It was another Saturday afternoon and Fariha and I decided to go to Horace Harding Expressway for our interviews. I contacted some family friends and we were able to get interviews from my Master Chung of K.H. Chung’s Tae Kwon Do school and Michael Lau of MJ88 Pharmacy. This definitely made the process go quickly and we were able to set times so that we were able to discuss more with them. It was nice to have a concrete plan on what to do. Fortunately, the owner of MJ88 was available and we were able to have a very detailed interview. We were unable to record the video on camera and audio as Mr. Lau felt uncomfortable doing so.
Fariha and I made it a point to start our interview with asking where the name of his business came from. We both thought it would be named after the owner (since his name is Michael) but it was actually named after his son. Mr. Lau also emphasized how personal the business is to the customers. MJ88 is definitely a mom and pop pharmacy. Right across from MJ88, there’s a Rite Aid. Thus, there were striking differences. For example, Rite Aid may sell a drug that is extremely expensive and cannot make exceptions for customers. MJ88, however, will look to sell the medicine for cheaper in order to help small income families. They may do so by applying to financial aid or finding programs that may be able to help. Mr. Lau had specifically said a medicine that is sold for $280 can be reduced to as low as $100 for a customer without insurance through various programs. In addition, Rite Aid stopped doing deliveries right before MJ88 opened. When MJ88 opened, Michael Lau decided to do the deliveries instead so that customers that are unable to walk the distance, seniors and disabled, could still get their medicine. Shortly after, Rite Aid also started doing deliveries. MJ88, however, also accommodates people who are unable to speak English.
Mr. Lau had also tried many things to earn customers’ loyalty and accommodate them. The area has a large population of Korean and Chinese immigrants. Thus, MJ88’s staff is able to speak Korean and Chinese and print labels in these languages. Mr. Lau also had paid for parking tickets for customers’ cars so that the customers wouldn’t get a fine. They even make personal connections from small conversations on family and work. With this, the customers become easily memorable and even dear to their hearts. Unfortunately, for such a personal business in medicine, Mr. Lau had stated “It’s sad when certain customers leave or pass away, we always hope for the next customer to be happier”.
Mr. Lau, like his customers, also has a personal connection with the business and stated “The store is like my baby, I started from the beginning and didn’t know anything. Before I was actually in law enforcement”. However, things did not go as smoothly as today when he started the business in June, 2013. Mr. Lau said “When you start a business, you have to really want it 110% or don’t bother with it.” In the beginning, he used his own finances and was actually losing money. Mr. Lau would come in seven days a week for the first three years in order to get the business running. In fact, even now Mr. Lau faces troubles with protecting MJ88. He said that he was fined $35 for litter found on the curb (that was also not from his store).
On a normal workday, Mr. Lau comes to the store by 8:00 AM to set up for its opening at 9:00 PM and leaves at 7:00 PM. He said the best part about working in the area is that his home is in the area. From the interview, it seemed clear that he enjoyed being a part of the community and serving in it. He mentioned that the building used for MJ88 used to actually be a Jewish chicken place. Mr. Lau also noted that fifteen years ago, the area used to be primarily Jewish and that there was even a Jewish pharmacy on the next block. From this, Fariha and I figured that with the growing population of Asian immigrants, the area changed to meet the needs of the population and cause many of the businesses to be accommodating to the immigrants. A question that Fariha and I always asked our interviewees was “How would you imagine the area without your business?” and strangely many of them believe that the area would be the same for the most part. Mr. Lau said that if MJ88 wasn’t around, there would simply be another pharmacy on the block to meet the needs of the population. I do find this ironic because the interviews have found significant reasons and meanings why these businesses exist and how they affect the area but the business owners themselves believe that their work is easily replaceable.
