This is a documentation of my analysis and observations while carrying out FOTW observation of pharmacists.

1. User Research- Shadowing
Pharmacists
Mentored by-
Mridu Mehta
Presentation by-
Ashutosh Agrawal

2. Content
1. Objective
2. Shadowing- What and Why?
3. Procedure
4. Customer-Pharmacist Interaction
5. Independent-Medium Pharmacy
• Profile
• Operation
• Interaction
6. Independent- Big Pharmacy
• Profile
• Operation
• Interaction
7. Corporate Pharmacy
• Profile
• Operation
• Interaction
8. Key Takeaways -1
9. External Actors

3. Objective
• Gain better understanding of users and their
behaviour
• Observe their environment and how they interact
with it and the people in it
• Understand their goals, expectations, needs
• Dig-out the “unknown unknowns”

4. Shadowing
What?
Shadowing is an observational research method that involves tracking someone
in his or her role to experience the situations of his or her daily life or work in
parallel with him or her, collecting insights through the detailed nuance of
firsthand, real-time exposure.
In this shadowing research, participating
grocery shoppers were observed,
asked about their decisions, and
photographed during a typical shopping
trip

5. Why?
Generally, there is a considerable difference between “what people
say” and “what people do”.
Shadowing unearths behavioural and qualitative data about the
users.
Shadowing is an unscripted method of research where users are
performing in their own environment so that the observations and
insights are more open-ended.

7. Procedure
1. Identifying an appropriate user
• Identifying a pharmacy was a judgemental call based mainly upon sales, size and quality
of pharmacy.
• Posed as a research student from IITD and not as a 1mg executive.
• Spent on an average of 4h hours with each pharmacist in 11am to 6pm range.
2. Making user comfortable and keenly observing the user in his/her environment without
disturbing or bothering the user.
• Initiated a conversation with pharmacist by asking him some random objective questions
about him or the pharmacy in an attempt to make him comfortable.
• After a 5 min conversation, took his permission to sit in the store for a while.
• Observed interaction (conversation, response, reaction) of the pharmacist and other staff
members with customers, vendors and among themselves; their mode of operation; their
management and arrangement of stock; their problems and concerns

8. 3. Having limited interaction with the user and only asking them open-ended
question if need arises.
4. Using various resources to record observations.
• Recorded all observations using resources like Audio recording, Video
recording, Photographs, Notes and Sketch notes.
• Note-taking method was used extensively. (Every significant customer
and vendor interaction with the pharmacist or some other staff member
was noted down)
5. Offered incentive (Amazon Gift card/PayTm recharge worth Rs 500) after
1.5 - 2hrs, when the owner grew uncomfortable by researcher’s presence
6. Documenting the research to make it usable for the whole team

9. Customer-Pharmacist Interaction
On the basis of how they initiate transaction-
1. General transaction with RX
2. Sample of the product (physical/virtual)
3. Type of container
4. Mode of payment
5. Specific product without RX
6. Effect of the medicine

10. General observations for transaction with RX
• Customer simply produces the RX
• Customer expects from the pharmacist to explain the dosage
• Customer specifically asks to explain effect of each medicine
• Some customers are well-versed with their RX and do not behave as
above
• Accordingly, customers generally reduce the prescribed quantity
(explained further)
• Pharmacist even suggest them doctors if medicines do not seem to
work for a significant while.
• They even come to consult the pharmacist at times to understand their
course/treatment.

11. Sample of the product (physical/virtual)
• Some customers prefer to carry a sample
of the medicine or the FMCG product they
want
• The sample may be exhausted strip of
tablets, empty container of some FMCG or
a pic of the product on mobile phone
• Behaviour not limited to uneducated or
lower income group
• This category may at times be clubbed
with “Specific Product without RX”
category.

12. • Customer here starts with the type of container the medicine comes in
- “Chhoti Kaanch ki Sheeshi me jo…….”
• Customer may then either describe the effect of that product or the
brand name of that product
• This category may at times be clubbed with “Specific Product without
RX” category.
Type of container
Chhoti kaanch ki sheeshi
wala Pudin Hara dedo
Wo roll-on wala oil dedo,
joints me pain ke liye
…gol dibbi me nhi ha
kya?

13. • Customer first asks for whether paytm / card payment is
available
• Only after confirmation, they initiate the transaction further
Mode of payment
PayTm hai kya??
Card se lete ho kya?
2000 ka change ha?

14. • Customer comes to the pharmacy with a specific product in mind and directly
ask for the product by its name, produce a sample or describe the type of
container the product comes in.
• The product may be an RX/non-RX medicine or an OTC product.
• They do not produce an RX for prescription medicines. (Our assumption is that
such patients are chronic and have been taking that medicine for a long time)
Specific product without RX
Bhaiya Telma 40mg dedo..
…Avomine dedo
…Patanjali ki Ghanwati
dedo
*This is a very broad category and might overlap with other categories

15. • Customers directly ask the pharmacist according to the effect the
product has (even request for medicines that require RX)
• Such customers hesitate to consult a doctor even after repeated visit
to the pharmacy, even after the pharmacist himself suggests to go to a
doctor
• Despite everything, some still doubt if the pharmacist recommended
medicine would work or not though the pharmacist constantly reassure
them
Effect of product
Fever ki koi dawa de do..
Pet saaf Karne ki aati ha
na dawai….
Hair-fall k liye koi
shampoo dedo
Bhaiya jo pichle baar diye
the wo asar nhi kar rhi…

16. Other significant observations on
customer behaviour
This is general among all categories of customers
1)
• Customers walked and looked around
the store for FMCG products
• They carefully read their description
• They did so either when the they were
waiting or when the customer’s sole
purpose was to explore

17. 2)
• They asked the pharmacist to alter (mostly reduce) the quantity of medicine
prescribed.
• They did this after understanding the effect and reason of each medicine
Bas 3 strips dedo…
50 rupay tak ke dedo
Bas 10 din ki dedo…

18. 3)
• Customers who were buying for someone else (care-givers) often called
them to confirm/cross-check if they had got the right product
• They also did this when they couldn’t remember which specific Cosmetic they
are supposed to buy
…inke pass ye alternative
ha…le aau kya??
….wo konsa shampoo boli
thi??
..Coversyl 5mg hi lana ha
na??
..white-red color ka tube
ha..Garnier White likha
ha…yahi na??

19. 4)
• Some customers didn’t believe much in modern cosmetics and other such
FMCG products. Our assumption is that their age is above 40 years.
• They still use or want to use products of their time like Lactocalamine,
mustard-oil etc.
Humaare samay me skin k
liye lactocalamine use
karte the...
..hum to ahi bhi sarso tel
hi legate ha…
Aaj kal ki ladkiya..per me
alag cream…hath me
flag

20. 5)
• Some women were very specific about the brand and sub-brand of cosmetic
and other such FMCG products. Our assumption is that their age is below 40
years.
• They generally refused pharmacist’s suggestions on alternative.
Loreal Paris Color
Vibrancy intensive
shampoo dena..
Wo nhi ha…Loreal Paris
Color Protect protection
shampoo lelo..
Rene do..Tumse nah ho
payega…
(Just kidding!! :p)

21. 6)
• Customers often acted on pharmacists’ advice- on alternative med, FMCG
or even consultation
• They turned to pharmacists to understand dosage, treatment or doctor
speciality
7)
• They repeatedly asked for discounts in medicines which Independent
pharmacies declined
• Corporate pharmacies give discount to their regular customers who have the
pharmacy card
8)
• Regular customers got special greetings from pharmacists and often
talked to them about their business, sports or even get personal
• They tried to convert this opportunity to discount

22. Key takeaways -1
• Customers described the product on the basis of the type of the container it comes in (a visual cue)
(3/44)
• People, irrespective of their level of education, brought samples of the product they wanted. (7/44)
• 3 customers asked pharmacist to vary prescribed quantity of medicines according to the duration of
dosage. (There was a single case where the customer asked to alter the quantity according to price.) (3/44)
• Mode of payment- Exact change (All those who made cash payments got exact change)
• Mode of payment- card/paytm (Every pharmacy had this option of payment though Independent medium
pharmacy didn’t prefer card payment which is why they denied availability of card machine until any
emergency)
• Pharmacists occasionally play doctor which includes roles like diagnosis, suggesting a medicine or
OTC product (6/44), instruction on dosage, reading and explaining lab reports and follow-up (2nd
opinion). (5/44)
• Roles are defined clearly in an independent pharmacy as compared to corporate pharmacies.
• People drop medication once they start to feel a little better.

23. Independent- Medium Pharmacy
Profile
Naresh Aggarwal
56/M, Owner
Ramu*
21/M, Servant
Suresh Aggarwal
52/M, Co-owner
(Family Business for 32 years)

24. • Both Naresh & Suresh are skeptical of digitisation in pharmaceuticals
as- they are not tech savvy; this according to them would lead to
additional expenses of employing a permanent accountant,
additional taxes and increased transparency in transactions.
• They dismiss anything or anyone who advocates the use of a digital
platform. (Didn’t entertain a 1mg executive who was trying to pitch
1mg, without even having complete knowledge of what 1mg does)
• They often forget their e-mail IDs, usernames and passwords and
often try to make another account for the same mobile number only
to find out that an account already exists. They even maintain a dairy
which keeps record of all such things.
• Despite everything, they are patient with it and keep on trying by
themselves
Behaviour

25. Pharmacist-Customer
Doesn’t seem to pay much
attention to the ongoing
interaction and steps in only
to handle the payment
deals with disinterest; sleeps;
steps in only to explain dosage or
suggest alternatives (even when
what the customer has asked for
is available); plays Ramu’s role in
his absence with no change in
his behaviour; unresponsive;
unclear
Cheerful, descriptive,
suggestive, polite,
unprofessional
Quick in his service- reading
prescription, fetching meds,
packing etc.
None of the above with
customers his age,
unresponsive with them
Customer

26. Pharmacist-Pharmacist
• Naresh and the servant are quite interactive.
• They are the ones to break the silence
• Servant keeps asking him questions about business and
people.
• Naresh answers him properly and also tells him about
taxes, medicines, politics.
• Servant helps Naresh with Paytm and other tech stuff.
• In absence of customer, atmosphere is quiet,
boring and that of despair
• Naresh and Suresh take a nap at times
• No direct interaction between Naresh and Suresh
(not implying any differences. between the two)
• Operate their phones at times
Naresh cross-checking the new stock with the servant

27. • When the vendor pitched a new medicine, Suresh
said they already had an alternative which is high
in demand (gets sold out within 2-3 days)
• Vendor gave reference of a common doctor they
knew, who had started prescribing the new
medicine.
• Suresh then ordered a small quantity of that
medicine.
Pharmacist - Salesman
(Observed 1 Salesman)

28. • Naresh was in contact with one of the stockists for the
last 30 years
• Stockists came once in a week to take the order.
• Stockists would have a look at the present stock and
would then make suggestions.
• Suresh first waits for stockists’ recommendation
• Then acts accordingly (ordered suggested quantity in
one case and ordered nothing in the other)
Pharmacist - Stockist
(Observed 2 stockists)

29. • The delivery boy simply delivers
the goods from a stockist/
wholesaler to the pharmacy in a
carton as shown and takes
payment in cash then and there.
• After Naresh and Ramu had
cross-checked the new stock with
their list, Ramu and Suresh set out
to arrange all the new stock.
Pharmacist - Delivery Guy

30. Operation
Their mode of operation is
completely manual. There’s no
use of any digital platform for
ordering or billing.
• Stock Arrangement
• Store Layout
• Stock Ordering

31. • Medicines are arranged in different compartments
according to -
Stock Arrangement
All arranged alphabetically except
Syrups which are also arranged
according to quantity

32. Store Layout

33. • Naresh claims he manages everything on memory
basis
• Whenever they spot that some medicine needs
reordering, he notes it down on a rough sheet.
• He either places order by call or whenever a
stockist arrives at his store (once in a week)
• Whenever a medicine gets delivered, he strikes it
out on the rough sheet.
Stock Ordering
(Figure in next slide)

34. Sheet maintained by Naresh

35. Independent- Big Pharmacy
Profile
Manish Pahuja
56/M, Owner
Guddu
24/M, Servant 1

36. • Manish is moderately professional in the way he deals with his
customers and staff.
• He generally refrains from talking about anything personal or
expressing personal opinions on matters.
• He recognises the advantages of digital store management and
embrace technology and even themselves were quite efficient
with it yet they can’t achieve complete digitisation due to lack of
manpower and additional cost of maintaining a permanent
accountant in the store.
• Most of the time in his store, he is seen operating his
smartphone.
Behaviour

37. Pharmacist-Customer
Interactive; professional;
constant frown on his
forehead
Very friendly with his regulars;
talks mostly about cricket
Explains the dosage and
significance of the meds to every
customer who asks for it politely
and patiently
Active; Interactive; Friendly
Manages all the customers by
himself in absence of Manish
Suggests substitutes at times to
the customer
Offers no discount to
customers
Quick in his service- reading
prescription, fetching meds,
packing etc.
Handles payment

38. Pharmacist-Pharmacist
•Everyone is quite interactive among
themselves.
•Talk about travel, family functions
and a lot about cricket.
•They often joke about the
customers.
•Also, there are times when
everyone is quite and are glued to
their smartphones- (WhatsApp,
Tinder etc.)

39. • Salesman came in with a box of sweets,
medicine sample and a laminated card about the
medicine.
• Pitched some pregnancy med and its effects.
• Even offered a personalised stand for the med.
• Manish was not convinced and wanted the
demand for the med to come first.
• Manish also had similar meds of some other
company.
• Manish is not concerned about the price but
about the demand in the market.
• He refused to buy even a single unit of the
medicine.
Pharmacist - Salesman
(Observed 1 Salesman)

40. • Manish’s interaction with stockists is mostly on phone or
WhatsApp.
• He sends his requirements of medicines over WhatsApp.
• Stockists deliver his requirements within a day or two.
Pharmacist - Stockist

41. • The delivery guy simply delivers
the medicines in small packets of
polythene (from stockist to the
pharmacy)
• Some took the payment then and
there.
• There were some agents who
would deliver the products and
also stock the products themselves
and took a photograph in the end.
• There wasn’t much interaction
between them.
Pharmacist - Delivery Guy/Agent

42. Operation
Manish’s mode of operation is part manual part digital. They
are unable to maintain the complete digital database due
to lack of manpower (and not due to lack of skills) which he
cannot afford.
• Stock Arrangement
• Store Layout
• Stock Ordering

43. Stock Arrangement
• Medicines are arranged in different compartments
according to -

44. Stock Arrangement
Medicines
frequently in
demand
Shelves-bottomtotop
Alphabetically
Demand of these
medicines-
once/twice in a
month
Medicine name
starting with A
Medicine name
starting with Z

45. • Survey of the whole store is done once in a year.
• The survey lasts for about a week assuming 2-3
hours per day.
• Start from tablets A-Z; bottom shelf then top-shelf.
• Then- syrups, ointments etc.
• Manish specifically mentioned that the process
would have been a lot easier had it been digitised.
Stock Arrangement
(Expiry Products)

46. Store Layout
ENTRY
COUNTER
OTC
OTC
OTC
MEDICINES

47. • During working hours, whenever
they find some product which
needs reordering, they note-it
down roughly in their register.
• In the night, they arrange all
products according to the name
of the company.
• After sorting, they determine the
appropriate vendor. They note
down the required products and
their quantity under the
respective vendor column and
the snapshot through
WhatsApp.
Stock Ordering

48. • Next day or the day after, delivery boy/
agent arrives with the required quantity
and also gives a printed receipt.
• Some delivery boys/agents like that of
Nivea, Gillette, Vicks, Pantene, Olay etc,
stock the product in the shop themselves
and often paste their company stickers,
company stands etc and also take
photographs.
• The printed receipt that they receive, is
piled up neatly and its data entered into
the database of the shop (though all meds
are not fed into the database due to lack of
manpower)
Stock Ordering

49. Profile
Corporate Pharmacy
(Photography strictly prohibited)
3 Staff members
1 Store Manager
No distinct division of work. Everyone does everything.

50. • All employees are very professional and disciplined in the way they
deal with customers.
• They adhere to the company rules very strictly.
• They don't entertain anyone other than the customer.
• Their behaviour changes significantly in the absence of a customer
where they are more relaxed and jolly mood.
• They are very well trained to use software for maintaining database
and billing.
• They remember the initials for most medicines to search in their
database.
Behaviour

51. • Calm; Composed; Disciplined
• Proper eye-contact with the customer.
• Responsive and clear in their speech.
• Always try to be polite, assuring and helpful
• Don't push customers much for alternatives
• Didn’t bill all the transactions
• 10% discount for card holders
• Also take orders over the telephone and
deliver the medicines home. (like customer-
care executives)
Pharmacist-Customer

52. • Since there’s no significant
difference in their
designations, the interaction
among the employees is more
casual and informal.
• Funny; Abusive
• The atmosphere there is
never silent here.
Pharmacist-Pharmacist

53. • The delivery guy delivers required medicines from
company store house to the outlet.
• The delivery guy simply comes in with the goods, hands
the receipt to the store manager and then leaves.
• “Schwab” company agent visited the store to ensure
whether their company medicine is in stock in appropriate
quantity in the store or not.
• Though the company agent is nervous and unclear in his
speech yet the staff members are patient and polite with
him.
Pharmacist - Delivery Guy/Agent

54. Operations
Their mode of operation is completely digital. The medicine
data is fed into the database in the company store house
itself. (before the medicines are delivered to the outlet)
• Stock Arrangement
• Store Layout
• Stock Ordering

55. Stock Arrangement
• Medicines are arranged in different compartments
according to -
Some products
(mostly FMCG) have
Apollo written on them

56. Store Layout

57. • All the products arrive here from a central store
house. Even the database in maintained by the IT
department of the storehouse.
Stock Ordering

58. External Actors
(According to their roles)
Salesmen Stockists Agents/Delivery Boys

59. • Pitch and promote new medicines
• Provide incentives such as
personalised company stands,
stickers, sweets etc.
• Sometimes come in company t-shirts,
bags
Salesmen

60. Stockists
• Keep stock of multiple medicine
companies like Cipla, Ranbaxy
etc or single FMCG products like
Nestle, Nivea etc
• Take order through phone or
come to shops personally
Company-wise Stockists

61. Agents/Delivery Boys
• Deliver medicines from
Stockists/Wholesalers to
Pharmacies
• Agents deliver and personally
stock FMCG products and take
photographs
• Sometimes, come for only
inspection of status/stock of
their company product
Nestle Agent
*Roles of an agent and a delivery boy are interchangeable

62. Salesmen