Allcare Pharmacy, the largest Irish-owned pharmacy group, is ranked in the TOP five Irish organisations for customer service in 2020 and during the Covid-19 pandemic according to the annual CXI Ireland Customer Experience report.

"While Allcare Pharmacies have been growing their market share at pace they never lost their focus on superior patient care. They found numerous ways to make it easier for patients to do business with them particularly during COVID-19. Their success is not down to any one silver bullet but down to doing many things brilliantly. For instance, committing to putting a dedicated trainer on the road and giving online training access to staff who are empowered to do what’s right at the right time," said the report's authors.

"They continue to invest in technology solutions, particularly SMS messaging, to help communicate better with vulnerable patients and the addition of patient Apps that were life savers for those cocooning. Allcare roots remain firmly in the healthcare and the wellbeing of their patients and staff across hundreds of Irish communities."

The largest Irish-owned pharmacy group of nearly 100 pharmacies in communities across Ireland are among the best performers of 180 brands for treating customers in 2020 and throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the survey. McCauley, Marks & Spencer, FBD, Lidl, and clothes retailer Dunnes, accounted for the rest of the top 10.

Going the Extra mile

"Being able to understand and empathise with each customer’s circumstances is even more important in these current times of stress, worry, and change," the report says.

“Those brands whose staff went the extra mile for vulnerable customers, called in to people, delivered prescriptions etc, who became frontline heroes, they are the ones who did well.

We can see a strong correlation between the brands that exceeded customer expectations and the ones that scored highest overall for customer experience,” said Cathy Summers who edited the report.

Allcare Operations Manager Orlagh Dunne says, “Allcare Pharmacy believes that community comes first and that every member of our community deserves the best professional experience particularly during these testing times. These results are testament to our staff, who always go above and beyond for their patients and customers and during COVID this means working in more challenging circumstances and their continued commitment to providing top-class service and care including doing home deliveries and video calls to ensure the safety of vulnerable members of the community.”