Creating Success, Creating Value of Others

MAKE YOURSELF NECESSARY TO SOMEBODY.
Ralph Waldo Emerson.

With 18 branches distributed across the city of Johor Bahru and beyond, AM PM Pharmacy is now one of the leading pharmacy chains in the state of Johor.

AM PM Pharmacy is not just one of the many community pharmacies in Malaysia, but one that is devoted to the well-being of its customers by adding value to the services it provides. Along with professional skills, excellent products and quality services, the company is also committed to a set of core values that distinguishes AM PM from other pharmaceutical entities. Known as ‘i Core Values to Infinity’, the core values are represented by Cohesiveness, Change, CARE, Innovate, Integrity, Positivity, Passion and Dedication. Each of the values are interpreted as follows:

• Cohesiveness: Me is less, we are more
• Change: Transform to reform
• CARE: Compassionate, Appreciate, Respect and Express
• Innovate: New
• Integrity: Being proper and right
• Positivity: A better world
• Passion: Do what you love ; Love what you do
• Dedication: Dedicate energy into results

The logo for the core values is portrayed by the sign‘∞’, a mathematical symbol that represents infinity, suggesting that there is no limit to these core values in terms of time, place and expectations. All members of AM PM are obliged to uphold these 8 elements of ‘i-Core Values’ as a set of shared beliefs and norms that helps them understand the company’s function and thus guide their attitude and behavior. It is the aim of Mr Ng Kee Wei, CEO of AM PM Pharmacy, to incorporate these eight values into the company culture to guide the team in their professional practice. Mr Ng believes that these core values will not only enable the AM PM team to add more values for their clients but also set them apart from other pharmacies. As AM PM grows, it is important to explicitly define the core values from which the company develops its culture, its brand, and its identity. While a company’s products, strategies and techniques can be duplicated, the values and norms of an organization are the true unique characteristics that distinguish it from the rest, very much like a person’s DNA.

Thus, creating an unparalleled company culture is important to give AM PM a competitive edge. The AM PM team is committed to building rapport with their customers and in providing solutions, in addition to products that improve their well-being. The ultimate mission of AM PM Pharmacy is to add value to people’s lives by providing products and services with extra values so that customers feel that their needs are satisfied beyond their expectations.

For AM PM Pharmacy, these ‘i Core Values’ are must-haves, not nice-to-haves and their applications are further demonstrated in the practices of AM PM pharmacists throughout their services as will be shown in the following sections.

Going Beyond Fulfilment

Customer Experience Matters

The retail industries in Malaysia are recognizing the merchandisers’ benefits by focusing their attention on excellent customer experience. But what is in for the healthcare industry, especially for the pharmacy customers? In Malaysia especially, are the customers given privilege to be selective for the best customer experience for their health prospect? And if yes, how does excellent customer service in the Malaysian pharmaceutical industry actually look like?

In fact, all it takes are attention and communication. However, as simple as it sounds, the truth is, not many customers agree that these two basic needs of theirs are met.

Unlike the healthcare industry, customers of other industries can demand for the above two services easily. For example, if a customer is not happy with a restaurant, he will not go back to the restaurant again as there are many other choices out there. The health industry in Malaysia has not faced the same pressure, but things are changing.

The Vouch Team had visited one of the outlets of AM PM Pharmacy and witnessed how AM PM Pharmacy build their success and reputation on delivering an outstanding customer experience by going beyond meeting a customer’s individual pharmaceutical needs.

Put A Smile On Your Face

When the customers walked into the premise, they were greeted with warm smiles and radiant faces adding positivity to their overall experience. The customers were then led to the consultation desk, engaged in an active dialogue session after which their health condition was diagnosed, medication and supplements prescribed and consultation provided. Ensuring that the customers were satisfied, the staff assisted the customers to the door and wished them a happy day.

That sounds like common practice in any pharmacy, doesn’t it? Well, the difference is that with AM PM, the service does not stop there. AM PM Pharmacy is an exemplary example of excellent customer service. The following examples show how AM PM staff have put their ‘i-Core Values’ into action and demonstrates that these values can be incorporated into the very fabric of the daily business, showing up in even the most common of instances.

Call Someone Who Remembers

One example was when an elderly man with memory problem walked into AM PM Pharmacy, the staff tended to the customer’s problem by providing appropriate supplement and consulting advices on healthy lifestyle that can benefit the customer.

And did their service end when they closed the sale with that customer? No, it did not. The staffs were worried if the elderly man would be able to drive home safely. They tried to contact his family members but it was in vain as his family members are staying overseas. So they followed the elderly man’s car to ensure he reached home safely. Even before waving goodbye to him, the staff wrote a card and placed it into the customer’s wallet.

Hi! My name is Lim Kee Hwang and I am suffering from memory problem. In case I was found lost and not able to find my way home, kindly call AM PM Pharmacy at 07-5577286 as they know me well and they would be able to assist me. Thanks.

Let Flowers and Cards Speak

Another incident was when a customer who used to turn in every week to replenish wound dressing items for her husband, failed to show up for 2 weeks. When AM PM Pharmacy’s staff rang her to check whether she was fine, she delivered the sad news that her husband had passed away and informed the staff that she would not be visiting their pharmacy again. Two days later, AM PM Pharmacy staff arrived at her house with a large bouquet of flowers and a card conveying their condolences. They also arranged a counselling session for her with the town’s motivational speaker in order to help her deal with the loss. And who wouldn’t guess that they won this customer for life!

Spread The Good Cheer

Apart from that, AM PM Pharmacy also spreads good cheer for the Ramadhan Season. When all the Muslims were busy fasting, AM PM Pharmacy wanted to contribute positively to support the Muslimins. Hence, they set out to the nearby hospital around 3.00am in the morning, a time known as ‘Waktu Sahur’ to the Muslim, in order to provide free food for all the patients and the patients’ family in the emergency ward.

Lend A Listening Ear

Contrary to business sales metrics, AM PM Pharmacy does not hurry their customer to close the sale or to leave the place. Once, there was a customer who visited an AM PM Pharmacy outlet just to express her problems. The Store Manager went the extra mile, acted out of her dedication to her work to consult the patient even though she knew that this patient was not going to make any purchase at AM PM Pharmacy. The customer was sad and needed someone to talk to. Hence, the Store Manager was willing to create a comforting dialogue session with her. Even when it was past closing time, the Store Manager did not ask the customer to leave. Instead, the Store Manager stayed on, giving the customer support for additional 2 hours after closing time. AM PM closed late that day and all the Store Manager had to say was, “We don’t judge; we just want to help.”

From the above examples, we can see that AM PM Pharmacy team do not utilize any special customer service strategies. All they do is by naturally employing opportunities to do things that are eccentric and out of the ordinary.

Customer Service is A Necessity

Customer service is an important element of the pharmaceutical industry in Malaysia. Customers are often made to feel that health care services, including pharmaceutical services, is a necessity rather than a luxury. This gives the impression that they are not entitled to demand for a better customer experience from the pharmacy. This is probably the biggest mistake created by the Malaysia healthcare sector. Given the changes brought on by AM PM Pharmacy Sdn Bhd, we expect customer experience is going to attract serious attention in the Malaysia’s pharmaceutical industry more than ever before.

Congratulations to the team of AM PM Pharmacy on their great steps! Good customer services are positive stories to share and we are happy to share AM PM’s inspiring services with our readers.

AM PM Pharmacy, Happy To Make You Feel Better!