Latest / HAVE FAITH LET IT BEGIN® / S8:Ep 2088 “Walgreens vs. Rite Aid: A Tale of Two Services”

Transcript

S8:Ep 2088 “Walgreens vs. Rite Aid: A Tale of Two Services” · HAVE FAITH LET IT BEGIN®

• 0:00
  Good morning and welcome to Have Faith, Let It Begin.
• 0:03
  I'm glad you're here today. You know, sometimes life throws us moments that test our patience.
• 0:09
  And sometimes those moments come from the most unexpected places.
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  For me, it happened recently at Walgreens.
• 0:18
  Have Faith, Let It Begin starts right now. Have Faith, Let It Begin when it starts right now.
• 0:28
  Welcome to have faith let it
• 0:31
  begin here's your host angel santana ariel can you say have faith let it begin
• 0:40
  let it begin say have faith let it begin no no no okay Noah!
• 0:48
  Hi, Noah! Noah! Noah!
• 0:51
  Oh, Jesus. Happy birthday, Noah! Caitlin, I'm done with you.
• 0:56
  It's just for dessert or something. Noah!
• 1:01
  This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
• 1:06
  This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
• 1:10
  This little light of rain, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine. Let it say.
• 1:18
  Let it say. Yeah.
• 1:22
  Daddy, I'm so excited, but I have one question. What's your question?
• 1:26
  Are you going to be a pastor or a minister?
• 1:29
  Good question. I don't know, but it is all in God's hands. Good morning.
• 1:34
  You're listening to Have Faith Let Begin, and it starts right now. Huh?
• 1:39
  Hello, everyone, and welcome to Have Faith Let It Begin. Let's get right into it. So picture this.
• 1:45
  I'm in the drive-thru at Walgreens. I'm waiting, and I'm waiting,
• 1:50
  and I'm waiting, and I'm waiting some more.
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  Minutes are going by. Nobody's acknowledging me.
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  Nobody says, hey, we'll be right with you. No one says, I apologize for the
• 2:03
  wait. I'll be right there. Nothing.
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  So I give up. I drive around, park my car, and I go inside.
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  Now you think going inside, maybe it'd be better. Nope. No greeting.
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  No hello. No eye contact.
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  Just nothing. It's like you're invisible.
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  And as the minutes tick by, you start to feel like you're not even there.
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  You start to feel like just frustration, but almost disrespected.
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  And it made me think back to the days of Rite Aid.
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  Remember Rite Aid? They have not been, they may not have been like the most perfect place.
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  And yes, they did go bankrupt, but they cared.
• 2:49
  You'd walk in, they would know your name. They'd smile.
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  Even if the line was long, someone would step away from another task just to
• 2:58
  help them move things along.
• 3:00
  There was pride in customer service.
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  There was a community. Now, when Rite Aid closed, Walgreens picked up so many
• 3:08
  of those prescriptions, and honestly, I don't think they were prepared.
• 3:12
  Suddenly, they had this flood of new customers, but they never adjusted.
• 3:17
  They never fixed the systems, and the one thing they really should have focused
• 3:21
  on, customer service, because customer service got completely lost.
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  Instead, here's what we get.
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  Phone calls and texts over and over again. Sometimes you'll get 20, 30, even 60 reminders.
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  I'm exaggerating. Maybe two or three.
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  Your prescriptions are ready. But then you show up and guess what? It's not ready.
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  Or my all-time favorite, it's ready. You show up and they tell you that they
• 3:51
  don't have it in stock. It's been delayed.
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  And no one gives you the heads up. So you stand there, you wait,
• 3:57
  and you wonder why this has happened. and why this has to feel like pulling
• 4:02
  teeth just to get the medication you need.
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  It feels like Walgreens doesn't even work for the customer.
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  It works against the customer. And the problem is, that's a problem because
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  pharmacies aren't like other stores. This is healthcare.
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  This is people's lives. This is medicine people dependent on.
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  And yet, instead of feeling cared for, you walk away feeling ignored.
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  Frustrated, and honestly, unimportant.
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  Now I know some of you are listening, maybe thinking, hey, maybe they're short-staffed.
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  Maybe the workers are overwhelmed. And that could be true. But here's the thing.
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  Even if the system is broken, a simple hello, a simple acknowledgement can change everything.
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  Courtesy does not take extra training. Kindness doesn't take extra staffing.
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  It just takes effort. And that's what Rite Aid had.
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  And that's what Walgreens is missing. So yes, I've walked away many times frustrated,
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  but it also reminded me of something bigger.
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  We can't control how others treat us, but we can control how we respond.
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  And even in our frustration, there's a lesson in patience, a lesson in empathy,
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  and a reminder that we still have a voice and we can call for better service.
• 5:27
  We could demand respect because when it comes to health care, we deserve it.
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  So if you had your own pharmacy horror story, I'd love to hear it because I
• 5:41
  know I'm not the only one.
• 5:43
  Maybe together we can spark a conversation that makes things better.
• 5:48
  Thanks for listening today. This has been a half faith.
• 5:51
  Let it begin podcast, crazy, crazy stories, of course. But until next time,
• 5:57
  stay strong, stay hopeful, and remember that you matter.
• 6:03
  And never forget, have faith, let it begin.
• 6:07
  Talk to you tomorrow. Thank you for listening to Have Faith,
• 6:11
  Let It Begin. We'll be back tomorrow.
• 6:14
  Hey, Have Faith family. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share the podcast with your friends.
• 6:20
  Visit our website, havefaithletitbegin.com. We would love to hear your feedback.