Marley Drug: Independent pharmacy with national service

When it comes to filling your prescriptions, what do you care about most? Price, pharmacy service, fill/delivery time, or convenience? For some people cost is the main deciding factor, so they shop around until they find the best price. Maybe you care more about credibility of the pharmacy and look for the legitimacy when choosing an online pharmacy. Or you value customer relationship and that’s why you’ve been loyal to your local pharmacy for many years. Regardless of the reasons, a good pharmacy should be legit, honest and have the patient-first mindset.

Does Marley Drug have all the qualities for a good pharmacy?

History

Marley Drug started off as a local pharmacy in Winston-Salem nearly 20 years ago. It’s gained a reputation for good price and customer service as it grew. Last year, Marley Drug made a big leap and launched an online store, transforming itself from a community pharmacy to a national one. What hasn’t changed is its philosophy. For two decades, the pharmacy has been keeping the price low and outperforming other pharmacies on customer care.

Commitment through Pricing

Marley Drug has been keeping prices low with its Wholesale Price List: a fixed cash-price option for generics. The medications are priced based on how much the pharmacy pays for them, not the retail price. Surprisingly the cash-price for many generics is lower than some insurance copays.

The back story of this pricing model started with a desperate call in 2011 from a customer with breast cancer, looking for ways to get her medication. The customer had lost her insurance because she lost her job. She lost her job because she had breast cancer. She was in tears when she called because she couldn’t afford Femara—the drug she needed—for over $800 at other pharmacies. Dave Marley, the owner at the time, was able to offer her letrozole, the generic version of Femara, for $40/month.

This was an "Aha moment." It was when we realized that insurance wasn’t always in patients' best interest. In 2012, determined to offer affordable cash-price options to customers, Marley Drug launched Wholesale Price List. The list contained roughly 25 medications. A year supply was $70, and a 6-month supply for $37. And to this day the price remains the same while the list has grown to to include over 150 medications. An impressive number compared to other pharmacies’ special price lists.

The medications that are not on the list are priced the same way—based on the wholesale price, not the retail price with a considerable markup. This way, customers can be confident that they are paying a fair price for their prescription.

Dedicated Customer Service

When you’re a local store, customer relationships are very important. You try hard to help your customers and ease their problems along the way, because you care. It’s your own community after all.

Marley Drug’s award as a Top 10 Pharmacy in 2022 speaks volumes about its customer service. The pharmacy doesn’t believe anyone should be on hold forever or go through a robot generated questionnaire before you speak to someone who can actually help. That’s why Marley Drug has had a dedicated on-site support center for 11 years. When you call, you speak to an experienced team member at the pharmacy within 60 seconds. They will guide you through the whole process and even price check for your medication without being asked.

Terri R., one of our customer service specialists, has been with the pharmacy for a few years. She's always had a knack for helping others and is thriving at her job as you can see in the customer review below.

"As soon as my doctor submitted the prescription, I was contacted by Terri, who explained the process and set up delivery to my home and payment through my HSA card. It could not have been easier!"—Amy W.

Jon Villanova, the pharmacy's veteran pharmacist, has been with Marley Drug since 2006. He’s a well-known face in the community. People love to chat with him not only about medications, also about their life events.

Adam B, a pharmacy technician, says he likes working at Marley Drug because it feels like a one big family. Considering he's been at the pharmacy for 13 years, that’s the best compliment a company can receive from its people.

National Service

In 2020, Medicure, a company aimed at offering affordable medications to Americans, saw the great qualities in Marley Drug and acquired the local store from Dave Marley who was looking to retire. Its goal was to scale the pharmacy's services.

The following year Marley Drug successfully launched an online store, providing free, fast and reliable shipping to all 50 states. The average fill-time is under 10 minutes and average delivery time less than 2 days.

Average fill-time: < 10 minutes
Average delivery time: < 2 days

The pharmacy guarantees all medications in stock and that they will be shipped out on the same day when the prescription was received before 2PM EST. Marley Drug is able to achieve its efficiency because of 20 years of experience with focus on customer service.

To gauge the effectiveness of newly launched online service, Marley Drug conducted a customer survey in December 2022, and the feedback was very encouraging.

• 97% of customers were very satisfied with their pharmacy experience.
• 98% of customers would recommend Marley Drug to a family member or friend.

When Marley Drug transformed into a national online pharmacy, it kept its core value: to serve the customers with honesty and integrity. The company is constantly looking for ways to create a healthier pharmacy experience for customers online and in-store. If you are looking for a trustworthy online pharmacy with great customer care, check out Marley Drug. Your community pharmacy available nationwide.