Check Out How This Big Tent Made A Big Difference For This Pharmacy

One major competitive advantage independent community pharmacies have is the ability to act fast, try new things and respond to opportunities.  

One example is The Big Tent the folks at McCoy Tygart Drug used earlier this year to help start what turned out to be a very successful way to support the curb side pick-up program  they implemented in response to the COVID pandemic.  

I spoke with Sparky Hedden, owner of this remarkable pharmacy for my podcast show, PharmacyCrossRoads.  Check it out at www.pharmacycrossroads.com

Sparky says that early in the pandemic they knew they needed to do something to serve their community.  They have a very large, 10,000+ square foot facility and many days fill 700 - 800 scripts.  So, handling this kind of volume took some quick thinking.  

They decided to invest in a large cabana type tent and set it up just in front of the pharmacy.  But, that was the easy part.  To handle the heavy amount of customer traffic they also reached out to high school and college students that were not in face-to-face classroom training to serve as "runners."  They were trained on customer service procedures, met people, found out what they wanted, took in scripts, gathered up what the patients wanted, including front-end items, and then returned with the items the patient needed.  

Sparky says the shopping center parking lot is large enough to support people waiting in their cars and the runners directed them on where to wait, captured car information so they could spot the right car, right away.  The program worked for several months.  The pharmacy is now open with face masks and social distance practices in place.  

And, to further solidify McCoy Tygart's community support image the large tent was donated to a non-profit food bank.  

If you own a pharmacy, or operate a business that cares about the future of independent community pharmacy you may find my podcast of interest, both to you and those you serve.  Learning from others is one of the keys of success in any business endeavor.  As the old saying goes, " A smart man learns from his mistakes.  A wise man learns from the mistakes of others."  Wise pharmacy owners and industry experts can learn from others at www.pharmacycrossroads.com