Publix Pharmacy Leads in Customer Satisfaction

LAKELAND, Fla. — Publix Pharmacy tops all others in customer satisfaction followed by Target and Kroger pharmacies, respectively, according to a Market Force International poll of 3,600 consumers.

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“Publix is No. 1 in courteous and friendly staff, inviting atmosphere and in having a very clean atmosphere,” Janet Eden-Harris, senior vice president of strategy and chief marketing officer of Market Force, told SN. “It is also a great source for nutrition and health information, good quality and private-label value.”

Target leads in checkout times followed by Walgreens and Rite Aid, both of which performed consistently well across most of the categories, according to Market Force.

While a supermarket pharmacy trumped all other formats in customer satisfaction, only 14% of respondents said that a supermarket pharmacy is their primary destination for prescription and over-the-counter drugs. National and regional pharmacy chains are the predominant destination for 43%, while mass retailers ranked second at 19%. Mail orders through health insurance were fourth with 5%, tying with local “mom & pop” pharmacies.

Read more: Customer Service: Publix Creates a Culture Beyond Slogans

“If you only have one prescription to fill and want to run in and run out, often you can get out of a Walgreens more easily than having to vie with everyone else to buy groceries. But if you fill a prescription on a regular basis, and can do it without urgency, the grocery store becomes an all-in-one trip,” Eden-Harris said.

When it comes to price perception, Costco ranked first followed by Wal-Mart and Target, and Safeway was lauded for having the best loyalty program. 

Store brands are another cost-saving means. Nearly all of those surveyed (96%) said that when faced with an option, they choose a store-brand OTC drug or nutritional product. Costco’s private-label brand is the most popular. 

“The attributes of the product itself is certainly less important in this case than the service so courteousness and fast checkout and the value card programs are making a bigger difference for consumers and making them pick a certain location over another,” Eden-Harris said.

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