My chemist knows my name....
It feels hard to explain why that is such a big deal - but I will try...
Instead of having giant Walmarts, Krogers, CVSs and Walgreens to choose from for our prescription needs, we have two local "chemists". I chose one when we first moved here simply because it was on one side of the street versus another. This isn't like a Walgreens where you can pop in for some groceries, a dog toy, a belated birthday card for your cousin, eyeliner and your prescription. No, this is a tiny little store - maybe the size of two largish bedrooms smooshed together and their opening hours are not conducive to modern times. They are open till 7pm weeknights and have very limited hours on weekends. If you went in with that list that I just named off, you would walk out with just the prescription. That's all they do....
It sounds limiting and there were times when we first moved here that I struggled with that. Joe and I both take maintenance prescriptions so, while I wasn't in there a lot, I was in there about once a month. When Joe had his big surgery back in October, we struggled with getting his pain managed properly. The doctor agreed that he needed an additional script of the main pain med he was taking. They asked for the name of my chemist and I gave it to him. Later that day, when I went to pick up the script, the chemist didn't know what I was talking about - apparently, the doctor sent the new script through snail mail to us - not even to the chemist!! There was no calling or faxing. The chemist tried to call the Dr to verify; but it was after 5pm so no dice. Luckily, the Dr had scanned the new script and emailed it to us. I showed the copy to the chemist and he filled it because he knew us and knew we weren't trying to scam him.
So, can you imagine going into CVS or Walgreens with a *copy* of a prescription for narcotic pain killers and having them fill it and telling you, "just bring the original in when you get it in the mail."?? Can you imagine?
Anyway, since then, he has filled another script for Joe while still waiting on the new one from his regular Dr. To be fair, this is one of the ones we get every month; but still.... how great of service is that?
Last month, I ran out of refills on my regular prescription. When I picked up the last one, the chemist gave me the used up script and told me to get a new one from my Dr and drop it off when I had time. I did it a couple of weeks later and stopped back in to drop it off. He was behind the counter in the back filling a script so the shop girl was trying to help me. I was just trying to explain what I was dropping off to the confused girl when he popped out...
"Hey *insert my real name here*, is that your new script for *insert medicine name here*?
"It is!"
"Do you need it filled now or later? You should still have 2 weeks worth from the last one but I can fill it right away if it's easier"
So, in that moment I realised.... My chemist knows my name by sight, he knows what medicine I take and approximately always knows when I will be needing a refill. A couple weeks after that when I was picking up my medicine, he asked, "Does Joe need his *insert medicine name here* filled? He should be almost out".
In that second moment I realised.... My chemist knows both of our names and all of our medicines and when they need to be refilled. How great is that?
Brings a whole new meaning to personal service!
It feels hard to explain why that is such a big deal - but I will try...
Instead of having giant Walmarts, Krogers, CVSs and Walgreens to choose from for our prescription needs, we have two local "chemists". I chose one when we first moved here simply because it was on one side of the street versus another. This isn't like a Walgreens where you can pop in for some groceries, a dog toy, a belated birthday card for your cousin, eyeliner and your prescription. No, this is a tiny little store - maybe the size of two largish bedrooms smooshed together and their opening hours are not conducive to modern times. They are open till 7pm weeknights and have very limited hours on weekends. If you went in with that list that I just named off, you would walk out with just the prescription. That's all they do....
It sounds limiting and there were times when we first moved here that I struggled with that. Joe and I both take maintenance prescriptions so, while I wasn't in there a lot, I was in there about once a month. When Joe had his big surgery back in October, we struggled with getting his pain managed properly. The doctor agreed that he needed an additional script of the main pain med he was taking. They asked for the name of my chemist and I gave it to him. Later that day, when I went to pick up the script, the chemist didn't know what I was talking about - apparently, the doctor sent the new script through snail mail to us - not even to the chemist!! There was no calling or faxing. The chemist tried to call the Dr to verify; but it was after 5pm so no dice. Luckily, the Dr had scanned the new script and emailed it to us. I showed the copy to the chemist and he filled it because he knew us and knew we weren't trying to scam him.
So, can you imagine going into CVS or Walgreens with a *copy* of a prescription for narcotic pain killers and having them fill it and telling you, "just bring the original in when you get it in the mail."?? Can you imagine?
Anyway, since then, he has filled another script for Joe while still waiting on the new one from his regular Dr. To be fair, this is one of the ones we get every month; but still.... how great of service is that?
Last month, I ran out of refills on my regular prescription. When I picked up the last one, the chemist gave me the used up script and told me to get a new one from my Dr and drop it off when I had time. I did it a couple of weeks later and stopped back in to drop it off. He was behind the counter in the back filling a script so the shop girl was trying to help me. I was just trying to explain what I was dropping off to the confused girl when he popped out...
"Hey *insert my real name here*, is that your new script for *insert medicine name here*?
"It is!"
"Do you need it filled now or later? You should still have 2 weeks worth from the last one but I can fill it right away if it's easier"
So, in that moment I realised.... My chemist knows my name by sight, he knows what medicine I take and approximately always knows when I will be needing a refill. A couple weeks after that when I was picking up my medicine, he asked, "Does Joe need his *insert medicine name here* filled? He should be almost out".
In that second moment I realised.... My chemist knows both of our names and all of our medicines and when they need to be refilled. How great is that?
Brings a whole new meaning to personal service!
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