Vijay Patel

VP: I started my business in a very small village, Leigh-on-Sea, it's not far from here, about 10 miles from here, maybe 10–14 miles from here [Basildon]. But what it was, was, it was a small community, initially that shop people wouldn't come to it, because I had inherited that particular business, I had bought it off this Englishman, 55–60 years old, grey guy. Very well trusted and I replaced him, young guy, Indian and the business went down for first few weeks. I lost sleep, I got really worried, I said I am failing, and I wasn't doing anything wrong. Absolutely nothing wrong, I was giving good service, I was making their medicine as they walked in, I would greet them. And one or two ladies who worked for me in the pharmacy there said: ‘Mr Patel, you shouldn’t be speaking to Mrs Smith or Mrs Brown or whatever. They don’t like being greeted.’ And that really took my confidence away. And then there was a couple of Jewish ladies that used to come to me. They recognized that I was doing the right thing. It was Mrs Wilson, bless her soul, she 60–65-years-old lady. She said to me, ‘Mr Patel, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, you’re a good man. We have lunch here on a Friday. You come and see all my friends.' So I went there and I said, ‘Look I am the new pharmacist here, when you want your prescriptions, please let me know. I’ll come collect them and whilst you are having lunch, I will make the medicine and come and deliver to you.' And that was the beginning. And I never looked back. And do you know what? The business doubled, and doubled, and doubled, for three years. All the opposition closed down. There were three pharmacies within a mile and they all closed down. I was that good.

MP: Because you went that extra mile?

VP: I went the extra mile, or two. Look, I used to live above the pharmacy, like a lot of people do, above the business, so that's what I did. And then I would tell clients, ‘If you need anything in the night when the business is closed, just knock on the door and I will come and help out’. Now, Maya Parmar walked in with a baby, I would say, ‘Hello, Mrs Parmar, how are you? How is little Johnny?’ And if the parents were there, I would know Mr and Mrs, and how is grandma, grandpa? And I would know all of this, and made that my point, and I would greet them so well, there would be no question but to come to me every time they needed a pharmacy. And I knew all my clients' names, and the kids, and the grandparents, if they were connected. And that went round, you know, and you really became, I was part of the community. If there was a fair, I would say, ‘Okay I will come and take some pictures. Bring them to the pharmacy, develop them, and then show them to them. Look do you want this enlarged? We can do this for you for a fiver’.

• Kenyan and Tanzanian Exodus

Entry credit

Karishma Kaur