Operations Ease at Rite Aid;

Orleck Is Pharmacy Manager

 

Rite Aid Pharmacy Manager Bob Orleck consults with technician Tracy Bradley. (Herald / Tim Calabro)

By Martha Slater

Ever since the Randolph Rite Aid's new pharmacy manager, Bob Orleck, took over that position early last month, he's been a man on a mission, putting in many hours with his staff to make the operation more efficient and reliable.

"I think things are going quite well," Orleck told The Herald last Friday. "When you come into a situation like this, you don't know what you're going to be facing on an everyday basis."

Orleck came on board after several months when the lack of enough registered pharmacists to staff the store during its regular hours of operation meant that the pharmacy section was sometimes closed. That left customers worried and irate when they couldn't get their prescriptions filled.

Back in December, the new Rite Aid regional vice president, Sabri Ibrahim, told The Herald that the problems began months before when the store was part of the Brooks chain, which decreased salaries for pharmacists and "caused a massive exodus. When Rite Aid took over, it took awhile to discover the reasons why people are leaving."

In mid-November, the Vermont Pharmacy Board met to consider shutting down the Randolph pharmacy because it did not have a managing pharmacist, as required by law. However, when the board learned that Orleck had been hired, as well as a second pharmacist, who came from a Massachusetts Rite Aid store, it granted a reprieve.

"We have a very good staff here now and we've been getting a lot of positive comments from people who come in," Orleck said, adding that he was elated to learn from employees at the Randolph Post Office that they hadn't heard any complaints about problems at the local Rite Aid in several weeks.

Orleck is quick to say he certainly doesn't see himself as the big reason for the positive turn-around.

"I'm a humble guy," he says. "I'm just a pharmacist and I really like people. My main purpose in coming here was not to cure the problems Rite Aid had. I came back to re-connect with my community. After working out of town for so many years, I was feeling a little out of touch. Since I've been working back in town, I've felt a little like Rip Van Winkle, running into so many people I knew before and haven't seen in years."

Orleck and his wife Barbara, who now have two grown children and three grandchildren, have lived in Randolph since 1976. They operated the independent and popular Depot Square Pharmacy in the former railroad station from 1976-83. After closing that business, he worked as a pharmacist in Woodstock for 17 years, at the Lebanon K-Mart for four years, and then at Price Chopper, where he was when he decided to "come home."

Orleck said he thinks he made a good decision, noting, "Pharmacists are a pretty critical bunch about their employers, and all the ones I've talked to have said good things about Rite Aid. My own experience so far has been that everything the company promised me they have come through with.

"Since I began here, we've made a lot of little changes that all add up to better customer service, but people need to be patient, because all of these changes take time. One big change was when I realized we'd need another pharmacist."

Orleck said Rite Aid VP Sabri Ibrahim is "very supportive and we are now working toward having a third full-time pharmacist here. In addition to myself, our other full-time pharmacist is Craig Pike, whom I think very highly of, and we also have a 'floater.'

"In response to my request, Rite Aid has sent a group of three people to help organize and inventory the pharmacy and get the place in good shape. They've also done more training with the pharmacy staff."

Orleck said he feels his role is "to interact with the customers. And, when a full staff is in place, I'll have more time to do so. Before I got here, that couldn't happen and I think it's a very important point for me."

Speaking about the contrasts between what the pharmacy business was like three decades ago and what it involves now, Orleck observed, "It was so much simpler then. We had a portable typewriter, a roll of labels and a stack of receipts. People paid cash because we didn't accept credit cards, and prescriptions averaged about $3 apiece."

"When I first broke into the pharmacy business, you didn't put the name of the drug on the label and always referred the patient back to the doctor for questions and advice," Orleck added. "Now, however, the role of the pharmacist is very different. We're very much involved in patient counseling and give printouts with each prescription. We also have a computer system that checks for drug interactions with each prescription we fill."

Orleck is definitely enthusiastic about the future of the pharmacy in Randolph.

"What's so neat about this situation is that there's only one pharmacy in town and so, in a way, it belongs to the community," he concluded. "I think they can be proud of it and feel invested in it. I've been getting good feedback from customers and from the hospital, and my staff is happier, too. There's a sense that we're all working together as a team and we're on the right track."