craigdailypress.com

Photo by Hans Hallgren

Jacqueline Arbach, of Rapid City, S.D., stocks shelves Sunday at Walgreens. Arbach was among of a number of Walgreens employees from surrounding states that traveled to Craig to help prepare the store for its Tuesday opening.

Walgreens Store Manager Jeremy Mattingley turned 32 on Sunday.

He didn't spend it fishing, like he normally does, but rather helping to get the final touches done before the national chain's grand opening Tuesday in Craig.

"Yeah," he said with a huff of his shoulders, "we want to be ready. We want people to know we'll be open at Tuesday morning at 9 a.m."

Mattingley added that the store undoubtedly will open on time, and not a month too soon. Construction delays pushed the occasion back from late July.

"We were supposed to open then, about a month ago, but we couldn't do that," Mattingley said. "There was some moisture in the floors, but we're excited to be this close."

Craig's Walgreens, at Victory Way and Green Street, is a new concept store, he added.

"The first of its kind west of the Mississippi," Mattingley said.

Instead of several departments, such as a photo desk and a separate customer service window, this store combines self-serve photo processing computer terminals with customer service help at the front of the store.

"It all just makes it easier for the customer," Mattingley said. "With this idea, all the staff is trained the same and everyone here can help you with anything in the store."

The photo computer terminals let people customize their pictures, as well. Digital pictures can be seamlessly cropped and placed on custom greeting cards, announcement letters and other materials, Mattingley said.

The design is part of a new Walgreens campaign, one the company sees as its way into small-town America.

"This newer concept allows (Walgreens) to move into small towns and be profitable," Mattingley said. The company "has kind of saturated the bigger city markets, and we want to be able to provide the same quality service for smaller towns."

The pharmacy and store goods are still the same, Mattingley said, and there is no loss in services.

Craig, being something of a destination for tourists, was an ideal fit, he added.

Visitors who are Walgreens customers and need to fill prescriptions can do so by giving their phone number to the pharmacist, who also is Mattingley's wife, Laura.

Craig residents who use the Walgreens pharmacy also can fill their prescription at any location in the country.

Mattingley said such jargon as "concept stores" and corporate plans shouldn't lead people to think the Craig Walgreens will be impersonal.

Mattingley said he thinks of himself as a small-town guy.

He likes to fish and he believes in the Golden Rule to treat people like you want to be treated, an ethic he said he wants his staff of 15 native Craig residents to practice with customers.

"I grew up in a small-town atmosphere," Mattingley said. "I want to raise my family in a small town. My wife and I kind of joke we're a mom and pop Walgreens. We both work here, and we want to be part of the community.

"The thing about mom and pop places, they know your name, they try to help you out. We'll help everybody as much as we can. Give us a few months or so, and we'll try to learn everybody's name, too."

After Tuesday, Walgreens is set to open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday.

The Craig Chamber of Commerce plans to host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the store at 9 a.m. Friday.