Building up a loyal customer base is all about regular training, teamwork and understanding the needs of the local community, says senior MCA Carol Wordsworth

Carol Wordsworth has been a familiar face to customers on her local high street in Goldthorpe, Barnsley, for the last 30 years – as the manageress of a bakery for the first 14 and as an assistant at the community pharmacy next door for the last 16 years.

New opportunities

Carol initially joined the pharmacy, which was then an independent, simply because it offered her more flexible working hours after she became a mum. However, she soon found that she enjoyed getting the opportunity to help people manage their health and wellbeing. Then, in 2002, the pharmacy was acquired by Weldricks Pharmacy, a familyowned business based in South Yorkshire, and Carol was offered the opportunity to train up for a whole range of new roles and responsibilities.

“We were naturally a bit apprehensive about the changes at first, but we quickly noticed the benefits of more training,” recalls Carol, who undertook a leadership and management course shortly after the acquisition so that she could become the branch’s senior medicines counter assistant (MCA).

“Working alongside the pharmacist, I oversee the day-today running of the store, making sure that the staff are all up-todate and supporting them to take on newer roles,” she explains. “I am lucky because I have such an enthusiastic and committed team, plus there is a great training and HR team at the branch support centre, so I feel very supported.”

Taking part in regular training is an essential part of Carol’s role

Loyal customer

While no two days at the busy high street pharmacy are ever the same, Carol’s daily roles typically involve sorting out staffing issues, serving customers at the counter, liaising with GPs, ordering stock, merchandising, and promoting and delivering the pharmacy’s services.

Thanks to its loyal customer base and strong relationships with local GPs, the pharmacy has developed a wide range of popular services, including a minor ailments scheme, weight management and healthy lifestyle advice, smoking cessation and sexual health services including chlamydia screening and the C-card scheme, which provides free condoms to 16-25 year-olds.

“We are a very welcoming pharmacy and have a good place in the community. All the staff live locally and have worked here for a long time, and we know many of our customers by name,” says Carol. “We have good relationships with the local GPs too. Every morning we collect the prescriptions from the surgery and have a chat with the staff. The GPs signpost patients to us for the minor ailments service as it takes the pressure off them. It feels like we’re part of one big team.”

I am lucky because I have such an enthusiastic and committed team

Supporting new mums

Weldricks Pharmacy tailors its products and services to meet the needs of the communities it serves, so knowing the customer base is essential. As the local population in Goldthorpe includes lots of young families, the branch has a strong babycare category, and Carol and her team are used to advising parents on managing common childhood ailments.

To reflect an unmet need, the category was recently extended with a wide selection of infant formula milks, including specialist infant milks.

While Carol is unable to recommend specific products, she has received training on infant nutrition and common infant feeding problems from experts at Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition so that she can answer customer questions about the milks with confidence, and knows when to refer to her pharmacist or to a health visitor.

“It is quite daunting being a first-time mum and it can be very upsetting if your baby has feeding problems such as colic or reflux. We are there to provide advice and reassurance to mums, and they can pop in and see us when a GP or health visitor may not be available, such as on a Saturday,” says Carol. “I have a checklist of when to refer and we always ask people to come back and let us know how they get on. We have had very positive feedback.”

Since Weldricks began offering the extended ranges of infant milks, Carol has noticed more and more mothers visiting the branch looking for advice, with many appreciating the wide selection of products available under one roof.

“People say that they will tell all their friends about us. We have built up a rapport with the families and can continue giving advice as their children grow up,” adds Carol.

Part of the community

Besides families, the pharmacy also serves a large population of elderly patients, whom Carol and her colleagues are, she says, always sure to “make a fuss of”. Many of these customers have been visiting the pharmacy for years and are well known by the staff. Such is the level of care offered to elderly customers that the team will go out of their way to personally deliver medicines to patients’ homes in cold or treacherous weather.

The team also provides services to patients who are living in care homes and sheltered accommodation who cannot visit the pharmacy. Despite their busy schedule, Carol and her workmates find time to attend coffee mornings and bingo evenings at local care homes and even set up a stall selling inexpensive gift items around Christmastime. “The residents really appreciate getting the chance to buy presents for their children and grandchildren. We wear Santa hats and sing carols and it makes us feel like part of the community,” she says.

Gaining knowledge

With new product ranges and pharmacy services being regularly introduced and updated, taking part in regular training is essential to Carol’s role. In the run-up to Christmas, she attended a customer service course, as well as undertaking training to provide the new C-card service, which taught her how to broach sensitive topics and put young people at ease. She also frequently meets with product reps to help her decide which products to stock and how to merchandise the categories.

“I love training,” she enthuses. “We have to keep refreshing our knowledge, otherwise we will forget things, and the more knowledge we have, the more confidence we will have to give people the right advice.”