Guardian Pharmacy guards top spot in customer satisfaction

Earlier this year, the Roy Morgan Image of Professions Survey found that 86% of Australians rate pharmacists highly in terms of their honesty and ethical standards (second only to nurses). And as the results of our latest Customer Satisfaction Awards reveal, most people are very happy with the service they receive from their chemists, too …

Topping the list is Guardian Pharmacy, with a 91% customer satisfaction rating in the 12 months to August 2014. Winner of its category in the 2013 Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards, Guardian is a smidgeon ahead of Priceline Pharmacy, which scored a 90% satisfaction rating. Chemist Warehouse (90%) also impressed most people who shopped there.

Chemist/Pharmacy satisfaction: gold stars for all!

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), September 2013 – August 2014 (n=16,253).

As the chart above indicates, there is little difference in customer satisfaction levels between the top five chemists, with just 2% separating Guardian and Chemmart. Indeed, 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, General Manager – Consumer Products, Roy Morgan Research, says:

“In the year to August 2014, 50% of Australians 14+ (or 9,675,000 people) made at least one purchase from a chemist/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 wellbeing 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.”