Executive Summary

by Six Pack

Eckerd offers many different types of merchandise and services to its customers. Eckerd has gained a reputation as offering very good customer service to its patrons. The majority of training an Eckerd employee receives involves customer service issues. As with many customer service oriented businesses, Eckerd believes the customer is always right without exception. The company is always striving to improve its customer service standards to keep established customers and gain new ones. Wait time, for filling prescriptions, is a major concern for customers and pharmacists alike. We found the current system used to inform customers of the wait time is not very efficient or customer service oriented. Our group, knowing customer service is a top priority for Eckerd, proposed a two-week trial plan to inform customers of the wait time for filling their prescriptions. The plan involves a number system in which the customer takes a number that corresponds to a �now serving number� dry-erase board to let the customer see how many prescriptions are ahead of their prescriptions. The misunderstanding about the wait time causes many problems and frustrations for both the pharmacist and the customer. The customer asking how much longer it will take to fill the prescription is constantly distracting the pharmacist and the customer feels left in the dark about the wait time. We asked the questions; 1) Do you like the new system for tracking prescription times? In addition, 2) Was your prescription ready in the time promised? We placed a questionnaire in each customer�s prescription bag and asked him or her to return it when they brought in their next prescription. We, as well as the pharmacist, feel this is a very good practice to employ to help increase customer service and keep the customers happy.

BACKGROUND PAPER