Robbie Leark, PharmD, services three communities in Southern California. Burt’s Pharmacy and Compounding Lab is in Newbury Park, Plaza Pharmacy is in Thousand Oaks, and a third pharmacy on the way will service Westlake Village. Though each location offers different services based on the community they serve and size of the store, all patients have access to the services Burt’s offers. The extensive list of services includes:
- Individually compounded medications
- Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT)
- Dye-free, preservative-free, sugar-free, lactose- and gluten-free formulations
- Alternative pain management treatments
- Prescription veterinary medications
- Hard-to-find and discontinued drugs
- Homeopathic and wellness products
- Prescription delivery services for convenience
- Accredited Medicare medical equipment supplier
- Medical devices, equipment, repair, and supplies
- Wheelchair, hospital bed, and knee walker sales and rentals
- Personalized home delivery of lift chairs
- Diabetic testing supplies
- Extensive gift boutique
- Post office services
When choosing which services to offer at his locations, Robbie looks for options that address what the community needs and are also profitable. For example, Robbie saw an opportunity to offer post office services after the community post office was shut down. Not only does this fill a need in the community, but the store also benefits from additional foot traffic.
“Our job is to fill a void or need for our community. If the community doesn’t support you, you’re out of business. You have to get out into your community and listen to what is needed,” Robbie said.
To make sure his stores stand out in their communities, he stresses the importance of customer service. He believes that when a patient walks into a pharmacy, they can immediately sense the difference between a store that’s truly trying their best for the community and a pharmacy just doing the bare minimum. Robbie explained, “People recognize that we’re there to help them, go above and beyond, and do whatever we can for our patients. We’re attentive to what each person needs, then we try to figure it out for them.”
“The way I look at things, if you only do what you did yesterday, that’s not good enough. It’s not going to keep you in business for the next 40 years. Let’s move on and focus on the next opportunity.”
