Introducing Raj Patel of Alisha Pharmacy, Chiswick.
At the epicentre of his West London community is Alitam member Raj Patel, owner of Alisha Pharmacy in Chiswick. Raj is widely celebrated for his attentive and caring service, helping generations of families to better health and wellbeing. Building on such a firm foundation of customer loyalty, Alitam membership means this pharmacy is rapidly reaching new heights; poised to exceed all expectations.
‘It’s all about trust’
For 30 years Raj has inspired enormous trust in his local community. “I always do that bit extra,” he says. “I’ll deliver to customers when other pharmacies refuse. I take the time to chat through concerns and listen to people’s problems. We are often dealing with sensitive needs, for emergency contraception and needle exchange, for instance. In these cases, it’s all about trust – and kindness.”
Planning to implement innovative systems, such as the Hub and Spoke dispensing model, will allow Raj to devote more time to each customer. “The beauty of Hub and Spoke is that, without being involved in the dispensing process anymore, my team will be freed up to help people. A central ‘hub’ takes care of dispensing almost all medicines, and we ‘the spoke’ can really spend time with customers when they come in to collect.”
This extra attention certainly pays dividends in terms of customer loyalty. One customer comes all the way from Heathrow to pick up his prescription from Raj. As one local resident, Terni Griffin, says, “We are blessed to have a local pharmacy which knows us all by name and really cares.” Another puts it succinctly, “Raj is a community legend.”
Alitam as game changer
His legendary status is set to go stratospheric with the power of Alitam behind him. Says Raj, “The potency of Alitam is that it builds on the trusted role of the community pharmacist; enhancing that by allowing us to offer so much more instore and online. I live in an area of London where there’s a huge demand for Travel Clinics, for example. It will be a game changer for me to be able to provide this. As part of Alitam I’m learning from the vast experience and skill of other members, and we cross-fertilise ideas. As a long-established community presence, I’m imparting my wisdom surrounding best practice in customer service. And I plan to be part of the roll-out team of the Hub and Spoke dispensing model across all member pharmacies in the UK and Ireland.”
Founder of Alitam, Feisal Nahaboo, is fulsome in his praise, “Raj demonstrates just how deep the roots of a community pharmacist can go. He’s a real inspiration to our members, and a constant reminder that all innovations, investment and collaborations through Alitam are undertaken to achieve one goal: better health for individuals and their communities throughout the UK and Ireland.”
