Customers walk in the sliding doors and are greeted by name.
They begin strolling through the aisles carefully filled with hand-picked products such as Theraworx Relief, elderberry syrup, an array of vitamins, organic supplements, and even local honey.
Who picks all of these items out? Who has their finger on the pulse of what customers are shopping for these days? Who makes the Sona aisles look more like a Whole Foods than a typical pharmacy?
Her name is Nikki Craig, and Sona would be a much different place without her!
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am the mother of two amazing little boys and have been married to a wonderful man for over seven years. I enjoy spending time with my family, and we love doing anything outdoors. We like to hike, camp, mountain bike, and travel whenever possible.
I am originally from Michigan and moved to North Carolina as a child with my parents. After high school, I attended The University of North Carolina at Asheville where I graduated and decided to make Asheville my home.
I love the mountains and all this beautiful city has to offer. I couldn’t imagine leaving! I have worked in retail for around 20 years, and I’ve finally found my happy place here at Sona Pharmacy.
What makes working at Sona exciting?
I thoroughly enjoy working at Sona mostly because of the people I work with and the patients we serve.
The Sona staff is family to me. I see them just as much (sometimes more) than I see my own family at home. We work as a team to accomplish our goals and take care of our patients.
We have such incredible patients and it is a pleasure to work with my favorite people to take care of them. I enjoy helping no matter what the case may be. I like to help customers find the products they are looking for, and I enjoy helping our customers feel better.
Overall, there is never a dull moment at Sona and it makes my job exciting!
How do you break the status quo of what people expect from a typical pharmacy?
People expect to walk into a pharmacy, wait in a line at the back of the store, and have very little conversation with the pharmacist or associate running the register.
We greet each patient individually when they walk in the door with our full attention on the patient. I have the ability to come out from behind the counter, get to know each patient I serve, and build a genuine relationship.
We don’t have the corporate guidelines that keep us from taking our time and getting to know each of our patients on a personal level. It’s one of the many things I love about Sona.
What drives you to do what you do each day?
My family drives me to do what I do each day. I want to be able to provide for my family while taking care of our community.
I want to be able to take care of my customers the way I would want my parents or my grandparents to be taken care of.
My goal is to provide each individual with the tools they need to make healthy life choices.
How do you keep the front-end Sona merchandise fresh and exciting?
I try to keep the front-end at Sona fresh and exciting by doing my homework.
I spend time reading magazines, browsing the internet, and walking through competitor locations. I enjoy searching for new ideas and getting feedback from my community on which products work best. I have the ability to order from multiple vendors, so I can order almost anything my customers request.
I like to keep our specialty items local. We work closely with vendors in our community to support small local businesses (like ourselves).
What is your favorite product we have in stock right now?
If I had to choose my favorite product, I’m not sure it would be just one. I have a few favorites!
I love everything Gaia Herbs has to offer, I am a huge fan of Sockwell compression socks (I have 6 pairs and counting), I enjoy our essential oils collection, I like a wonderful product that a local company produces called Theraworx Relief for muscle cramps, I believe in high quality/pharmaceutical grade supplements and my favorite is Pure Encapsulations, and I am learning more and more everyday about the benefits of our CBD Oils.
