INSIGHT - Summer 2020

Summer 2020 | 17 downs, innovation and evolution, loyalty remains. Nick is big on relationships. He said, “The only thing that separates my pharmacy frombig-box chains and allows me to compete is stellar customer service.” He and his staff – two other pharmacists (Paul DiBiase and Steve Mesnick), front store manager (Bob Contois), and five pharmacy techs – know every customer who visits the store and can greet themby name. This type of connectionmakes offering clinical services, like medication therapy management, medication synchronization, and immunizations, easier. Customers are comfortable seeking counsel and confident in the staff’s expertise and level of care. Plus, they are often greeted with a warm, welcoming hug fromNick and never leave the store without hearing a goodbye. Nick joked that his pharmacy is like Hotel California. “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!” The majority of his customers are from the surrounding community, but even when people move away from the neighborhood, they often remain patrons of Suburban Pharmacy. The reference applies to staff, too. The most senior employee, Lori Johnson, started working in the front end of the store 19 years ago. While she has continued to work part time at Suburban as a pharmacy tech every Sunday for all these years, she has a full-time job as a public school teacher. And another long-time employee, Deb Contois, has worked at Suburban for over nine years and nowmanages the front end. Nick said, “Her input and expertise are invaluble, as is her connection and rapport with every customer who walks through the door.” Another example of the Hotel California effect materializes in the Stewart family. Mary Stewart worked as a pharmacy tech at Suburban for five years before relocating to Kansas. Ten years later, she returned to Rhode Island and joined the Suburban team again. Her daughter, Melissa, started working in the front end of Suburban as a teenager. She went on to work as a pharmacy tech and the store manager – ordering inventory, scheduling staff, and handling payroll. As a smart, organized, and extremely driven person who loved being a pharmacy tech, Melissa decided to embark on the journey to becoming a pharmacist. Nick, who enjoys helping others, mentored and guided her as she applied and was accepted into the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Melissa is working through her internships and is on track to graduate next year. Mary’s other daughter, Jessica, also works at Suburban as a pharmacy tech, and the youngest Stewart daughter, Jennifer, is following in her mother and sisters’ footsteps. As a high- school student, she currently works in the front end of the store, but she’s not alone. Nadia Ouldsfiya has worked at Suburban for three years. She helps out with the front end and she’s a pharmacy tech intern who’s a sophomore pre-med college student. There are a lot of unknowns in community pharmacy, but what Nick knows, without a doubt, is that he’s passionate about his life as a pharmacist. He embodies the saying, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you’ll never feel like you’re working a day in your life.” When faced with challenges, like direct and indirect remuneration fees squeezing his bottom line, Nick thinks about his love for his staff, his customers, and his store. Nick’s love for Suburban is what motivated him to redesign its logo a few years ago. He wanted something that better represented his pharmacy’s identity. The Bowl of Hygeia is a common pharmacy symbol, but the hand and heart that intertwine and cradle that bowl speak to the essence of Suburban Pharmacy and all that it stands for. That same love is what kept the doors of Suburban open for regular business hours when COVID-19 first reared its head. Nick refused to cut hours his staff had come to depend on, and he thought outside the box in order to provide items his community needed. Staff wore masks before they were mandated to do so; they sanitized workspaces and common areas hourly and hung plexiglass shields from the ceiling at checkout to limit exposure. Nick sought out vendors who supplied commercial buildings with toilet paper and those who supplied restaurants with gloves, to ensure his shelves were stocked with these products. He sourced KN95 face masks, and staff started making hand sanitizer as well. A lot has changed since Suburban Pharmacy opened in 1961, but Nick has chosen to keep the most important thing the same: the human connection. He and his staff are committed to delivering high-tech, yet personalized and compassionate service every day – proving they truly know, understand, and care about their customers.