By Andrew W. Griffin

Red Dirt Report, editor

Posted: October 11, 2012

reddirtreporter@gmail.com

NORMAN, Okla. – As several customers wait for their prescriptions to be filled at Dave’s Health Mart Pharmacy, here on Porter Avenue in Norman, owner and pharmacist David Patel focuses intently on the job at hand.

But just because he’s doing his job doesn’t mean he and his assistant don’t have time to engage in a brief conversation about the way things used to be.

“Do you remember five-and-dimes?” asks a customer who says he is 61 years old. Both Patel and the assistant say they do not.

“Was it like a dollar store?” asks the female assistant.

“Yeah. I guess so. Pretty close. Things were cheap,” replies the older, African-American man.

Thirty-eight-year-old Patel, who is still filling the prescription behind the counter, admits he had not been to a “five-and-dime” but seems to think they were similar to TG&Y, the now-defunct Oklahoma City-based discount chain. And yes, he would be right.

And it was interesting to see Patel and his assistant engage in a pleasant conversation with a customer – someone who waited patiently, scouring the small aisles featuring vitamins and cold-and-flu medicine – waiting to get it filled and go on his way.

But, like in the heyday of the five-and-dime, there was time for a little conversation. A little human interaction. This was not the sort of encounter one is likely to experience at an impersonal big-box store.

And while Dave’s is friendly, it’s also a business and one that is respectful of each customer’s time.

This, Patel said, is part of his motto: “Fast and friendly service with a personal touch.”

“We make a point to get to know the patient,” Patel said.

Not only are prescriptions filled quickly. Patel offers curbside service to folks who aren’t able to get out of a car easily following surgery, for instance. He even has deliveries – free deliveries within a five-mile radius, and since he lives in south Oklahoma City, he will deliver prescriptions up there as well.

Patel said that the average person spend an average of 45 minutes at a pharmacy.

“That’s 45 minutes they could spend somewhere else,” he said.

But at Dave’s, customers are treated like they are family. Neither Patel nor his assistant wear formal clothing, further giving the pharmacy a “relaxed atmosphere,” as he put it.

Pictures of Patel’s kindergarten-aged son Dev are on displayed on the pharmacy counter, as is a fun collage Father’s Day card. Logos for both OU and the Oklahoma City Thunder are displayed on the back wall. It’s a welcoming environment.

With ties to the Mumbai, India area, Patel was born in London, England before ending up in the United States. He would go to boarding school and spend time in the Indian state of Gujarat.

Ultiamtely, Patel would seek a career as a pharmacist and would graduate from Southwestern Oklahoma State University’s College of Pharmacy in the mid-1990’s and would later work for 15 years as a pharmacist at Walgreens in Oklahoma City before seeking to go out on his own as an independent pharmacist.

“There are a lot of people who don’t want to go get their prescriptions at a Walmart, for instance,” he said.

Dave’s Health Mart Pharmacy would eventually find a home in the old Ardella’s Flower Shop at 329 N. Porter Ave., next to St. Joseph Catholic Church, opening this past March.

It’s a great location on the east side of Norman’s downtown, with a lot of visibility along busy Porter Avenue.

Patel calls his pharmacy, which is operated with the assistance of his wife Krutika, his “home away from home,” as he normally spends 54 hours a week at the growing business.

Asked about safety issues, since crimes against pharmacies are on the rise, Patel said they take precautions and have foldable, collapsible gates to protect the pharmaceuticals and drugs and so forth.

“We try to be as safe as possible,” he said, after noting he was working at a Walgreens when the infamous shooting death of a young, gun-wielding thief that occurred at the hands of Oklahoma City pharmacist Jerome Ersland several years ago.

Asked if there are any misconceptions people have about pharmacies and pharmacists, Patel said it would have to be with the issue of insurance and co-pays. Sometimes people will be frustrated with those issues surrounding payment, but those are out of the hands of the pharmacist.

For more information on Dave’s Health Mart Pharmacy, go to www.davesrx.com or call (405) 360-8882.

Copyright 2012 Red Dirt Report