Don't Undervalue Customer Service

A few years back during a shopping trip to Wegmans with my wife, we stopped at the pharmacy desk to pick up a prescription. Before she or I could say a word, the pharmacist (who happened to be the head pharmacist there), smiled and said, “Levitt, right?” The Wegmans pharmacy counter is usually a pretty busy place and we were both shocked (pleasantly) that the pharmacist knew who we were. I recall another time (though the details are a bit fuzzy) when the same pharmacist helped us iron out an issue we were having filling another prescription. Every interaction I have ever had with her and, to a lesser extent, anybody else behind the pharmacy desk under her watch has been pleasant. It was obvious she ran her pharmacy counter with the intent to make her customers comfortable and made sure those under her did so too. No real surprise as Wegmans is known for its customer service. Now, I bring this up because the past few times at the pharmacy desk, the service—while adaquate—seemed be lacking a friendliness or helpfulness that it had had previously. I also noticed that the head pharmacist who had always been so helpful hadn’t been there in while. Though not certain, I’m pretty sure she no longer works there. My point? In this day and age, where retailers are looking for any edge they can get, customer service—especially at pharmacy—is important. Is the change I noticed enough to make me fill my prescriptions elsewhere? No.... Not yet, but I did notice. If the service continues to degrade, I won't hesitate to fill my family's prescriptions at any one of the many other options in my neighborhood.