SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT
WESTSIDE
PHARMACY
W
estside Pharmacy is the
embodiment of what a
locally owned and operated
store should look like. When
a customer calls and says they’re feeling
too sick to pick up a prescription, the
Westside Pharmacy staff will not only bring
the prescription over after work at 6pm, but
may just throw in some 7-Up and crackers
to settle the stomach.
“We’re totally friendly,” says owner and
pharmacist Chris Quesenberry, adding that
the store started as a family business, and
although it is no longer run by blood relatives alone, it still feels like a family
business. “Santa Cruz is a small town.
Everybody knows everybody, and it’s just
really friendly here. We help you, we’ll go
out of our way to help you. If you have a
specialized item or a specialized problem
we’ll do whatever we can to help. That’s
what I strive for.”
For example, the other day Quesenberry
says a woman who appeared to be in her
70s or early 80s came into Westside
Pharmacy on the verge of tears.
“She got her blood glucose prescription
from a mail order company, and they’d
changed it out on her,” says Quesenberry.
“It went from one type to another type
without warning, and she had no clue how
to use it. She was practically crying, she
didn’t know what to do with it. So, I came
out and I helped her with it, and she was so
happy. That’s what we do.”
Westside Pharmacy’s unique and helpful
services are many. They offer Medicare
billings for medical supplies and ostomy
such as wheelchairs and walkers. They have
charge accounts and offer free delivery of
prescriptions.
“We actually answer the phone,” says
Quesenberry. “When you call, you won’t
get an automated answering service, you’ll
get a person.”
In fact, unlike chain pharmacies, Westside
Pharmacy’s pharmacists are easy to reach
with questions both over the phone and in
person. Their primary goal is customer
service, and it shows.
“One lady needed a form because she was
going to the hospital for her mom,” says
Quesenberry. “I’d never seen her before, she
just came in and wanted some form. So, I
just went online, found the form, printed it
out and gave it to her.”
Quesenberry says she will even stay open a
bit extra for customers if need be.
“That’s the way I was raised,” says
Quesenberry, whose father was also a
pharmacist, and whose daughter aspires to
join the family tradition. “I try to make
people feel happy when they’re not well,
that’s my philosophy.”
Even the décor of Westside Pharmacy is
pleasant and welcoming. When you open
the door, you are greeted with calming
green and yellow tinted walls and a gift
shop full of charming stuffed animals
and trinkets.
Quesenberry compares the store to the bar
in the popular Television sitcom, Cheers,
“where everybody knows your name.”
“We know almost everyone that comes in
here,” she says. “One of the best things
[about Westside Pharmacy] is the personal
service, because you can go to another
pharmacy or do it through the mail and
you have no one to talk to. Here you can
talk to us, we’ll help you out. If there’s a
problem we’ll take care of it. If you don’t
know how to identify a medication you
picked up somewhere else, you can bring it
in here, we’ll tell you.”
At Westside Pharmacy, their number one
number one goal is to make whoever
walks in the door feel comfortable. If you
want a pharmacy that will comfort both
body and soul when you are feeling under
the weather, join the many who are helping the Westside Pharmacy community to
grow everyday.
Westside Pharmacy
1401 Mission Street, Santa Cruz
831-423-7175