When a customer base starts at zero, every new account is a blessing.
That’s the attitude Eastside Pharmacy partner Brent Brennan and his staff have held the past 18 years.
Eastside Pharmacy, 3612 SE Lee Blvd. in Lawton, began as a startup business inside a doctor’s building, with no guarantee that customers would come
flocking in the doors. With different methods of advertising and old-fashioned word-of-mouth compliments, Eastside Pharmacy has moved forward with
its business plan.
Brennan came on board in 2003 with Eastside Pharmacy immediately after graduating from Southwestern Oklahoma State University with his doctorate’s degree. Since then, it’s been an up-and-down battle from a business perspective.
“It’s either been feast or famine,” Brennan said. “There’s a lot of competition with chains and mail order. It’s been a struggle and a fight on a daily basis to gain each new customer.”
But as the years wore on, the customer base has grown with the pharmacy now employing 10 people, including six non-pharmacists.
As the lead pharmacist, Brennan is constantly on “information overload” with the emergence of new drugs and their side effects, pharmaceutical reps at their door coupled with new drug warnings and recalls.
Then came the COVID-19 pandemic that upset everyone’s apple cart. During the last few weeks when the vaccines hit the market, Eastside Pharmacy customers have been asking if and when Brennan will be giving the vaccine and what should customers expect in the form of adverse reactions.
“A lot of the time, we defer back to the available information from the FDA and CDC,” he said.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Brennan closed the lobby for about a month, reopening in the beginning of May 2020.
“We went from lobby foot traffic of about 75 people a day in mid-March to nothing,” he said. “When we did reopen the lobby it was with strict guidelines from the governor such as the six-foot rule and masks.”
Despite closing the lobby, Eastside Pharmacy experienced a dramatic uptick in drive-through business along with an increase in deliveries.
“I would say now our drive through from about 4:30 to 6 p.m. we’re six to eight cars deep,” Brennan said.
Ironically, Eastside Pharmacy has experienced a decline in the number of flu patients as COVID patients has increased.
“The flu drugs we ordered have gone bad, so we’ve had to take a loss on them because they’re not returnable,” Brennan said. “By this time most years, our flu drugs are sold out, but because of COVID and people being told to wash their hands more, we’re not seeing the same number of flu patients.”
Despite COVID and its effects on the country overall, Brennan sees a bright future for Eastside Pharmacy and healthcare.
“With everything in life, there’s ups and downs. We’re looking ahead and forward for the business, our employees and our customers. There are treatments and medicines for nearly everything. If you have a medical condition, there’s going to be a treatment for it,” he said.
Yet, when Brennan entered pharmacy school 20 years ago there were more health conditions without a cure or treatment.
“I had a family member who had a pharmacy job and I thought it was pretty cool. I think I was in ninth grade at the time,” he recalled. “I set my sights on getting a job like he had and never wavered. I don’t know what it was, but I stuck with it.”
Eastside Pharmacy customers are glad Brennan kept his promise because they’re treated like family.
“We recognize their names, faces and cars,” he said. “We get their medicines before they even get inside the door. We get to know our patients because they share their lives with us.”
For more information, call 580-355-6400. The pharmacy is open 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.