WAVELAND, Miss. (WLOX) — In Waveland, there’s a pharmacist who’s mixing his comedy and personal connections. He’s using his charm and over-the-top personality to expand his store’s reach and connect with a whole new audience.
“When you come into this pharmacy as a customer or patient, we’ll treat you like family,” said Rudy Letellier.
The family at Letellier’s Waveland Pharmacy also includes his long-time employees. You’ll find more than just medicine in this pharmacy — king cakes are sold during Mardi Gras season, a variety of toys, and ice cream behind the old-fashioned soda fountain. All are fun touches, but also a financial necessity.
“Independent pharmacies are a struggling group of people right now. It’s a shame to say this, that all of the education pharmacists go through, I make more money selling a cold drink than I do a prescription. That’s the honest truth. That’s why I try to do things differently.”
Doing things differently comes naturally to Letellier.
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“Some people say I’m a character since I went to St. Stanislaus. I guess I’m a character because that’s a school of character.”
Now, that character is on display for the world to see. Lettelier’s employees, including Lacey Lafontaine, pushed him to start making social media videos.
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“I was like, ‘If we videoed what happens around here on a daily basis, we would go viral,’” said Lafontaine.
“I said, ‘I don’t know anything about TikTok,’” said Letellier. “They said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll do it for you.’”
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“One day, I was like, ‘Let’s just do it and see what happens,’” said Lafontaine. “Sure enough, our first video has over 100,000 views.”
The videos are a hit.
“They say, ‘Man, we love you, you make me laugh,’” said Letellier. “They say, ‘I look at you every day if I want to laugh.’”
“People love it,” said Lafontaine. “We’re getting hundreds of comments on every video.”
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A lot of people who see the videos want to see Letellier in person.
“Since I’ve been doing this TikTok, believe it or not, people are coming from all over the place,” said Letellier. “They’re coming from New York, Washington, and they’re coming over here to just check us out.”
The online fame may be new, but the commitment to his patients isn’t.
“Everybody keeps telling me, ‘Please don’t go out of business because we need you here.’ They say, ‘We can’t talk to our doctor, they don’t have time for us, but if we come in here, you tell us what we need to know.’ I try to help people in any way I can.”
Letellier isn’t planning on slowing down anytime soon — not in front of the camera or behind the counter.
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“I told the girls they’ll be pushing me in a wheelchair back here filling prescriptions. I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing for as long as I can.”
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Waveland Pharmacy is approaching 10,000 followers on TikTok.
Those wanting to follow along with Letellier and the pharmacy can visit Waveland Pharmacy’s TikTok or Facebook.
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