What is the craziest thing a customer has asked you when you were working retail

Wow!

I don't have anything that tops that.

But one time a guy walked into a pharmacy and told the pharmacist to please use her professional judgment and give him adderall (he was really drugged up and didn't have a prescription). She used her professional judgment alright.

I got a phone call once and the lady was all, "OMG help! I just brushed my teeth with Vagisil and now my mouth is numb. What should I do?!"

how about "i just ate lunch. can i still get a flu shot?"

Wow! Don't know if I can top the o/p.

I was working a graveyard, and somebody called at 4 am saying that Prozac was making him excessively drowsy.

Me: "Sir...it's 4 o'clock in the morning."

Wingnut: "I KNOW IT'S 4 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING! I MEAN IT MAKES ME DROWSY DURING THE DAY!"

Me: "Maybe you're drowsy during the day because you're always up until 4, at least."

Wingnut: "I thought you people were supposed to be caring."

Me: "Go to bed, sir."

(Another one)

It's busy, around the dinner hour. Numerous people are waiting for rxs. Woman strides purposefully up to pharmacy counter: "I would like ten international stamps, please. And twenty-five Canadian."

Me: "I'm sorry, ma'am, but we don't sell stamps."

Woman: "You don't sell stamps? What kind of a store is this?"

Me: "It's a drugstore, ma'am. We sell drugs." I point to the small, obscure sign over my head, the glowing one that says, "Prescriptions" in twelve-inch-high red letters spread across half the width of the store.

Woman departs in a huff.

An old man comes up to the counter, sizes up my friend and me, two young female interns, and asks if we have a male pharmacist here. We ask if we could help him. Oh no, he replies, he really needs to speak man to man. OK, our male pharmacy manager just happened to be working, and we directed the old man to him. Of course, we couldn't resist asking what was the really manly question we couldn't possibly answer (and yes, I had answered about penis pumps and such before). That was a question about the best stuff to polish his car's tires! Now, that really WAS something neither my friend nor I would be able to answer...

A guy comes into the store early in the morning, says he's a cop, shows a badge, and states that he wants "Viagra over the counter". He says his doctors office was closed and the doctor said it was fine. We tell him we can't just sell it over-the-counter, so he gets mad and goes on a tirade, but in the end, I talked him into buying a $28.00 Men's multivitamin. Never came back to complain since.

crossurfingers said:

I got a phone call once and the lady was all, "OMG help! I just brushed my teeth with Vagisil and now my mouth is numb. What should I do?!"

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Ha! that's hilarious! and kind of gross

this also falls under "stupidest thing a customers has asked"

"can you call my insurance company and tell them my Nuvaring slipped out and fell into the toilet"


umm, no.

UBCmicrobi said:

this also falls under "stupidest thing a customers has asked"

"can you call my insurance company and tell them my Nuvaring slipped out and fell into the toilet"


umm, no.

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I wonder if she puts it in her mouth during oral sex!!

Do I have to pay for this?

No, we give meds out for free!

I once had a guy come in and ask me and the female pharmacist on duty to recommend a good moisturizing lotion to use while masterbating because his hands were dry and peeling. The pharmacist recommended something, I can't remember exactly what it was (I think it was Aquaphor). After the patient left we laughed for what seemed like 15 minutes straight

a guy came in and asked us what kind of lubes he can use on his boyfriend to help him ease the pain.

Quiksilver said:

a guy came in and asked us what kind of lubes he can use on his boyfriend to help him ease the pain.

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LOL, something I rather not hear.

UBCmicrobi said:

this also falls under "stupidest thing a customers has asked"

"can you call my insurance company and tell them my Nuvaring slipped out and fell into the toilet"


umm, no.

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lol we actually had this situation presented to us in my outpatient practice lab

she can retrieve the ring, rinse it in cold water and re insert.


I love when drive thru patients want me to "just run up front and get them a pack of marlboro reds"

Yeah right, any questions on your Advair?

NormalSaline said:

lol we actually had this situation presented to us in my outpatient practice lab

she can retrieve the ring, rinse it in cold water and re insert.

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Are you serious, they told you that was ok? That sounds like a UTI waiting to happen.

Quiksilver said:

a guy came in and asked us what kind of lubes he can use on his boyfriend to help him ease the pain.

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That's just nasty!

Pt.: Okay. You're gonna think this is reeealllly weird but...are you familiar with sex toys?

Me: Vaginal, rectal, or other.

Pt: Oh, so you do know...that's cool. Well, my buttplug is um, sorta stuck.

Me: (trying hard to not laugh). I see. How long has it been stuck?

Pt: Well, I tried some Ex-Lax to...you know...poop it out, but it's starting to hurt and my anus is bleeding.

Me: I think you should consider going to the ER now.


Sex toy shops should include fecal tongs with the purchase of extra large buttplugs.

I did have one customer come in and ask for pseudo.

I told him we were out of the big box he wanted but we had a smaller box.

He said it was not enough to make meth with and he needed the big box.

Then, he left in haste....

We had a lady come in and asked us to recommend a back massager for her husband. She then preceded to open up over 10 boxes to try then, keeping our Rx Manager and Asst. Manager busy for 30 mins (going behind the photo counter to plug in the individual massagers. She then came and sat in the demo chair in front of our pharmacy counter and decided to get 2, and asked if she caused any problems by opening the boxes

i had a kid (look like he was a freshmen in college) ask if he can take his adderall with alcohol....lol, i pointed out that he takes adderall in the morning!! and the pharmacists jumps in and says its probably not in the best interest to mix the two....after he left, we questioned why he would (being so young at least) be drinking in the morning!!! Weird...

PharmPrincess said:

i had a kid (look like he was a freshmen in college) ask if he can take his adderall with alcohol....lol, i pointed out that he takes adderall in the morning!! and the pharmacists jumps in and says its probably not in the best interest to mix the two....after he left, we questioned why he would (being so young at least) be drinking in the morning!!! Weird...

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Maybe he is a college freshmen. I know plenty of them that drink in the morning. Not saying that they do not have a problem. But, they like to party 24/7 and work class in their somewhere.

it's not that crazy or unusual....just not smart

PharmPrincess said:

i had a kid (look like he was a freshmen in college) ask if he can take his adderall with alcohol....lol, i pointed out that he takes adderall in the morning!! and the pharmacists jumps in and says its probably not in the best interest to mix the two....after he left, we questioned why he would (being so young at least) be drinking in the morning!!! Weird...

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How about he was not going to take the amphetamines in the morning, you guys didn't consider this? Pharmacy schools should have mandatory courses on drugs of abuse for a little real world perspective. I have not yet met a college aged person who takes their stimulants as prescribed.

crossurfingers said:

Are you serious, they told you that was ok? That sounds like a UTI waiting to happen.

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Dead serious, it was stated as fact...might have even come off the package insert.

J DUB said:

Maybe he is a college freshmen. I know plenty of them that drink in the morning. Not saying that they do not have a problem. But, they like to party 24/7 and work class in their somewhere.

it's not that crazy or unusual....just not smart

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you do have a point about that, i guess as a non-drinker, im a little biased...

NormalSaline said:

Dead serious, it was stated as fact...might have even come off the package insert.

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I think my teacher even mentioned that when someone asked her about it.

Different stokes for different folks!!

I know I would not shove it back up there if I was a woman.

Priapism321 said:

How about he was not going to take the amphetamines in the morning, you guys didn't consider this? Pharmacy schools should have mandatory courses on drugs of abuse for a little real world perspective. I have not yet met a college aged person who takes their stimulants as prescribed.

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Furthermore, drinking in the morning is important in alcoholism screening, as part of the so-called CAGE questions: Use of alcohol as an 'eye-opener' in the morning is not 'crazy', but indicative of alcohol abuse.

I totally agree that there should be a mandatory course in pharmacy school on drug addiction/abuse, because such questions are encountered all the time, and new pharmacists/Interns should be given the tools to understand patient behavior a little better.

FAMUPharmD09 said:

I once had a guy come in and ask me and the female pharmacist on duty to recommend a good moisturizing lotion to use while masturbating because his hands were dry and peeling. The pharmacist recommended something, I can't remember exactly what it was (I think it was Aquaphor). After the patient left we laughed for what seemed like 15 minutes straight

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Other good recs:

Tiger Balm

Rub A-535

Zostrix

Desquam-X 10%

Some young guy dropped his pants and showed me a spider bite on his left buttcheek. Right in the middle of the OTC section at Kroger.

Someone blurted out (shouted, really) that he had crabs and wondered if we thought he should just "shave it."

Recently a patient asked me for my phone number as I was handing him his adult diapers. He then informed me that if we went out, I would have to pay the check because he wasn't working.

Also recently, a patient called and asked if we could mail him a product for body lice. This was Christmas Eve, and I suggested he just trot on down to Walgreens and pick something up since it would be at least a week before we got an order from his MD and got it mailed to him. He said he'd wait eek and asked me if we had the "stuff you sprinkle on your bed to kill mites."

Customer: Do you guys have different sized condoms?
Me: They're pretty much one size fits all.
Customer: Not for me they're not...
Me: Well if you really need them, they have the Magnums.
Customer: No, I mean the other way.
Me: Oh. Sorry.

NormalSaline said:

Dead serious, it was stated as fact...might have even come off the package insert.

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From the package insert:

Inadvertent removal, expulsion, or prolonged ring-free interval
If the ring is accidentally expelled and is left outside of the vagina for
less than three hours contraceptive efficacy is not reduced.
NuvaRing® can be rinsed with cool to lukewarm(not hot) water and
reinserted as soon as possible, but at the latest within three hours.
If NuvaRing® is lost, a new vaginal ring should be inserted and the
regimen should be continued without alteration. If NuvaRing® is out
of the vagina for more than three hours, the directions listed under
PRECAUTIONS, EXPULSION should be followed.
If the ring-free interval has been extended beyond one week, the possibility of pregnancy should be considered, and an additional method
of contraception, such as male condoms or spermicide, MUST be
used until NuvaRing® has been used continuously for seven days

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Of course it does specifically mention dropping it into the porcelain goddess.

NormalSaline said:

lol we actually had this situation presented to us in my outpatient practice lab

she can retrieve the ring, rinse it in cold water and re insert.

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Ya, that's disgusting...

so if you accidentally drop your toothbrush in the toilet, do you just rinse it off and stick it back in your mouth?

even if it's "ok" (probably not gonna kill you), no female in their right mind would re-insert a vaginal ring after it has been in the toilet!!! it's not so much the potential ill effects, it's the gross factor

I'll admit, my toilet isn't as clean as it should be...

All4MyDaughter said:

Recently a patient asked me for my phone number as I was handing him his adult diapers. He then informed me that if we went out, I would have to pay the check because he wasn't working.

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Diaper-wearing and unemployed?? WOW!! You've sure got some smoking hot specimens of manhood down there in Louisville.

Tell me he lives in his parent's basement, and I'll be on the next plane.

Great stories, but I still don't think anybody's topped the o/p. Still, here's another one: a young girl came up the counter saying, her "friends" had sex for the first time. They were sixteen, and did it over and over and over again that night, using the same condom, and was that a problem?

had a pt and her boyfriend come in to my pharmacy to get a refill on her BCPs.... it was exactly 15 days too soon... so I explained this to her and asked why she was out, how she had been taking it, etc... she replied "we have been taking one a day" ... I replied "what do you mean 'we'?" .... she replied "me and my boyfriend have been taking one a day" .... I stood there in amazement...

Another one...

Lady (very very dirty) came in and was talking about these sores she was having all over her body and wanted me to recommend something... she said "I've got them all over my arms, my legs, and even in my p...." she hiked up her leg on the counter and preceded to pull her dress up... I stopped that REAL quick....

pharmdawg000 said:

had a pt and her boyfriend come in to my pharmacy to get a refill on her BCPs.... it was exactly 15 days too soon... so I explained this to her and asked why she was out, how she had been taking it, etc... she replied "we have been taking one a day" ... I replied "what do you mean 'we'?" .... she replied "me and my boyfriend have been taking one a day" .... I stood there in amazement...

Another one...

Lady (very very dirty) came in and was talking about these sores she was having all over her body and wanted me to recommend something... she said "I've got them all over my arms, my legs, and even in my p...." she hiked up her leg on the counter and preceded to pull her dress up... I stopped that REAL quick....

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Ok , you win!

Was the boyfriend seriously taking her birth control pills?! it's hard to believe some people are so *****ic.

The second story is pretty disgusting!

crossurfingers said:

Are you serious, they told you that was ok? That sounds like a UTI waiting to happen.

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In class once one of the profs asked us how long the Nuvaring could be left outside the vagina if it fell out, one person raised their hand and said "five second rule?". Laughed so hard I choked on my coffee.

i had anther patient call me up on the phone we told me his gf had a fantasy of being kidnapped, and then being put on a boat and serenaded under the moon light.

He told me, " now i know chloroform is plentiful and easy to get but it was dangerous, so then I was thinking, why not use a benzo, I can slip it in a bottle of wine. I can take the anedote, Flumazemilbefore I have any wine. What do you think about this?"

My response: "um... yeah, not a good idea." why? " For one, no one will ever prescribe you flumazemil to pick up at a local pharmacy, two, the half life is shorter, so there is no guarentee you won't see effects"

The guy " WELL, since you don't like that idea, so how do you really feel about chloroform?"

My response " why don't you take her to a nice dinner instead?"

Not really medication related, but i work at CVS and me and the pharmacist are the only males at work as the front store manager and checker are both female. We had a very distraught lady come in saying she locked her keys in her car and couldnt afford a locksmith. Her car is pretty new and she knew a slim jim wouldnt work.

Now her request, she looks at me and Im moderately built and an very stout due to daily visits to the gym and asks me to go punch out her window. Well at first i thought, yea, right... But she stood there and kept asking. Well i knew better than to break my hand, so I drive a truck and have the locking bed mounts and so i grabbed one of those and made a fist like with brass knuckles and one hit... sounded like a gun shot and the window shattered. Lady reached in and grabbed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and said thanks.

Phlame217 said:

Not really medication related, but i work at CVS and me and the pharmacist are the only males at work as the front store manager and checker are both female. We had a very distraught lady come in saying she locked her keys in her car and couldnt afford a locksmith. Her car is pretty new and she knew a slim jim wouldnt work.

Now her request, she looks at me and Im moderately built and an very stout due to daily visits to the gym and asks me to go punch out her window. Well at first i thought, yea, right... But she stood there and kept asking. Well i knew better than to break my hand, so I drive a truck and have the locking bed mounts and so i grabbed one of those and made a fist like with brass knuckles and one hit... sounded like a gun shot and the window shattered. Lady reached in and grabbed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and said thanks.

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so was it not her car?

And guess who could be held responsible for the broken window.

Phlame217 said:

Not really medication related, but i work at CVS and me and the pharmacist are the only males at work as the front store manager and checker are both female. We had a very distraught lady come in saying she locked her keys in her car and couldnt afford a locksmith. Her car is pretty new and she knew a slim jim wouldnt work.

Now her request, she looks at me and Im moderately built and an very stout due to daily visits to the gym and asks me to go punch out her window. Well at first i thought, yea, right... But she stood there and kept asking. Well i knew better than to break my hand, so I drive a truck and have the locking bed mounts and so i grabbed one of those and made a fist like with brass knuckles and one hit... sounded like a gun shot and the window shattered. Lady reached in and grabbed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and said thanks.

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sounds like tort litigation. Never agree do this.

Phlame217 said:

Not really medication related, but i work at CVS and me and the pharmacist are the only males at work as the front store manager and checker are both female. We had a very distraught lady come in saying she locked her keys in her car and couldnt afford a locksmith. Her car is pretty new and she knew a slim jim wouldnt work.

Now her request, she looks at me and Im moderately built and an very stout due to daily visits to the gym and asks me to go punch out her window. Well at first i thought, yea, right... But she stood there and kept asking. Well i knew better than to break my hand, so I drive a truck and have the locking bed mounts and so i grabbed one of those and made a fist like with brass knuckles and one hit... sounded like a gun shot and the window shattered. Lady reached in and grabbed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and said thanks.

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There are a lot of kooky people in the world. She could turn around and press charges against you for breaking into her car -- assuming it is her car.

It's decent of you to want to go the extra mile for your customers, but you're not obligated to be all things to all people. Next time, you can let her borrow the phone to call the triple A.

Well just a few cliff notes from all the legallity questions. Before I did it, I varified it was her car because apparently shes a regular at our store according the the front store manager and she recognised her and her car (the lady comes monthly to spend her stamps i suppose). Second, I did write up a short statement saying I nor CVS can't be held responisble, yata yata and had her and I sign it along with two witnessess being the front store manager and the pharmacist i work with.

Needless to say, I do realise the times we're in but I probably wouldn't do it again, it cut my sleeve on my favorite shirt.

This is not pharmacy related but still quite funny....so I fix computers at the university and I get a ticket stating that the user's computer keeps going black! Okay so I go over to her office and asked what was the problem, she stated that every ten minutes her screen keeps going black, so out of habit I grab the mouse and the screen comes to life. She gets excited like "There it is it's on now!"..... I wanted to scream....LADY YOU HAVE A FRICKIN phD AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT A SCREEN SAVER IS I laughed afterwards but I was pissed that she'd wasted my valuable time LOL

Had a nurse call the pharmacy I was working at and ask if she could substitute two vitamin B6's for a patient because she was out of vitamin B12.

mcpharm27 said:

had a nurse call the pharmacy i was working at and ask if she could substitute two vitamin b6's for a patient because she was out of vitamin b12.

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wow

"these suppositories taste AWFUL!!!"

MCPharm27 said:

Had a nurse call the pharmacy I was working at and ask if she could substitute two vitamin B6's for a patient because she was out of vitamin B12.

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So my brother calls yesterday and wants to know how many drops of Tobramycin he should put in his daughter's eye because she's got conjunctivitis.
Me: Depends on whether it's viral, bacterial, or allergic. If it's viral or allergic, Tobra won't work.
Him: I'm sure (sister's kid, age 2) poked her daughter in the eye and gave the infx to her. Since it's the same bottle they gave her it should work. So should I do one drop or two and should it be once/day or every 6 hours?
Me: I'm not that far along, but what are the directions on the bottle?
Him: Well, (sister's kid) chewed the label off.
Me: Why don't you call the 24 hour nurse line or better yet, take the kid to the MD to have it diagnosed and get your own bottle. Him: Well I was thinking I'd just do one drop.
Me: One drop a day or every 6 hours?
Him: No, just one drop.
Me: Uhh, one drop isn't gonna do much there, bro. Really, you should take her to the doctor.

(I may have posted this story before...)

A woman phoned to ask what to do. Her child had chicken pox, and the pediatrician said, use calamine lotion, so she gave it PO, then upon reading the bottle, realized that wasn't quite right.