Guardian Pharmacy tops customer satisfaction

 

Guardian PharmacyGuardian Pharmacy has taken the top spot with a 91 per cent customer satisfaction rating in the 12 months to August 2014 at Roy Morgan’s latest Customer Satisfaction Awards.

Winner of its category in the 2013 Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards, Guardian just managed to topple Priceline Pharmacy, which scored a 90 per cent satisfaction rating. Chemist Warehouse was also close behind with a score of 90 per cent.

There is little difference in customer satisfaction levels between the top five chemists, with just two per cent separating Guardian and Chemmart. Competition between Australia’s big name chain pharmacies has been consistently close over the last five years, with the average satisfaction score hovering in the high 80s for most players.

Geoffrey Smith, GM consumer products, Roy Morgan Research, says in the year to August 2014, 50 per cent of Australians aged 14 and above, (or 9,675,000 people), made at least one purchase from a chemist or pharmacy in an average four week period.

“That’s a whole lot of customers, and for so many of them to be satisfied with the service they received speaks volumes for the high standards of this particular retail category.

“Pharmacies are heavily regulated by a range of codes and guidelines designed to ensure the customer’s well being when buying pharmaceuticals. This no doubt contributes to the generally high customer satisfaction ratings across the main chemist chains, as well as the widely held perception of pharmacists as trustworthy and ethical.

“However, chemists sell a lot more than just medication: vitamins, cosmetics, toiletries, perfume, gifts, healthy snacks and medical aids also form part of their diverse retail offering and enhance the shopping experience. Furthermore, customer loyalty programs (such as the Guardian Club or the Priceline Sister Club) build ongoing relationships with consumers by rewarding them for continued visitation.

“Of course, dramatically discounted prices like those offered by Chemist Warehouse also contribute to satisfaction.”

Chemist/Pharmacy satisfaction:

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