An Over the Counter Friendship

For the residents of Flushing, traveling on Main Street is often a shoulder-to-shoulder affair. In a throng where each person goes about his or her own business and where the tempo of movement is entirely erratic, it is easy to feel invisible and anonymous. However at one small pharmacy you have both a name and an identity, courtesy of Vivian Cheung.

“I don’t have much distance from my patients. I’m very close to them. When they’re here, I know the whole family,” Vivian, the owner and lead pharmacist of Primacare Pharmacy, proclaims in a chipper voice.

Short and round-faced, with scrubby, close-cropped hair, Vivian is hardly what could be called an imposing figure. However, what she lacks in height and stature, she more than makes up for with her wit and exuberance. With over 13 years of pharmaceutical experience, a position as a licensed notary public, and fluency in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Taishanese, Vivian has made a name for herself.

Primacare Pharmacy was opened on Main Street in 2005, after Vivian departed from Manning Pharmacy in Chinatown to start her own business. Even at Manning, Vivian was already well known for her vibrant personality and friendliness. In fact a few of the customers she had at Manning followed her to Flushing on the strength of their dedication and loyalty to her.

Although business for Primacare was slow at first, it is not surprising nowadays to find the pharmacy crowded and noisy. In addition to pharmaceuticals and medication, Primacare also sells Chinese herbal remedies, hair products, deodorants, lotions, and creams. They also provide a phone bill payment service and a lottery service, the latter of which is popular with the older male customers.

According to Vivian, half of Primacare’s customers are the elderly, with the remaining half of customers divided between the middle-aged and young adults. Within the store, it is a common sight to see seniors, some with canes and wheelers, others without, asking for “Ms. Cheung” in their guttural, rustic dialects. Vivian, in her courteous and jovial fashion, will look up to greet the speaker no matter what she is doing. Whether looking through medicine shelves, inputting orders into the computer, or standing behind the counter, Vivian quickly steps up to the plate and engages the customer.

When asked what makes her pharmacy different from others, Vivian replies simply and boldly, “I am not fake. We are much more personal with our customers. The other pharmacies, they’ll put themselves in a high place and they don’t even talk to you.”

Vivian has always valued the personal and social touch that she adds to her business. And it is clear that her customers do too. Many who frequent Primacare often drop off gifts as a gesture of gratitude. Some will prepare homemade soup or congee or some other delicacy, while others will simply buy lunch for Vivian and her staff. One grateful customer even bought her a woman’s suit.

In addition to her pharmaceutical and notary services, Vivian also performs the role of translator and advisor to many customers, most of whom are Chinese-born and know little English. Vivian has helped many to understand and fill out major documentation such as food stamp applications, and Medicaid and Medicare forms. She also relates that many young, first-time mothers anxiously ask her for advice over their newborns, with topics ranging from feeding to diapers.

While Vivian has adjusted well in the five years since the transition from Chinatown to Flushing, there are some differences between the two locations. The primary reason Vivian chose Flushing as the site of her business was because of her knowledge of the area after having lived there for nine years. The large and ever-increasing Chinese population also attracted her back to Flushing. However as she notes, it is much more competitive here. Only a block away there is another small pharmacy, which also has another location two streets away. There is also a Duane Reade in the surrounding area.

In regards to her competition and the neighboring businesses she said, “I don’t resent them. Everybody’s trying to make their own living.” She also said, “I would never lie and say bad things about other businesses. If people like my style, they’ll come back. And if not, then they don’t.”

Undoubtedly it is Vivian’s frank, open, and helping disposition that attracts people to her store, as well as cementing the loyalty and bond that is formed. For the elderly who have difficulty leaving their homes, Primacare provides a free delivery service that delivers medication, supplements, and supplies right to their doors. Although other pharmacies provide a similar service, Primacare operates without a strict hierarchy so orders and changes are processed quicker, allowing for faster deliveries.

Ask Vivian why she decided to start her own business and she’ll quip, “I won’t say I did it to serve the community!” However it is clear that in this case, actions definitely speak louder than words. Vivian has repeatedly gone out of her way to help her customers in Flushing, even if she gets little to nothing out of it.

“I’m more a pharmacist than a businesswoman,” she said bluntly.