Keith Guy believes his trio of pharmacies — Guy’s Medical Center, Pharmacy Guy’s Innovative Pharmacy and Southwest Discount Drugs — beat the national chains on price and service.
“We treat the people like a person,” he said. “They get the individual attention, and they’re not just a number. We know them by name.”
That’s one reason Guy’s pharmacies have stayed in business for 34 years. Another is competitive pricing with the “big boys.”
“We couldn’t let Walmart get ahead of us,” he said. “Anything they sell for $4, we sell for $3.95.”
Joining Good Neighbor Pharmacies should aid in keeping prices down. The partnership gives Guy’s pharmacies the buying power of 3,600 pharmacies.
“We are less expensive, surveys show,” Guy said. “We are cheaper, first of all, on prescriptions. And, customer satisfaction surveys are not even close.”
Guy plans to illustrate his point in an ad he recently undertook. In the ad, titled “Facing the Giants,” Guy says his business is holding its own despite being surrounded by larger competitors throughout McComb.
“Here I am, right in the middle of all these guys, surviving,” he said. “If you get a prescription and you have insurance, it’s $10 there, $10 here. We’re either less or, at minimum, or the same price.”
Guy’s pharmacies have drive-through service, and the staff is on call 24 hours a day. The pharmacies do specialty work, and on-site compounding for every type of medicine from drops for cats to total parenteral nutrition.
That power could be taken up a notch if the pharmacies receive Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board approval in 2010. There are 60 in the world and no others in Mississippi.
“That will prove that you meet the highest standards in the compounding industry,” Guy said.
Variety, compounding capabilities and pricing aside, Guy said there are other qualities that set his pharmacies apart from the rest.
The pharmacy loans medicine to customers with expired prescriptions if their doctors cannot be reached to refill them, and the staff, Guy said, goes above and beyond the call when needed.
“We’ve got the friendliest staff, and people that will go up and above,” Guy said. “We’ll do anything to help a customer as long as it’s legal.”
