A tough day at work today.

[ancienbon]

Was called today to cover a sick call. I accepted thinking that the store would not be too bad as there is no drive thru. Upon arriving , store manager told me my opening tech called sick, and they can't find anyone to cover. No tech was available.... So I am by myself in a store that averages over 2300 scripts a week. It takes a while before I can find where everything is located... Now, I am doing pick up, drop off, Qv, Qt, and non stop phone calls. I forget to mention there is a minute clinic too. So I was running like a chicken with no head, all over the place. Customers felt bad for me. and there was big line.... Front store manager helped a bit with pick up. I did not have a tech until 2 pm, who got stuck at pick up until close. . No time to use the bathroom let alone to eat..
It was a hell of a day

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[BenJammin]

I don't understand this "no time to eat" garbage. You're already in a screwy situation, just sit down and eat.

 

[RX2090]

You know, people say "oh don't be an Rx manager, FLOAT INSTEAD!!! NO RESPONSIBILITY!!!" But this is the Exact reason why floating and being a staff RPH is dumb. Techs take advantage of you because they know you can't do anything. They know a floater is going to be working that day, so they call out sick and leave you by yourself.

 

[Gombrich12]

Being staff at a good store is the ideal situation, but I rather float than staff a bad store. I quit picking up shifts at other stores because hours have been cut so bad that it's not worth working beyond my 40/hr a week.

 

[PharmDCandidate2014]

Sounds like great exercise, do this for a month straight and lose 15 pounds

 

[npage148]

If the tech can't be bothered to show then just do the bare minimum. You have an automatic excuse regardless of what you leave for th next day. And why does a store that does 2400/week only have 1 tech scheduled. Someone was using your suffering as a way to save hours

 

[maria1oh]

Considering this was posted yesterday you must have been there on a Saturday or sunday. Those days could not have been that bad and explains why they had only two techs.

 

[sosoo]

when techs call out n you're alone by yourself, be sure to tell the customers at drop off that wait time is 24 hours. there are other pharmacies in the area if they need anything urgent.

 

[ancienbon]

Considering this was posted yesterday you must have been there on a Saturday or sunday. Those days could not have been that bad and explains why they had only two techs.

Yes it was Sunday. It would not be that if a tech did not call off. I would one tech stuck at pick up and one tech would help with qp , i would just do qt ,qv,and drop off.
yes it was horrible. I was crushed

 

[SpartanLaser]

I just did a monday afternoon by myself. What is with techs and calling out sick?

 

[Dr Wario]

I just did a monday afternoon by myself. What is with techs and calling out sick?

Think about it, they get paid jack, are worked like dogs and get almost no respect (from the company and from customers). Calling out is really their only recourse for this kind of job.

Don't get me wrong though, it still quite pisses me off.

 

[SpartanLaser]

I had a double call out today. That makes it 8 days with at least 1 call out daily in a row! Guess my last week at cvs since giving my 14 days notice is the toughest. Techs think they can do whatever now without repurcussion

 

[M0df]

I hope you followed WeCare and provided in the moment feedback.

/sarcasm off

 

[doublehh03]

Think about it, they get paid jack, are worked like dogs and get almost no respect (from the company and from customers). Calling out is really their only recourse for this kind of job.

Don't get me wrong though, it still quite pisses me off.

I feel really bad for the good techs at CVS. Gets paid a terrible wage, and is asked to do a million things. CVS gotta change that crap around.

 

[Ackj]

I don't understand this "no time to eat" garbage. You're already in a screwy situation, just sit down and eat.

I agree to some extent, but when you're by yourself that just doesn't work. Somebody is standing there with an rx at drop off, and you just give them the cold shoulder as you sit back and chow down? Flying solo you're just playing ping pong bouncing from spot to spot, so there really is no time. If you've got at least a little help, I get what you mean though. What's the difference between 3 or 4 pages of red?

 

[BidingMyTime]

Granted there are a lot of people who call off sick when they shouldn't (or worse, show up feverish & puking, completely unable to work, but insisting that they will be there "for the team", when all they are doing is infecting everybody else.)....but c'mon guys, flu is still hitting hard, and there are all kinds of other respiratory going around, knowing how many people are sick in my workplace, I think its quite possible that your technicians really were sick and did not need to be at work. Trust me, a sick technician that gets paid for sitting in the bathroom all day is no better than a technician who calls off sick, and I would frankly prefer the latter--at least than I could have the slim hope of being able to convince someone else to come in on their day off to replace the sick one.)

But like BenJammin said....at a certain point, things are so bad, they aren't going to get worse, so take the time you need to go to the bathroom and scarf down some food. Those actions will probably increase your productivity anyway.

 

[littleowl]

I was a certified tech for ten years before starting pharmacy school and in that ten years (4 years with a big-3 employer and 6 years with an enormous regional healthcare system) honestly I took exactly three sick days. It wasn't because I would go to work sick or because I desperately needed the money (my time with *** was living at home with no bills) but because I loved my job and I have a pretty robust immune system. Yes, the pay was terrible in the beginning, and yes, some of the patients were awful. However the noticeable, and enduring, trend was for the lazy techs to call out on the weekends/Monday or Friday/holidays/last minute time off requested but not approved. Since I spent so much time as a tech I've learned exactly what the warning signs of abusive techs are so now I watch the schedule like a hawk and if I see certain people are supposed to work on a weekend, etc. I will not answer my phone if the pharmacy calls. The policy where I work now is that you are personally responsible for finding your own coverage (can be a tech or an intern) if you call out on a weekend and if you can't, you come in until you can find someone to finish your shift. Otherwise it's treated as a no-call, no-show and is grounds for immediate dismissal. Maybe y'all should talk to your respective RXMs about implementing a similar policy.

 

[trailerpark]

Just increase the wait time and say u can set them up with a text as soon as it's ready if they complain about the time you quote, but you can't guarantee it in a shorter time

 

[SClENCE]

A customer at work today asked me if becoming a pharmacist as an online program and how many weeks it takes to get licensed. Then they asked me to write down a list of pharmacy schools in the state to apply. Lol

But anyways, I'd just give them 24 hour wait time unless it's urgent, pick up the phone and say "please hold", and try not to spend too much time switching between drop off and production. What slows you down waiters since you are typing 1 script, printing and pulling 1 script, then verifying 1 script. Running around and wasting time for just 1 prescription when you could have just pulled and counted 10 of them. The key is to eliminate waiters, especially narcs.