Apoteket: Keeping the customers happy and healthy

Not long ago Apoteket was the one state-owned incumbent pharmacy in Sweden. These days, Apoteket has to compete for customers and new business with a number of new private pharmacies. The former monopoly is embracing the challenge by modernising their operation and their customer service, whilst honouring their traditional social responsibility.

Background
With 350 pharmacies across Sweden and around 3,500 staff Apoteket is still a huge organisation. 8 million visitors per year make it a priority for Apoteket to keep their customers happy and healthy. With the privatisation a few years ago, Apoteket had to sell nearly 600 pharmacies to private organisations.

As part of an overall redesign of their branches, Apoteket’s focus is now the customer experience including Customer Flow Management (CFM) from Qmatic.

“We see ourselves as a modern specialist,” said Agneta Olofsson, who is responsible for the redesign and the conceptual changes of the branches. “Part of the modernisation is the customer flow. It should be easy for the customer to navigate through the store. We want them to be happy with their purchases. It must be easy to shop with us.”

Award winning CFM
Part of the improvement is a customer tailored prescription service, which includes the CFM system. The solution recently won the prestigious Svensk Handel’s Award. Nearly all Apoteket’s branches have, or will soon have, a Qmatic CFM system. 60% of the customers come in for prescriptions, which is where the CFM solution is in use. The system is placed near the prescription desk, making it clearly visible and easily accessible.

Why Qmatic
“We chose Qmatic, simply because it was the best offering,” Agneta Olofsson said. “Qmatic has the capacity to grow with us. Despite the fact that Qmatic is a global company with a worldwide presence, we feel we get special treatment.“

Efficiency improvements
As any modern organisation Apoteket is under constant pressure to improve and to measure a number of parameters such as customer satisfaction, the carbon footprint of their own staff, recycling of medication – and naturally, customer waiting times and operational efficiency.

“We need to find a balance between giving excellent service and being efficient,” Agneta Olofsson said. The CFM system is a large part of this strategy.

Management benefits
At Apoteket Måsen in Varberg, Pharmacy Manager Rosalill Samuelsson uses the statistics generated by the CFM system in a number of ways. The solution is seamlessly connected to the pharmacy system and there is no need for any separate log on. Average waiting times are constantly measured.

“At the moment just over 80% of customers wait less than 5 minutes, so we’re doing quite well,” Rosalill said. She runs reports every day, and she also uses the CFM statistics for monthly reporting to her manager. “We can adjust our staffing based on this information,” she said.
Rosalill can see every pharmacy in her region on the same screen, and she can compare their average waiting times live at any time. She can also see number of customers served per staff member, per hour, and for each pharmacy making it easy to benchmark against the others in her group.

A service level indicator behind the counters shows the staff live information regarding waiting times and number of customers currently in the shop. The numbers are displayed in green, yellow or red to indicate how well Apoteket are meeting their preset targets. When the waiting time number is yellow for instance, it may be a good time to open another service position in order not to miss their 5-minute waiting time target.

The blind button
In Apoteket Måsen, there is a blind button for visually impaired customers. “One of our regular customers has trained her guide dog to walk up to the Qmatic system and guide her to the blind button,” said Rosalill Samuelson. “It is very useful as it means we can give those customers preferential treatment.”

As soon as someone presses the blind button, a screen behind the counters lights up to alert the staff that there is someone in the store with impaired vision. “When that happens, we make sure to get out on the shop floor and greet them immediately, letting them skip the queue altogether,” Rosalill said.

Customer benefits
Besides the blind button, the CFM system makes life easier for customers in a number of ways.
“It gives them privacy at the counters,” said Agneta Samuelsson. The customers can also browse the shop for merchandise while they are waiting their turn, and they never risk losing their place in the virtual queue.

“Apoteket’s products are the kind that can be good to have for the future; they are not necessarily the type of products you buy every day. So it is particularly important for us to give our customers time to browse the shop while they are waiting,” said Agneta.

Staff benefits
With no queue in front of them, the CFM system makes life less stressful for the staff. They have complete control over their work environment. They can focus on their customer, and on giving good service. Knowing that all customers are served in a fair and orderly manner also helps towards giving that all important impression of a modern and professional service provider.

How it works
The customer tailored prescription service means that customers select whether they want quick service, or advice which may take longer. 95% of the customers select the quick service option. As they take their numbered ticket, they are automatically slotted into the virtual queue. They can sit down and wait comfortably in the waiting area, without risk of losing their place in the queue, or they can browse the merchandise. A light over the counter and a voice function tells them where to go when their number comes up.