On Friday, May 6, Alpesh Patel was featured on That Business Show with Jamie Meloni. Alpesh earned a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from Shri Sarvjanik Pharmacy College in India and is currently a licensed pharmacist in the state of Michigan. In 2006, Alpesh moved to the United States where he briefly lived in New Jersey and began his career as a delivery driver. When he came to the U.S. he had to complete two additional years of study after which he worked as a delivery driver and then a pharmacist technician. He then moved to Michigan to become a pharmacy intern to complete his internship program.
To accomplish his internship, Alpesh needed to finish 600 hours in order to become a pharmacist. He knocked on every single pharmacy door, willing to take anything that would allow him to complete his hours. Desperate to complete his internship, Alpesh was even agreeable to working for free. After three months of looking, he was finally offered a job that paid $11 an hour. Alpesh became a pharmacist after fulfilling his internship in six months. He then took up a pharmacist job at Walgreens, which he left after seven months because he found that the culture did not fit his ideals. It was in 2009 that Alpesh and his partner opened Benzer Pharmacy in Michigan. From there on, Alpesh and his partner saw the need in the community and began to replicate the process.
Benzer Pharmacy currently has fifty-four stand-alone locations nationwide. What sets Benzer Pharmacy apart from others? Alpesh explains it is a pharmacy that offers personalized services. He compares Benzer Pharmacy to a sit-down restaurant rather than a fast food restaurant. Since his first pharmacy in Michigan, Alpesh has opened pharmacies in 9 different states. There are eleven Benzer Pharmacy locations in the Tampa Bay and just three weeks ago, Benzer Pharmacy launched it’s Franchise Model. Benzer Pharmacy is constantly undergoing vast expansion and will soon be opening a new Headquarters location. The pharmacy started with merely three employees and there are now roughly 430. This year, Benzer will be growing to a total of about 600 employees.
Benzer Pharmacy stresses the importance of making a difference within the community. Alpesh announced that the amount of employees in Tampa Bay would increase by 70-80 more employees, thus creating more jobs within our community! Alpesh explains to Jamie that none of this success would have been possible without the support of his employees. He states that his growth is attributed 80% to his employees and 20% to him and his partner! Alpesh stresses the importance of customer service and teamwork. Most importantly, he states that ultimately his accomplishments could not have been achieved without the extraordinary support from their customers. It is safe to say that with Benzer Pharmacy’s hard-work, commitment to superb customer service, as well as their dedication to maintain company values, it will continue to grow exponentially!
To see the full radio segment, click here.
For more information about Benzer Pharmacy, visit their website or click here to find a Benzer Pharmacy in your area!
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