Why is the pharmacy section of a store

Factual Questions
1

raised up slightly above the floor level of the rest of the store, so that you have to look up to the pharmacist to speak to him. This must go back to something, as long as I can remember most (not all, but most) of the drug stores I’ve been in the pharmacists section was high up. Anyone know the dope on this?

2

David Feldman covered this admirably in one of his Imponderables books. (I don’t remember which one, however.)

The best explanations are that

  1. It allows a pharmacist to watch the entire store from the pharmacy in the back.

  2. The wooden platform is better for their feet and legs, since pharmacy personnel spend so much time on their feet.

Now, if you go to a fairly recent drugstore, the pharmacy is at the same level as the rest of the store. This is largely because 1) there’s no need for the pharmacist to watch the entire store, and 2) it allows the pharmacist to talk to the patient face-to-face.

Robin