A critical evaluation of customer care in the pharmaceutical industry with reference to retail pharmacies

Abstract

The study set out to investigate Customer Care in the . Pharmaceutical Industry with reference to Retail Pharmacies in the Mafikeng area. This will be achieved through the following: Highlighting any inadequacy of customer care process at retail pharmacies, determine if the current customer care tools utilised are optimal or not, determine the extent at which such tools are utilised and to determine where accountability lies for customer care within the organisation. Six out of eight pharmacies participated in the study (75%, Four of which are leaders in the market as they are big stable companies and some are franchises. The measuring instruments utilised was a questionnaire because of the descriptive nature of the study. The questionnaire was in a structured format which consisted of two parts, namely, demographics and general questions evaluating the competency of staff and the quality of service.120 respondents participated in filling in the questionnaire over a period of two weeks. Every pharmacy had twenty respondents respectively. The findings revealed that most respondents were satisfied with the service provided , with only a few who were unhappy about certain elements of the questionnaire. However, the overall responses were satisfactorily and unexpected since patients tend to complain about services. The researcher recommends that staff need to be trained on the following, how to be friendly to customers and greet them with a smile. Greet them by name if possible, as it will impress the patient to notice that staff members know him/her by name. To be polite and pleasant when talking to clients. To be trained on product knowledge as it improves competency and confidence of client in a person. Adequate training of staff is important as it ensures provision of quality service to the patients, thus reducing complaints. Even though the results of the study were satisfactorily, it is important for the management of the organisation to concentrate on Few patients who are not happy about the service so as to improve and satisfy as many customers as possible.