Rochell Sernec won the Exceptional Service Award for her dedication to making sure every single patient leaves happy—even on the busiest days. She’s gone from Shift Lead, to Pharmacy Technician, to Pharmacy Operations Manager, rising through the ranks at Walgreens. For her exceptional service, Walgreens has recognized her with eight service stars (a recognition given based on customer satisfaction!) and a District Champion of Champions award. We’re so excited to honor her passion for people with this award.

What is an average day like in your pharmacy?

We are short staffed, so my days are long and busy. I usually get there around 8 a.m., and then I stay until closing at 8 p.m. Before becoming a pharmacy technician, I had no idea how many different things they do. There are so many aspects. You learn different insurances, laws about controlled substances, and lots of other things.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I learned to administer the vaccine, which is something technicians were not authorized to do previously. I’m the only immunizing technician at my store, so a lot of my day is spent giving immunizations and running COVID tests. It’s pretty neat to be a part of fighting the pandemic. It’s not something a lot of people are going to say that they went through in their lifetime. That is neat. I know it’s a service that’s needed because of all the people coming in all day long.

I’m a people person, and I always try to do my best to get people what they need. I would do that for every single person I meet.

My store is a tier II pharmacy in the company. That means we’re expected to fill about 200 to 250 scripts a day. Right now we’re filling between 300 to 400 a day on top of doing the vaccines and the testing. I just smile and keep going. One patient at a time, that’s it.

What drives you to go above and beyond for your customers?

I’m just being me, to be honest. I don’t feel like I’m going above and beyond. I’m a people person, and I always try to do my best to get people what they need. I would do that for every single person I meet.

I always try to be nice because you don’t know why people have come to the pharmacy. The fact that they need medication to begin with, there’s already something going on in their lives. They don’t need anything else but kindness at this point, you just do what needs to be done.

It’s an internal drive for me. It is just my personality. I didn’t learn it in a book. It’s who I am—I would want someone to provide kindness for me, so I would always do that for others. I just want people to leave happy. 

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

My customers are absolutely the most rewarding part. They’re the best and always have nice things to say. They’re really kind. I’ve had them bring me gift cards for Starbucks before, just because I helped them. They come in and say, “Oh, I’m so glad it’s you working today.” That always makes me feel good. I really love that. Or they’ll call and ask for me because I helped them last time and that’s always nice.

I’ve won eight service stars now from Walgreens for my district and area. Service stars are awarded when customers fill out a survey and talk about your customer service or give a great story of when you helped them. I think it’s so sweet that my customers go out of their way to do something like that for me, when really it doesn’t benefit them much. I also just won a District Champion of Champions award from Walgreens after being nominated by my peers and my management.

Do you have a favorite customer story you could share?

I had one customer who came in and didn’t have insurance. Her husband needed a bunch of medication for diabetes, and she was paying thousands of dollars a month for them. She didn’t know anything about discount cards or manufacturer coupons. I helped her find some coupons. One prescription went from $800 down to $100. It was a crazy amount of money she saved. Her smile and her saying, “I can’t believe you were able to help us like this. I didn’t know what we were going to do.” Those moments are the ones that matter to me. 

My customers are absolutely the most rewarding part [of my job].

I have diabetes myself, and I can imagine what would happen if I couldn’t get the medications I needed. It’s very easily a death sentence. She’s come back and she’s been so sweet. That was definitely my biggest impact.

What should customers know about saving money?

People should know that there are savings available if they can’t afford their prescriptions. Don’t go without your medication. Just ask. There are so many different programs out there and different opportunities. Honestly, the one that I use the most often in the pharmacy is the SingleCare or FamilyWize card. Those are two of the better ones in my opinion. Besides that, when it’s newer drugs, the manufacturer coupons can help a ton.

What are the attributes of a top pharmacy technician?

Customer service is number one. You have to be able to listen to customers and to know what’s going on with them. You have to hear what they’re saying and what they’re not saying. People might not know about a coupon or might be embarrassed to ask. I think that’s the biggest thing. Then, you can actually help get them the things they need to have versus just sending them out the door with a prescription. 

What does this nomination mean to you?

I thought it was really amazing, honestly. It was super special. I thought it was so cool because it’s something that’s outside of Walgreens. It makes me feel pretty special.