When Skinner’s Pharmacy (Skinner’s) opened its doors in 1961 in Rolling Hills Estates, the Peninsula and surrounding communities were home to many family owned and operated businesses dedicated to serving the needs of their community. Today, Skinner’s is one the few family owned and operated businesses that remain committed to setting themselves apart from their large chain store counterparts by continuing to provide that personal connection to everyone who visits their pharmacy.

Pharmacist Tony Skelly began working with Mr. Ed Skinner while he was attending USC Pharmacy School in 1967. After completing pharmacy school in 1969, the newly licensed pharmacist found himself behind the counter filling prescriptions and assisting customers. He admits that he left Skinner’s for approximately five years, to expand his knowledge of the pharmacy business, but returned to Skinner’s to continue working with his mentor until Skinner retired in 1982.

At the time of his retirement, Skinner decided to sell the pharmacy, and found Tony a willing buyer. Tony says, “I knew the business! It was an excellent location. We had loyal customers, and it was a pleasure serving them.”

Tony along with his wife, Carol, maintained Skinner’s trademark personal service and enjoyed cultivating relationships with new customers and assisting every customer with their prescriptions, questions and other needs. He continued offering his customers house accounts and other conveniences offered by Skinner. Despite the growing presence of large chain store pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens, Tony was able to continue growing his business.

Having almost 48 years of pharmacy experience, and after owning the business for over 35 years, Tony thought about retirement. Tony reached out to Ahmed Atallah and Samia Zaki, a married couple who were close friends and pharmacists. At the time, they owned and operated Fox Drug Pharmacy (Fox) in the City of Torrance, and Kovacs-Frey Pharmacy in the City of Redondo Beach.

Samia explains, “Our children grew up behind the pharmacy counter at Fox. Now, Nader, who was a business major assists me at Kovacs-Frey, Sara graduated from the USC Pharmacy School and works with Atallah at Fox. Kamal graduated from Washington State University’s Pharmacy School and by acquiring Skinner’s he is able to work at that location.”

Samia admits, “It is difficult to operate a family owned and operated pharmacy at this time with so much competition from the pharmacy chain stores. But, we also believe that customer service is what sets us apart from these stores, and we have the ability to offer more personal service and we care about our customers. Also, as a small business we listen to their concerns, and we can quickly respond to their requests and needs.”

As part of their purchase agreement Ahmed and Samia requested that both Tony and his wife, Carol, remain at the pharmacy at least through the transition period. Although Carol has fully retired, Tony can still be found behind the counter on Mondays and Wednesdays, and he continues to greet customers with a smile and a welcoming “Hello!”

Samia emphasizes that one of the keys to Skinner’s outstanding customer service is due to their small consistent professional staff. Samia explains, “The advantage to having a smaller staff is that every time customers visits our store, they see the same people behind the counter. This allows our customers and our staff the opportunity to develop closer relationships that allow us to better assist our customers. Our knowledgeable staff assists clients with their questions, provides close attention to managing their medication refills, answering questions, but above all our staff develops a closer personal relationship with each client. We know many of our clients on a first name basis. Also, for customers who may have difficulty in picking up their prescriptions, we offer a delivery service within a 5-mile radius for a nominal fee.”

Kamal points out that Skinner’s customers do not only reside in the communities on the Peninsula, but they also serve customers who live in San Pedro, Torrance, Redondo Beach and other surrounding areas.

In addition to the two full-time pharmacists Kamal and Tony. Pharmacists Kathy Sullivan and Mike Bruccoleri are available to assist customers on Tuesdays and Fridays respectively. Also, Skinner’s has two Pharmacy Technicians. Raffy, has been with Skinner’s since 2006 and Janelle, who has been with the Pharmacy over 3 years. Cheryl, a Pharmacy Clerk has been assisting customers for over 16 years. Haseeb, the newest Pharmacy Clerk, and Delivery Driver, Ryan, have been with Skinner’s for approximately 2 years.

As part of their efforts to improve their customer experience, Skinner’s offers every customer prescription synchronization. Samia points out, “This is especially beneficial to customers who have multiple medications and find themselves making frequent trips to the pharmacy retrieving their prescription refills. Synchronizing prescriptions, allows customers to set all of their prescriptions refills on the same day. Instead of making multiple trips to the pharmacy each month, customers make one trip to the pharmacy and pick up all of their prescriptions at once.”

Skinner’s also offers the EZ Pak for medications. This is especially handy for customers who take multiple medications or take medications multiple times during the day. Instead of receiving medications in various plastic bottles and having to fill pillboxes or other containers on a daily basis, the medications come in a box containing a roll of individual packages containing the appropriate medications according to the time of day the medications should be taken. In order to avoid confusion, each pouch is labeled and lists the time of day the medication should be taken. The pouches are small enough so that they can easily be carried in a pocket, purse, backpack or briefcase. The EZ Pak is available for additional $5.99 per month.

Skinner’s staff realizes that managing prescriptions prior to travel can be an issue for some customers. To assist customers, Skinner’s offers three vacation medications options. If the refill will be needed during travel and is requested within 5 days of travel, the staff can fill the prescription using a “vacation override”. This does not impact any co-pays or other insurance coverage issues. The second option offers clients to have their prescriptions directly mailed to their vacation location at the appropriate time. For those wishing to use this option, Samia offers these words of caution, “We are not open on Sundays, so it is very important that if you utilize this option, please have a few days’ supply of your prescription on hand.” Lastly, the customer can contact a local pharmacy and have them contact Skinner’s staff who will transfer the prescription to the designated pharmacy. When the client returns home, the prescription can easily be transferred back to Skinner’s.

When it comes to insurance co-pays, Kamal states, “We accept all major Medicare part D plans and other commercial insurance plans. Specific Medicare part D plans and some commercial insurance plans may have a “preferred pharmacy” plan. If you are interested in transferring your prescriptions to Skinner’s, we will gladly assess your insurance plan and determine your co-pay or level of coverage prior to filling your prescription.”

In addition to its in-store customer service, Skinner’s has launched a mobile app available to all of its customers. Now customers can send and receive secure text messages to and from Skinner’s pharmacists, manage prescription refills, including updates of prescription status, manage the medications of other family members, and set reminders to order or pick-up refills.

Although Skinner’s may appear not to have much floor space, they do offer a wide selection of first aid needs, over the counter medications, vitamins, health supplements and other health care items. Additionally, they offer a selection of temporary and long-term durable health care products such as orthopedic supports, canes, wheel chair, bathroom assistance products, and other items. Also, having their two other pharmacies close by, Skinner’s is able to access additional health care products not in their stock, quickly and have them available for delivery or in-store pick-up.

Skinner’s is closed on Sundays, but Kamal states, “We find that customers have gotten used to the fact that we’re open on reduced hours on Saturdays and they don’t mind ordering their prescriptions a few days early. Also, we try to have our clients synchronize their prescriptions which allows them to fill their prescriptions a few days ahead of time which ensures they will be available for pick-up on weekdays or Saturdays.”

Samia points out, “In addition to our pharmacy, Skinner’s offers a collection of the greeting cards by “Leanin’ Tree,” “lovepop,” and “Champagne Cards.” In addition we have selection unique gifts for birthdays and other occasions or just a little something for you.”

Skinner’s is part of the Good Neighbor Pharmacy network. Kamal states, “We are part of a nationwide network of pharmacies who have come together to help highlight the strength of family owned and operated pharmacies. Being a Good Neighbor Pharmacy means you really become part of the community and take pride in being as an asset to the people in your neighborhood and surrounding communities. We get to know our customers by name and make certain they know we are here for them.”

Skinner’s is located at 905 Deep Valley Drive in Rolling Hills Estates.

Their hours are:

Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Sunday Closed

To learn more about Skinner’s Pharmacy visit their website at:

Skinnerspharmacy.biz

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This South Bay native’s photographic journey began after receiving his first 35 mm film camera upon earning his Bachelor of Arts degree. Steve began with photographing coastal landscapes and marine life. As a classroom teacher he used photography to share the world and his experiences with his students. Steve has expanded his photographic talents to include portraits and group photography, special event photography as well as live performance and athletics. Steve serves as a volunteer ranger for the Catalina Island Conservancy and uses this opportunity to document the flora and fauna of the island’s interior as well as photograph special events and activities.

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