friends and family about your knowledge, how you listened with interest, how helpful you were, you kept your promise, and such team work!  The best PR for your pharmacy is giving the best service.

Articles and press releases are other inexpensive ways to get a message to potential customers and a little extra PR. If you are involved in the community and have an event coming up it is an ideal opportunity to invite the local press to take pictures. Get some extra copies and give these to your customer's in- store and if you have designated information areas post one up there as well.

You can also ask some of your suppliers (a product exclusive to you) to give you informative articles and get them published. Several opinions can be an asset. Sharing ideas that stem from a variety of backgrounds, experience, and personalities leads to better ideas. Each staff member's insights on good customer service can form the basis for procedures in your pharmacy. Regular meetings can be really beneficial, however if they are almost impossible to organise it is a good idea to have one to one conversations and get your staff involved in the whole concept of excellent customer service. The retail industry is changing rapidly, the competition mounting and the pressure is on so take advantage of the in-store ideas to keep you ahead of the game.