Customer Satisfaction towards Services of Accredited and General Drugstores

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare customer satisfaction towards services provided at accredited and general drugstores. Interviews of customers were conducted between November 15 and December 15, 2004. The satisfaction was rated on a scale from 1 (should be improved) to 5 (excellent). Fifty customers of five accredited drugstores and another 50 customers of four general drugstores, matched in selected characteristics to the accredited drugstores, were interviewed. Most interviewees were female, with average ages of 31.94±12.21 and 30.62±11.37 years for accredited and general stores, respectively. The average satisfaction scores for accredited and general stores in three aspects of services were as follows: 1) 4.03±0.77 and 3.82±0.81 for place and service supports, 2) 3.92±0.87 and 3.50±0.98 for pharmaceutical services and administration, and 3) 4.19±0.70 and 4.19±0.68 for medicines and medical devices. The results showed that customer satisfaction scores towards services received from accredited drugstores for the first and second aspects were higher than those towards services from general drugstores. This finding can be viewed as one indicator of the achievement of objectives of the community pharmacy development and accreditation.