Survey: Pharmacists, staff key to pharmacy customer satisfaction

Westlake Village, Calif. - Pharmacist and staff interactions with customers are increasingly important drivers of satisfaction and share of wallet for both brick-and-mortar as well as mail-order pharmacies, while the speed of delivering and ease of ordering medication also drives satisfaction with mail order pharmacies. According to the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Pharmacy Study, overall satisfaction with chain drug store (840 on a 1,000-point scale), supermarket (843) and mail order (822) pharmacies increased in 2014, up year-over-year by 12, eight and 25 points, respectively.



Meanwhile, satisfaction with mass merchandiser pharmacies (830) remains relatively even with 2013. The gap in satisfaction between brick-and-mortar and mail order remains stable year-over-year at 25 points. The importance of customers interacting with a pharmacist increased across the four pharmacy segments in 2014. Satisfaction improved notably when pharmacists explain the potential side effects of medication to customers as well as costs they may incur. In brick-and-mortar stores, speaking to a pharmacist increased store spending.



Pharmacist satisfaction is highest in the chain drug store segment (883), followed by the supermarket (877) and mass merchandiser (864) segments. Non-pharmacist staff satisfaction is highest among supermarket pharmacies (847), followed by chain drug store (841) and mass merchandiser (820) pharmacies. Satisfaction is higher when a pharmacy and customer collaborate on a plan to help ensure that the customer does not miss a dose of their medication, particularly those with a 30-day supply.



Among customers who speak directly with a pharmacist in a chain drug store, 29% purchase an over-the-counter (OTC) medication and 59% purchase an additional non pharmaceutical product to go with their prescription. Having an in-store clinic or wellness center increases satisfaction with brick and mortar pharmacies by 42 points; increases the likelihood that customers will say they “strongly agree” that they feel loyal to their pharmacy by six percentage points; and leads to a larger basket of goods purchased in the store by eight percentage points



Among brick-and-mortar pharmacies, Good Neighbor Pharmacy (884) ranks highest in the chain drugstore segment; Sam’s Club (865) ranks highest in the mass merchandiser segment; and Publix (886) ranks highest in the supermarket segment. In the mail order segment, Kaiser Permanente Mail Pharmacy (865) ranks highest.



The 2014 U.S. Pharmacy Study is based on responses from 13,951 pharmacy customers who filled a new prescription or refilled a prescription during the three months prior to the June-July 2014 survey period.