By Jason Wentworth
"You don't chase a dollar, you chase a customer. If you take care of the customer, everything else will fall into place."
This was the lesson pharmacist Dave Randolph learned from his grandfather, a Scottsbluff mechanic and gas station owner. It's the kind of sensible advice any business owner, or person hoping to start a business, can take to heart.
Dave, who purchased the former Shaver's Pharmacy in Hemingford, eventually expanded to a second Dave's Pharmacy in Alliance. Dave had considered owning and operating his own business during his years working for others.
Dave Randolph tells Panhandle Post that the store's credo of "advanced care meets personal service" signifies attention to each customer's individual health profile. "You're actually a patient...we want to take care of you, the person." Dave notes that seeing the whole picture of each customer--whether a person smokes, whether they get proper physical exercise, etc.--is key to their approach.
As the owner of a small business, Dave Randolph notes that all of his employees come from small towns. "Everybody likes to shop local to support each other, because...when we shop local, the whole economy booms."
You can hear our complete interview with Dave Randolph, including his thoughts on the core of Dave's Pharmacy as a business, below.