DISPENSING 1 LECTURE

sept 1, 2021
INTRODUCTION TO
DISPENSING
COURSE OVERVIEW:

This course is designed to

help pharmacy students as
to improve their customer
service effectively in the
future
OUTLINE

Principles of good customer service

Good customer service face-to-face
Good customer service through
telephone
OBJECTIVE:
The students should be able to….
Identify invaluable skills for
interacting with customers
Identify appropriate face-to-face
customer service practices
Explain standards for telephone
customer service practices.
 According to Orvel Ray Wilson (1996)in “A
Crash Course in Customer Recourse”

If someone has a good

experience at your place of
work, they will tell at least three
people , while a disgruntled
customer will tell twelve people
about an unpleasant
experience with a company.
 INTRODUCTION
CUSTOMER
A person or group with
whom a business has
dealings with , i.e. paying
customers, insurance
companies /agents,
doctors, pharmacists,
distributors (vendors)
 In some work settings
Customer service only
becomes an issue when a
complaint is received.
These customer service
functions are implemented to
resolve the problem; only after
it has already occurred. The
best approach to avoid any
discontentment invoked by the
initial problem is to practice
good customer from the start.
 CUSTOMER SERVICE
assistance and advice
provided by a company to
those people who buy or
use its products or services
meeting the needs and
desires of any customer
 Therefore;
Helping people
spend their time,
effort and /or money
efficiently is what
good customer
service is all about
and what business
is, and has always
been, about”
GENERAL CUSTOMER
SERVICE MISSION All customers are entitled to be
STATEMENT : treated in the following manner,,,
✓ With quality products and services...
✓ With full focus and attention…
✓ With the freedom to ask questions and
receive appropriate feedback…
✓ With the right to file a complaint if the
company /employee has made an error
✓ With respect, fairness, and courtesy
Skills for interacting with customers
1. HAVE A GOOD ATTITUDE

Positive
attitude
Customer
service
80%
attitude
20%
technique
Total of 100%
service
 2.Make a lasting first impression

Customers
will form an
initial
impression
and make
judgement
on you
 3.Go for the quick fix

 Customers
don’t like
to wait
especially
when they
have a
problem
they need
you to
solve
 4.Always follow up
 If you
promise to
look into
something
“do it
promptly”
 5.Talk the talk

 Choose words that

reflect a service
attitude
 Example:
 “May I help you?”
(does not sound as
friendly)
 “How may I help
you?” (sounds friendly)
 “I apologize for the
inconvenience.”
 “Thank you for taking
time to let me know.”
 6.Show some empathy

 No one likes
having their
questions met
with an
apathetic or
rude response
 7.Heed customer criticism

 Make sure
this
feedback
gets in the
hands of the
proper policy
makers
 8.Let them down easily

 If you have
to decline a
customer
request to
uphold
company
policy, do
so in a
gentle
way(not
giving
discounts)
 9.All’s well that ends well

 Last
impressions
are just as
important
as first ones
.
 Remember
to say
Thank You
QUALITY Face to Face Customer
Service
 Customers will
remember the way you
treated them for a long
time. Their first
impression of you and
the business for which
you work will determine
whether they will bring
their business to you
again.
When a customer comes in person
to
 Drop off prescription, pick up
a prescription, or for any other
reason, you must be aware of
the customer’s expectations
of his/her visit to your work
setting. Employee should
make a special effort to take
note of people who enter their
place of work. It is important
to immediately make the
customer feel welcome
Hated by the customers during their
visits
Lets consider the ff:
 Being forced to wait in a
long line
 Being ignored
 Being waited on by a
poorly informed staff
member
 Being treated in a
casual manner or as if
you are unimportant
customer
Standards to be followed during
face-to-face customer service
These should be practiced at all
times:
 Acknowledge
1.Never ignore a customer
the customer
 Thank the
customer who
have waited, no
matter how long
the wait
 2.Greet customers with a smile and eye
contact

 Even if you
don’t feel
like smiling
get it a
habit in
doing it
anyway
 4.It’s all in the name

 Customers
feel
important
when show
that you
remember
them from a
previous visit
to your work
environment
 5.Actions speaks louder than words
 When
customer
ask for a
direction
do not just
point
toward the
appropriat
e area,
take an
initiative to
bring him
/her where
she needs
to go
 6.People first, paper second

 Take a
time to
personally
help the
customer
 Take a
time to
foster a
relationshi
p with the
customer
 Standards for telephone customer
service

Telephone customer
service is just as
important as any
other activity that
you might be
engaging in on a
day to day basis.
 The ff are telephone service problems
the caller wishes to avoid:
 Waiting while the phone rings continuously
 Being greeted in a cursory or rude fashion
 Being transferred to someone who is not
available or to someone who cannot help
them
 Being placed on “hold” for a long period of
time
 Getting the call transferred several times
Good telephone customer service consist
of the ff:
1.Answer the phone
Answe
promptly
ring
the
phone
quickly
 2.Identify yourself and the pharmacy
name immediately
 Polite and
profession
al way to
answer the
phone
 3.Be friendly

Sounds
simple, but
this is
forgotten
 4.Have all your resources available
 Be
prepared
for all your
source
when
answering
the
customer
5.Indicate your regret when applicable

 It is important to
recognize when you
should express regret,
and do so in a genuine
manner
6.Use caller’s name

 When possible use the

customer’s name on
the phone
 By calling his/her name
signifies respect
7.Don’t interrupt
8.Get as much information as quickly as
possible
9.Speak clearly to make yourself
understood
10.Transfer a call when absolutely
necessary
 11.Hang up gently

Don’t
slammed
the phone
THANK
YOU for
LISTENING
…….