Annotated Bibliographies
I have analyzed three articles about pharmacy and customer service to help me develop the conclusion to my essential question.
Pharmacy Shopping
Davis, Mary. "Total Wellness Daily." Total Wellness Daily. N.p., July 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Mary Davis’ article, Painkiller Overdoses Often Involve Pharmacy Shopping, broadened my knowledge about my mentorship field, pharmacy. Described in the article, pharmacy shopping is a serious and life-threatening issue. Pharmacists must take the time to research their patients to assure that they are not committing this act, for it is the cause of most patient overdoses. The stats and the statements made by professional healthcare workers provided in this article strengthen this argument. The potential severe consequences of pharmacy shopping have caused me to realize that this issue is not something to take lightly.
I have already used the knowledge I gained from this article in my mentorship. At the pharmacy I work in, a man recently made a odd phone call asking for narcotic prescriptions. The way the man asked for these drugs was very strange. The pharmacist technician looked him up in a program that shows each pharmacy and doctor a person has been to recently. In the last few weeks, the man had been to countless pharmacies for the same drug. This is how we knew that he was pharmacy shopping.
It was very convenient that I had this prior knowledge of pharmacy shopping from the article. When a coworker explained the situation to me, I already knew about the issue and what the possible consequences were for that man, as well as the pharmacy itself.
Customer Service
"Build Customer Loyalty through Smart Customer Service." CRM Magazine June 2015: WP17.
Questia School. Web. 6 Feb. 2016.
This article describes the main techniques that a business can use to accomplishing the best customer service possible, or “Smart Customer Service.” The employees must be dedicated to knowing about the customer, and the contact center must be well informed of each buyer as well. Employees should pick up every piece of information a customer offers and use it to their advantage in the future. Show them that you truly care about them and want them to be involved in your business. The article gives an example about customer service within an Internet service company. “Knowing a customer called you last week about a problem with his Internet service and how the problem was resolved helps the agent provide a better customer experience…” (pp. 8) By remembering specific events or problems that occurred with a customer creates a more personal relationship.
If your business develops personal, caring relationships with each of their customers, the buyer is much more likely to “stay loyal to your company, even if you charge more for your goods or services,” (pp 13). When a customer feels that they are truly important to each of the employees, they are likely to stay at that business.
This article was written in June 2015, which is only a portion of a year ago. These customer service tips are fairly new and would still apply to organizations in today’s society. My essential question is about finding the perfect combination of customer service techniques to satisfy the customer wholy. The article exhibits several useful customer service tips that I will include in my final project.
Top 5 Reasons Customers Churn
Rampton, John. "Top 5 Reasons Customers Churn." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 Dec. 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
Some businesses think the more customers they have the better, but studies show that one loyal customer is worth more than several temporary ones. The five main reasons customers churn are bad service, broken promises, no loyalty, pushy employees, and unexpected inconveniences.
Customer service is much more valuable than prices. “Instead of paying way too much attention to functionality and pricing, focus directly on your customer experience instead.” It is easy for a company to promise big things to acquire customers. However, you must make sure customers get what they expect to remain happy, or else they will leave.
If a company wants loyal customers, then the company also needs to be loyal to its customers. Mutual loyalty is important. There is no guarantee that a customer will buy from you the next time, so it’s important to “not make them wait for the benefits of loyalty.” People buy things to solve a problem or make themselves feel better. Harassment doesn’t help this, rather it discourages it. “When a company constantly tries to upsell a customer who doesn’t want to buy anything else.. it can drive them over the edge and straight into the arms of your competitor.”
A company should never surprise their customers with bad news, higher prices, etc. Always seek out feedback, test new structures on small scales first. Offering incentives over time instead of blindsiding customers will ensure a company doesn't lose existing customers. There are some customers that do a company more harm than good. A company must simply let the harmful ones go, but keep the beneficial ones happy or the business will surely fail. “After all, your customers — not your prospects — are what make or break success.”
This article is from Huffington Post Business. This may indicate bias, but the Huffington Post has only qualified, credible writers on their website. The author also cites many credible sources for his statistics, making the article even more reliable.
In my research paper, I will outline the best customer service strategies, and I will use this article to provide strategies that companies should avoid. By knowing what NOT to do, companies can focus more on doing the right things for the business.