Customer Loyalty

Loyalty is important, especially when the subject is retail businesses.  With the ever-growing corporate conglomerates taking over family-owned and independent businesses, the loyal customer base is what keeps them alive.  I have worked for an independent business for 8 years, and I have seen both sides: the truly loyal, and those who just use us when it's convenient. 

When I need to go the store to get something, I generally choose the small store or the one that is less of a corporate chain.  I think this is in small part due to my own and my family's history in family-owned business, but the main factor is the service I get.  In general, a smaller store is going to give you more attention, better knowledge of their products, and a friendlier attitude.  One example that comes up a lot is hardware.  It is about the same distance from my apartment to either Home Depot or the Maple Leaf Ace.  I know that if I go to Home Depot, I will usually find exactly what I'm looking for and it may be at a lower price, yet I still go to Ace.  Why?  The things that Ace offers outweigh any benefit of Home Depot.  Yes, I need to go to a large store sometimes (buying lots of lumber for instance) but I try to go to Ace (or McLendon's – shout out to the Woodinville and Port Orchard stores!) whenever I can.  They may not have exactly the product I'm looking for, but their knowledgeable staff will help me find something that will do the job (and I have found that they carry a lot more than you'd expect for such a small store).  Not only that, the level and quality of service is far superior.  Everyone is happy to greet you as you come in, and there is always someone available to help if you have a question or need to locate something.  I once had three different people come to help me at once and they had to figure out who was going to answer my questions.  In the large stores, it's like pulling teeth to even get someone to acknowledge you.  I've even seen employees dart out of an aisle to avoid having to help a customer.  These customer service strengths are the reason that I will continue to give my business to small stores with good service every time I have the opportunity.

It is frustrating to me when people come into the pharmacy and are obviously "using" us just because it's convenient.  Some of them get their prescriptions from a mail-order company because they can save a little money.  But when they need advice, need a prescription filled quickly, or need a few days to get them through because the mail hadn't come yet, they come to us.  I am more than happy to bend over backward for our loyal customers.  However, it irks me when I have to go to extra lengths to accommodate these fair-weather customers, especially when lengthy calls to their insurance companies are involved.  Plus, when they call or come in to ask a drug question, we give them our time and dedication only to get nothing in return just because we can't offer $4 generics or super discounts.  It's really too bad that some people play the system like this.  They should either choose to give us their business and maybe pay a little more for high-quality service or settle for a competitor's crappy service to save a buck.  I'd like to say you can't have your cake and eat it too, but they do in this case. 

On the other side of the coin, it always brightens my day when customers' loyalty is evident.  One example is the families that have been coming to the store for a long time.  Many customers have come into the store since before many of the current employees started working (half a century for some).  We also have a few families who have four generations as current customers.  We also have those who move far away and still get their prescriptions from us (Alaska, Montana, etc.)  Some people go South seasonally, but rather than transferring their prescriptions to a local pharmacy they choose to have us mail them because they want to continue to give us their business.  Sometimes a particular product is in short supply.  We offer to send people to another pharmacy to get it filled right away, but it's always nice to hear them say "no thanks, I can wait a couple days; I'd rather get it filled here."  All of these examples of loyalty are fueled by these customers' appreciation for the quality of service that we provide. 

When choosing where to buy something, the decision should be made not on how much you'll save (within reason…major purchases should still include comparison shopping) or the few minutes you might save by not driving a little out of the way, but on the quality and history of service you've received at some of the smaller competitors.  When you find a place that meets your needs and provides consistently excellent service, stay loyal to them, because that loyalty is what keeps them going.