Since being hired as a pharmacy technician in May 2019, Ingrid Zelenyanszky, CPhT, feels she’s finally found her calling in pharmacy. In fact, Zelenyanszky’s many years of prior retail experience only helped prepare her for her current position at Walgreens #10609, and she is already a favorite with customers in the busy tourist town of North Conway, New Hampshire.

“I love my patients and I love the job,” says Zelenyanszky, who commutes 35 minutes to the North Conway store from Maine. “It is difficult, but I’m providing a service. At the end of the day, I can go to sleep at night knowing that I did my best and my patients are home with their meds.” 

Her compassionate approach with customers hasn’t gone unnoticed, with one saying of the pharmacy tech: “This individual has the patience of a saint. She is always smiling and courteous.” This is why we named Zelenyanszky the 2022 Most Dedicated Technician.

Becoming a certified pharmacy technician in August 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic only solidified Zelenyanszky’s passion for this career path. In fact, her commitment for providing great customer service and meeting patient needs prove that this is more than just a job to her. 

“I feel blessed,” she says of the role. “It’s made a difference in my life. I will continue to do the things that I’m doing right now for as long as humanly possible.” 

We spoke with Zelenyanszky more about why she pursued pharmacy and what makes her so dedicated to her customers.

What do you love about your job?

This is an opportunity for me to help people. It’s very important to me that all the patients that walk up to my window know that they are individuals, and they’re all very happy and they’re very satisfied when they walk away from my window.

When COVID-19 hit, it was tough. We worked from morning to evening every single day. There were times where I worked seven days a week. I do feel like I’m providing a service, a very important one.

How do you provide individualized service like that?

I know most of my patients now. Before they walk up to the counter, I say, “Oh, that’s so and so, and that’s so and so.” Then while I’m talking to one customer, I’ll jump to the other computer screen, and I’ll call up the account to see if a particular person that’s coming up to the counter has anything waiting. Before the individual gets to the counter, I’ll have an answer for them. I’ve been on the other side, so I know what it’s like. I know what people expect and I know what they deserve, and they deserve the best.

Your customers must be so appreciative of you.

I love their reactions because I do this for everybody. It’s methodical and it comes naturally to me that I go through this process with every single patient. Sometimes I feel bad because they don’t get service like this anywhere else.

You mentioned how tough the pandemic was. How did that change the job?

I feel like I would serve every customer the same way as I do, regardless of the pandemic, but it pushed me along in my career. When the pandemic hit, we felt it was mandatory to become certified in giving vaccinations. It motivated me to become a certified pharmacy technician. 

My ex-husband passed away of COVID-related issues. Now, when I give a vaccine in a person’s arm, I ensure that they will not die of COVID-related issues. I feel very blessed to be providing the service to the public or whoever comes up to the window.

What do you do to help your customers save money on their Rx?

Prescription savings cards are very important because there are people who watch every single penny that they have. They’re low income; they’re retired; they pick the wrong insurance for the year. Then they have all sorts of illnesses that happen during their lives. I’ve seen prescriptions that cost $4,000. Some insurances don’t cover these medications, or they have a huge deductible.

It’s very important to me that all the patients that walk up to my window know that they are individuals, and they’re all very happy … when they walk away from my window.

Those patients are stuck with this enormous cost. That’s when I direct people to the savings cards. I have to try everything to lower the cost by the time they leave my counter. Because it does make a difference at the end of the day, whether you’re going to feed your kids, you’re going to feed your cat, or you’re going to buy your medication.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

The smiles I get from my customers. I have so many people lately who come up to my window and say, “Hey, it’s my favorite lady.”

I work with a very good group of people. The employees are awesome; my district manager is awesome. I love my pharmacist—we’ve worked together for a couple years now. I feel like a lot of people come to us specifically because they like the service they get from our particular Walgreens. That makes me happy. 

I think the smile, and the patience, and the fact that I make sure that they’re happy and that keeps them coming back. I think that’s very important.