Out of touch customer

customer: i am here to pick up my meds. i dropped them off on wednesday.
Me: No, i dont see anything ready for you, and you are not in even in our computer system. Are you sure you dropped them off at walgreens?
customer: yeah, i dropped them off on wed
Me: Do you remember who was here when you dropped them off?
customer: I gave them to the white girl who was working that day
... me: no there is no white gril that works here.. in fact there is no girl that works here. it must be the cvs then.
customer: is this the store across the winn dixie plaza?
me: oh, it is cvs then...

Seems like he's picking up the medicine for someone...kinda odd. But then again, what else is new?

Dementia?

If you live in a bigger city, you can forget it. Patients will always confuse your store with another store.

One of our stores was supposed to have a 24 hour pharmacy, but they axed that idea... but kept the sign!

that has occurred quite a bit in my experience

Originally Posted by ancienbon

customer: i am here to pick up my meds. i dropped them off on wednesday.
Me: No, i dont see anything ready for you, and you are not in even in our computer system. Are you sure you dropped them off at walgreens?
customer: yeah, i dropped them off on wed
Me: Do you remember who was here when you dropped them off?
customer: I gave them to the white girl who was working that day
... me: no there is no white gril that works here.. in fact there is no girl that works here. it must be the cvs then.
customer: is this the store across the winn dixie plaza?
me: oh, it is cvs then...

I had one similar to these.

customer: picking up for Ms. X
me: I don't see anything, let me take a look in our computer to see... No, we don't have that name in our computer
customer: oh, well maybe they used my birth name when dropping off, look for Ms. Y
me: nothing for that either
customer: how about my given name? Ms. Z
me: No, what did you say your birthdate was? Maybe we can find you that way.
customer: well, it's either m/d/y or m/d/y, depending on who you ask. Oh, and maybe try looking up my married name as well, Mrs A
me: I'm sorry ma'am, I can't seem to find you with any of those names or birthdates, are you sure the rx was dropped off here?
customer: well, no, the doctor said he was going to call something in a few days ago though....

tl;dr 4 different aliases, and 2 birthdays, but 0 prescriptions

Originally Posted by Ackj

I had one similar to these.

customer: picking up for Ms. X
me: I don't see anything, let me take a look in our computer to see... No, we don't have that name in our computer
customer: oh, well maybe they used my birth name when dropping off, look for Ms. Y
me: nothing for that either
customer: how about my given name? Ms. Z
me: No, what did you say your birthdate was? Maybe we can find you that way.
customer: well, it's either m/d/y or m/d/y, depending on who you ask. Oh, and maybe try looking up my married name as well, Mrs A
me: I'm sorry ma'am, I can't seem to find you with any of those names or birthdates, are you sure the rx was dropped off here?
customer: well, no, the doctor said he was going to call something in a few days ago though....

tl;dr 4 different aliases, and 2 birthdays, but 0 prescriptions

I swear, this happens once every other shift...

Nothing strange or unusual about that. I had a lady on the phone chew my butt and my techs butt for 15 minutes arguing about a script she dropped off only to find out she dropped it off at the CVS next door. People are stupid, rude and inconsiderate.

My other favorite is the very technical and challenging question, What is the date of birth? Why would anyone but an idiot pharmacy customer give any answer but the date of birth of the person you are picking up for? Yet dumb ass pharmacy customers give you thier own DOB as if thats going to help me find your wifes prescription.

My other favorite is asking them to sign for someone elses prescription. Do you want me to sign thier name? Yes, yes I do. I want you to break the law and forge someone elses name on an official document.

OMG this whole post is just gold. Every word had me cracking up, it's just so true.

"What is the date of dirth?" "Mine or her's?"
"Date of birth?" "I will pick it up tomorrow"
"What is the name?" "It's for my dog"
"What is the name?" "Dr. Spaceman called it in"
"What is the name?" "I dropped it off yesterday"
"What is the name?" "You people said it would be ready!"
"Sign here please" "My name?"
"Slide your credit card" *Blank stare*
"I need a refill" "Sure, what is the number?" "I don't have it" "OK, what is your name?" "Why? It's for amlodipine. Can you just get it ready without all the hassle?"

Disclaimer: Had a callout today, it was a little rough.

Originally Posted by MountainPharmD

Nothing strange or unusual about that. I had a lady on the phone chew my butt and my techs butt for 15 minutes arguing about a script she dropped off only to find out she dropped it off at the CVS next door. People are stupid, rude and inconsiderate.

My other favorite is the very technical and challenging question, What is the date of birth? Why would anyone but an idiot pharmacy customer give any answer but the date of birth of the person you are picking up for? Yet dumb ass pharmacy customers give you thier own DOB as if thats going to help me find your wifes prescription.

My other favorite is asking them to sign for someone elses prescription. Do you want me to sign thier name? Yes, yes I do. I want you to break the law and forge someone elses name on an official document.

It must be all the hydrocodone dust or something that turns people into complete idiots when they step into the pharmacy.

I swear a customers IQ drops a 100 points when they walk into a pharmacy. Albert Einstein himself could walk into the pharmacy and suddenly be struck dumb unable to understand even the simplest concepts such as copays, deductables, refills, ect.

Originally Posted by owlegrad

OMG this whole post is just gold. Every word had me cracking up, it's just so true.

"What is the date of dirth?" "Mine or her's?"
"Date of birth?" "I will pick it up tomorrow"
"What is the name?" "It's for my dog"
"What is the name?" "Dr. Spaceman called it in"
"What is the name?" "I dropped it off yesterday"
"What is the name?" "You people said it would be ready!"
"Sign here please" "My name?"
"Slide your credit card" *Blank stare*
"I need a refill" "Sure, what is the number?" "I don't have it" "OK, what is your name?" "Why? It's for amlodipine. Can you just get it ready without all the hassle?"

Disclaimer: Had a callout today, it was a little rough.

all these are so true

here's one from a few weeks ago

me: What's the name please?
patient; It's for my neighbor.
me:...?
patient: gives first name
me: What's the last name?
patient: gives last name
me: What's the address?
patient: I don't know
me: (Says nicely, but thinks...they're your neighbor, how can you not know their address) Could I have the date of birth then?
patient: I don't know that.
me: how about the phone number?
patient: gives phone number...does not match our records
me: that's not what we have
patient: Can't you just sell me the prescription.
me: no; I have to make sure I'm selling it to the right person
patient: Let me just call them then.
me: Facepalm

Originally Posted by owlegrad

OMG this whole post is just gold. Every word had me cracking up, it's just so true.

"What is the date of dirth?" "Mine or her's?"
"Date of birth?" "I will pick it up tomorrow"
"What is the name?" "It's for my dog"
"What is the name?" "Dr. Spaceman called it in"
"What is the name?" "I dropped it off yesterday"
"What is the name?" "You people said it would be ready!"
"Sign here please" "My name?"
"Slide your credit card" *Blank stare*
"I need a refill" "Sure, what is the number?" "I don't have it" "OK, what is your name?" "Why? It's for amlodipine. Can you just get it ready without all the hassle?"

Disclaimer: Had a callout today, it was a little rough.

This is everyday of my life in retail.

Originally Posted by ancienbon

customer: i am here to pick up my meds. i dropped them off on wednesday.
Me: No, i dont see anything ready for you, and you are not in even in our computer system. Are you sure you dropped them off at walgreens?
customer: yeah, i dropped them off on wed
Me: Do you remember who was here when you dropped them off?
customer: I gave them to the white girl who was working that day
... me: no there is no white gril that works here.. in fact there is no girl that works here. it must be the cvs then.
customer: is this the store across the winn dixie plaza?
me: oh, it is cvs then...

Since when is it a "customer" and not a "patient"?

Originally Posted by Brock Landers

Since when is it a "customer" and not a "patient"?

They have always been customers. There is nothing patient about them!

Here's some impatient patient experiences:

1.) I ring up an older gentleman (approx 55 y/o) who is buying meds for his wife.
Me: "May I have her month and day of birth?"
Customer: "It's on the prescription"
Me: "I would say so, but I need it to verify that I have the same [pt's name]."
Customer: "It's on the script"
Me: "I know it is, but my register requires that I enter it for a sale. We have many different patients with the same name. In fact, I'm related to a [person who has the same first and last name as a patient. Note: I am currently in school hundreds of miles from home]
Customer: "You don't need her date of birth."
Me: "May I have the patient's address so I can verify it in my computer system and get the date of birth from there?"
Customer: My wife and I live at [address].
I then go and look it up. He leaves after the sale and my pharmacist (who was four feet away) dies of laughter.

2)
Quite common:
Patient: I'm here to pick up a prescription for [any common last name].
(Do people expect me to sell them every script for anyone with a particular last name, much less a common one)

3)
This happened to a coworker at the drive through:
Rough-looking impatient patient: Picking up for [his name]
Intern: I don't have anything for you.
Patient: I dropped it off the other day.
Intern: I'll look it up in the system. May I have a date of birth?
Patient gives DOB
Intern: *Looks it up in the system and doesn't find anything* I didn't see anything in your profile.
Patient goes off on him, saying that we "are out to get [him]"
Intern then tells him he is going to check the hard copies for it.
Intern comes back after five or so minutes (the guy was parked at the drive through window)
Intern: It turns out we didn't fill it because you dropped it off in the tube [second drive through lane] and left before we could get a date of birth. We had several people with that date of birth in our system that lives in this town.
Patient: There's four [first and last names]; I know because three of us served time in prison together.

4)
Patient: I've come for a refill for a prescription.
Patient hands me an empty bottle with a Tussionex label on it with zero refills. Days supply on the bottle was computed by considering how many days the medication would last if the patient took it at the greatest frequency written on the label. Less than half the "Days supply" time had passed and the bottle was empty, implying that the patient had taken it at a much greater frequency than supplied. Remember that Tussionex contains Hydrocodone.
Me: I'm sorry, but you do not have any refills remaining.
Patient: It says that it is a _____ days supply and it has only been _____ days.
(By this time the pharmacist was right next to me)
Me or Pharmacist (don't remember): How often did you take it.
Patient: Whenever I needed it.
Pharmacist then went and explained that he should call his doctor to request a refill knowing full well that the doctor would laugh his tail off.

Don't even get me started on the drive through stories…

Sorry that this has turned into a huge (very common) story post.
I'd hate to imagine how many stories I'll have by grad day.

This happens all the time:
"have you filled at CVS before?"
"No, but I filled at Walgreens, are you guys connected?"

Phone Rings..

me - "Thank you for calling X pharmacy, this is Y speaking how may I help you?"
crazy lady - "912322"
me - "I'm sorry you are calling in a refill?"
crazy lady - "yes!"
me - "sorry can you give me that number again?"
crazy lady - "why? you didn't get it the first time?!"

side note: This same lady also got escorted out of the store once for eating a donut from the deli department without paying, she said she thought they were samples... but they are behind a glass container and have a price right underneath them.. sigh.

Originally Posted by DustinfromCA

Phone Rings..

me - "Thank you for calling X pharmacy, this is Y speaking how may I help you?"
crazy lady - "912322"
me - "I'm sorry you are calling in a refill?"
crazy lady - "yes!"
me - "sorry can you give me that number again?"
crazy lady - "why? you didn't get it the first time?!"

side note: This same lady also got escorted out of the store once for eating a donut from the deli department without paying, she said she thought they were samples... but they are behind a glass container and have a price right underneath them.. sigh.

Oh, that's a good one!

Originally Posted by DustinfromCA

Phone Rings..

me - "Thank you for calling X pharmacy, this is Y speaking how may I help you?"
crazy lady - "912322"
me - "I'm sorry you are calling in a refill?"
crazy lady - "yes!"
me - "sorry can you give me that number again?"
crazy lady - "why? you didn't get it the first time?!"

side note: This same lady also got escorted out of the store once for eating a donut from the deli department without paying, she said she thought they were samples... but they are behind a glass container and have a price right underneath them.. sigh.

I can totally see that. I have this happen alot though:
Me: Thank you for calling ___, this is ______.
customer: I want to call in a prescription.
Me: Are you a doctor or with a doctor's office.
customer: No, I need a refill.
Me: Okay, may I have an Rx number?
customer: I don't know it, but my name is _____
Me: Okay, may I have a date of birth.
Customer: It is _____
Me: Okay, what medication do you need refilled?
Customer: I don't know. My anti-depressant.
The customer has half a dozen anti-depressants on her profile.
Me: Do you know which one you need?
Customer: JUST GIVE ME MY **** REFILL.

And my absolute favorite…
Customer: Refill everything for me and my husband that will refill.
(I check and each of them has about fifty prescriptions within the past year, leaving me to check not only which ones have refills, but also which ones do not give a "Refill too soon.")

"Dropping off?"
"No, I'm picking up"
"...Right, but I need the prescription in your hand first"

"Don't you just have to stick a label on it?!"

I always want to ask: "So, you don't want me to run it through your insurance then?"

Originally Posted by DustinfromCA

Phone Rings..

me - "Thank you for calling X pharmacy, this is Y speaking how may I help you?"
crazy lady - "912322"
me - "I'm sorry you are calling in a refill?"
crazy lady - "yes!"
me - "sorry can you give me that number again?"
crazy lady - "why? you didn't get it the first time?!"

A few days ago I had one like this, but much worse.

crazy lady: I need a refill
me: okay, do you have the rx number?
beep beep beep beep beep
me: ma'am?
crazy lady: I just entered the number!

I once had a patient transfer over 17 rxs (we actually printed out the screen and saved it) and said he wanted them in 30 minutes. I politely told him he'd need to give us a day.

Me -"Thanks for calling walgreens, this is joetrisman, can I help you?"
Pt - "Yeah, I'd like to get my prescriptions filled."
Me - "Do you have the prescription number?"
Pt - "No, but my dob is blah blah blah"
Me - "Ok, what did you want to get filled today?"
Pt - "Just give me everything that should be filled"
Me -

Lmao. Y'all should write a book. Myfavorite drive thru experience was when someone asked me to get them a gallon of milk and send it through the tube. I mean, how do you respond to that?

Originally Posted by joetrisman

Me -"Thanks for calling walgreens, this is joetrisman, can I help you?"
Pt - "Yeah, I'd like to get my prescriptions filled."
Me - "Do you have the prescription number?"
Pt - "No, but my dob is blah blah blah"
Me - "Ok, what did you want to get filled today?"
Pt - "Just give me everything that should be filled"
Me -

I know that feel. Oh, do I know that feel.

At Drop-Off:

Scenario 1:
Me: "When would you like to pick this up?"
Patient: "Now."
Me: "Ok, we can have it in 15 minutes for you, we'll call your name when it's ready."
Patient: "Why can't I have it now?"
Me: "Well sir, it takes time to enter it into the computer and have the pharmacist verify it."
Patient: "Okay, I'll come back later."

Scenario 2:
Me: "What is the patient's date of birth?"
Person: "It's for my dog."
Me: "Ok, do you know the date of birth, or perhaps the year?"
Person: "No, I don't know! It's for my dog!"
Me: "Well sir, we still have to create a profile for your dog. What is your address?"
Person: "Ummmm.....They live with me."
Me: "I realize that, but I don't know who you are..."

At Drive-Thru:

Me: Patient hands me two new prescriptions: "When would you like to pick this up?"
Patient: "You don't have it ready now?"
Me: "No sir, you just handed me your prescriptions. It takes time for us to enter it into the system and for the pharmacist to verify the order."
Patient: "Oh ok, I'm going to go to McDonalds where they have my order ready when I come through the drive thru and come back."
Me:

True story.....

Originally Posted by CUpharmD2013

Patient: "Oh ok, I'm going to go to McDonalds where they have my order ready when I come through the drive thru and come back."
Me:

And that, in a nutshell, is why I don't want to do retail as my sole employment.

I had somebody blow up on me because their $4 medication wasn't covered by Medicaid. The other $1200 worth of meds in her bag were, though.

Her: I'm bipolar! I could kill somebody.
Me: Are you threatening us?
Her: (sheepishly) No. $4?

Originally Posted by pharm B

Her: I'm bipolar! I could kill somebody.
Me: Are you threatening us?

Old lady (OL): I just got a call from your pharmacy from a very rude employee.
Me: Oh, really? did you get their name?
OL: No. But it was a man's voice
Me: I'm the only man working in the pharmacy and I haven't made any phone calls today.
OL: He was very rude. He called to tell me that I had a prescription ready for pick up. When I tried to ask him what it was he just kept on talking. He didnt listen to anything I said and then hung up.
Me: *holds phone away to laugh* that was our automated system. It calls out reminders for our customers.
OL: well he is very rude.

I tried another few attempts to explain it was a machine/recording/robot. Nothing worked

.

Originally Posted by Ilikechemicals

Old lady (OL): I just got a call from your pharmacy from a very rude employee.
Me: Oh, really? did you get their name?
OL: No. But it was a man's voice
Me: I'm the only man working in the pharmacy and I haven't made any phone calls today.
OL: He was very rude. He called to tell me that I had a prescription ready for pick up. When I tried to ask him what it was he just kept on talking. He didnt listen to anything I said and then hung up.
Me: *holds phone away to laugh* that was our automated system. It calls out reminders for our customers.
OL: well he is very rude.

I tried another few attempts to explain it was a machine/recording/robot. Nothing worked

we have a winner..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Ilikechemicals

Old lady (OL): I just got a call from your pharmacy from a very rude employee.
Me: Oh, really? did you get their name?
OL: No. But it was a man's voice
Me: I'm the only man working in the pharmacy and I haven't made any phone calls today.
OL: He was very rude. He called to tell me that I had a prescription ready for pick up. When I tried to ask him what it was he just kept on talking. He didnt listen to anything I said and then hung up.
Me: *holds phone away to laugh* that was our automated system. It calls out reminders for our customers.
OL: well he is very rude.

I tried another few attempts to explain it was a machine/recording/robot. Nothing worked

i have never laughed so hard . lol

Originally Posted by Ilikechemicals

Old lady (OL): I just got a call from your pharmacy from a very rude employee.
Me: Oh, really? did you get their name?
OL: No. But it was a man's voice
Me: I'm the only man working in the pharmacy and I haven't made any phone calls today.
OL: He was very rude. He called to tell me that I had a prescription ready for pick up. When I tried to ask him what it was he just kept on talking. He didnt listen to anything I said and then hung up.
Me: *holds phone away to laugh* that was our automated system. It calls out reminders for our customers.
OL: well he is very rude.

I tried another few attempts to explain it was a machine/recording/robot. Nothing worked

The EXACT same thing happened at our pharmacy. After numerous times trying to explain to her it was just a recording and not an actual person, we finally just put her on the do not call list

Originally Posted by Ilikechemicals

Old lady (OL): I just got a call from your pharmacy from a very rude employee.
Me: Oh, really? did you get their name?
OL: No. But it was a man's voice
Me: I'm the only man working in the pharmacy and I haven't made any phone calls today.
OL: He was very rude. He called to tell me that I had a prescription ready for pick up. When I tried to ask him what it was he just kept on talking. He didnt listen to anything I said and then hung up.
Me: *holds phone away to laugh* that was our automated system. It calls out reminders for our customers.
OL: well he is very rude.

I tried another few attempts to explain it was a machine/recording/robot. Nothing worked

Has happened 3-4 times to me. Worst part is that our store's voice is SUPER robotic sounding, and I have no idea how you'd mistake it for a person.

Originally Posted by CUpharmD2013

At Drive-Thru:

Me: Patient hands me two new prescriptions: "When would you like to pick this up?"
Patient: "You don't have it ready now?"
Me: "No sir, you just handed me your prescriptions. It takes time for us to enter it into the system and for the pharmacist to verify the order."
Patient: "Oh ok, I'm going to go to McDonalds where they have my order ready when I come through the drive thru and come back."
Me:

True story.....

You just can't make this stuff up lol

I wish Jeremy Clarkson was a pharmacist. So bad.

Originally Posted by pharm B

And that, in a nutshell, is why I don't want to do retail as my sole employment.

I had somebody blow up on me because their $4 medication wasn't covered by Medicaid. The other $1200 worth of meds in her bag were, though.

Her: I'm bipolar! I could kill somebody.
Me: Are you threatening us?
Her: (sheepishly) No. $4?

lol!!!!!! That's classic!

Originally Posted by owlegrad

"Don't you just have to stick a label on it?!"

I always want to ask: "So, you don't want me to run it through your insurance then?"

I always say when I'm finished putting labels on the other 18 prescriptions ahead of yours, I will gladly put a label on it.

Customer 1: Where can I find (insert random supplement nobody's heard of here)?

Pharmacist: Let me look that up on my computer...it looks like it's in our system, but we don't have it at this store; sorry. So and So Store, up the road, probably carries it...

Customer 1: What do you mean you don't have it?!?! It says on the internet that you guys have it!!!

Customer 2, to Customer 1 (irritated): Dude, they don't have it! Just because it's listed on their website doesn't mean their store will have everything! You can get anything online, obviously!

[awkward moment where I stare at Customer 1, waiting for a response]

Customer 1: Well, what about (random supplement nobody has heard of)? Don't you guys have that? It said on your website that you carry it!

Dude, y'all need to check out notalwaysright.com and search for pharmacy to get the good pharmacy related ones. But most are pretty funny.

Originally Posted by MackandBlues

Dude, y'all need to check out notalwaysright.com and search for pharmacy to get the good pharmacy related ones. But most are pretty funny.

Love that site!