If CVS is such a miserable company to work for, how are they so damn successful?

[MountainPharmD]

Working an occasional 10 hr shift is a quality of life issue? I think you are a lazy ass! There are pharmacists that work 8 hr shifts 5 days a week and there are pharmacists that work 10 hr shifts 4 days a week. Working 8 hrs and 10 hrs is not much different. I know plenty of pharmacists that work 10 hrs shifts 4 days a week and I think I prefer that.

Speak for yourself. That 2 hours is a hugh difference if you are in a busy store with inadequate staffing. Yes it is a quality of life issue. It is the difference between spending time with my kids or getting home just as they are going to bed.

Oh Yeah....page 2 and Z-Pack is my biotch!!!!

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[owlegrad]

Speak for yourself. That 2 hours is a hugh difference if you are in a busy store with inadequate staffing. Yes it is a quality of life issue. It is the difference between spending time with my kids or getting home just as they are going to bed.

Oh Yeah....page 2 and Z-Pack is my biotch!!!!

But if you work 4 - 10 hour days (vs 5 - 8 hour days), that is a whole extra day to spend with your kids/family! Buring the school year it may not amount to much extra time spent with the kids, but during the summer that extra day could go a long way...

 

[Jabberwocky12]

But if you work 4 - 10 hour days (vs 5 - 8 hour days), that is a whole extra day to spend with your kids/family! Buring the school year it may not amount to much extra time spent with the kids, but during the summer that extra day could go a long way...

Nah just keep your kids outta school on Fridays or your day of the week and not let the wife know. Now you're FUN DAD as well.

 

[SHC1984]

Then you can't work at your beloved Target, because they work 12 hour shifts M-F. You sure are limiting yourself here Miss I Drive A Six Year Old Car OMG!!! Geez...

Yeah, I wouldn't want to do retail unless it is with Costco. I prefer not doing retail all together. And I will get a new car when I graduate...I am counting down the days!

Too bad you don't know how to think. Overnight pharmacists, like myself, work 10 and 11 hour shifts. So it's not about me goofy, it's the company's position (aka viewpoint if you need help thinking).

I don't know what job you have or what hours you work. You said Walgreens pharmacists only work 8 hr shifts and none work more than that. I however know that most do work 8 hr shifts 5 days a week, but I also know some that work 10 hr shifts 4 days a week. I think I prefer working 10hr shifts Monday-Thursdays and have Friday to Sunday OFF. Just my opinion. I do not like working on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays. Hence why I was in dental school before I was here.

 

[SHC1984]

Speak for yourself. That 2 hours is a hugh difference if you are in a busy store with inadequate staffing. Yes it is a quality of life issue. It is the difference between spending time with my kids or getting home just as they are going to bed.

Oh Yeah....page 2 and Z-Pack is my biotch!!!!

Must be a difference of opinion then...I have never work full time before so I guess I wouldn't understand. If I had to work full time I prefer 10 hr shifts Monday to Thursday and have my Fri to Sunday off. I think that is the schedule that I want.

 

[CUpharmD2013]

Must be a difference of opinion then...I have never work full time before so I guess I wouldn't understand. If I had to work full time I prefer 10 hr shifts Monday to Thursday and have my Fri to Sunday off. I think that is the schedule that I want.

I wish you luck in finding a job as a pharmacist that will provide you this schedule.

 

[R2pharmD2]

Nah just keep your kids outta school on Fridays or your day of the week and not let the wife know. Now you're FUN DAD as well.

Noted!

 

[PharmDstudent]

Must be a difference of opinion then...I have never work full time before so I guess I wouldn't understand. If I had to work full time I prefer 10 hr shifts Monday to Thursday and have my Fri to Sunday off. I think that is the schedule that I want.

Well, not too long ago Walgreens decided to give pharmacists that schedule as an option, but no stores that I know of wanted it, because it would have resulted in 6 hour shifts at the end of the day, so that's 8am-5pm plus something like 4pm-10pm. They offered that kind of schedule as a compromise to employees and their budgets, but like I said, I don't know of a single Walgreens with 10 hour *daytime* shifts. And I haven't heard anything about it since...

 

[PharmDstudent]

Speak for yourself. That 2 hours is a hugh difference if you are in a busy store with inadequate staffing. Yes it is a quality of life issue. It is the difference between spending time with my kids or getting home just as they are going to bed.

Oh Yeah....page 2 and Z-Pack is my biotch!!!!

Right. I can only imagine your twins asking you what day of the week they will get to see you again, because you work 12 or 14 hour shifts.
My Sat-Sun 11 hour shifts at the end of the week are wretched!

 

[KCflacpht]

I think I prefer working 10hr shifts Monday-Thursdays and have Friday to Sunday OFF. Just my opinion. I do not like working on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays. Hence why I was in dental school before I was here.

I worked for Wags for 26 years, and I have know A LOT of pharmacists. I only know of ONE that had that schedule ( rumor had it she had that as part of her contract). No one knew how she managed to get it- and believe me you would never get that kind of schedule these days. ( I believe she was hired back in what you guys have called "the good ol' days" of your bonuses and such)

The only thing we could think of, aside from the fact that she was/is a darn good pharmacist- she was hired by a DM that was not only a fellow alumni, but a good friend besides. Let's face it- anyone ( aside from perhaps a floater) that has a partner with that schedule would be relegated to working every weekend. Not that I didn't like her- I did. But every pharmacist I ever talked to that knew her wondered how in the heck she got that sweet schedule!!!

 

[Momus]

Too bad you don't know how to think. Overnight pharmacists, like myself, work 10 and 11 hour shifts. So it's not about me goofy, it's the company's position (aka viewpoint if you need help thinking).

So, how many hours do you get during your 7 days on? 72 hours paid? Do you get to pick up a lot of daytime OT there? Just wondering, because I work overnight too for a different company; it's beyond boring where I can watch 2 X 2 hours movie with my laptop and I do about 70-100 rxs...

 

[PharmDstudent]

So, how many hours do you get during your 7 days on? 72 hours paid? Do you get to pick up a lot of daytime OT there? Just wondering, because I work overnight too for a different company; it's beyond boring where I can watch 2 X 2 hours movie with my laptop and I do about 70-100 rxs...

No overtime. One of the overnight floaters works in another district and gets overtime on his week off, but that's the only way to get overtime as far as I know.
I have a 2nd job at a hospital to make extra money.

ETA: 80 hours paid, 72 hours worked. It's been crazy busy since the end of September. Oh, and the other district is too far away. I don't think it's worth a 3 hour drive each way!

 

[rph3664]

But if you work 4 - 10 hour days (vs 5 - 8 hour days), that is a whole extra day to spend with your kids/family! Buring the school year it may not amount to much extra time spent with the kids, but during the summer that extra day could go a long way...

I once worked in an office that did this - 10 hours Monday through Thursday. Lots of people wanted to work there for this very reason, and things worked for them.

 

[Allure]

Must be a difference of opinion then...I have never work full time before so I guess I wouldn't understand. If I had to work full time I prefer 10 hr shifts Monday to Thursday and have my Fri to Sunday off. I think that is the schedule that I want.

I do have that schedule and sometimes even a 4-day weekend. It's hard to find a job like that, but not impossible or you can do 7 on/7off then you'll have 7 days off in a row.

 

[Rxtillidie]

Must be a difference of opinion then...I have never work full time before so I guess I wouldn't understand. If I had to work full time I prefer 10 hr shifts Monday to Thursday and have my Fri to Sunday off. I think that is the schedule that I want.

Dont wanna work weekends at all? Good luck with that!

 

[Rxnupe]

I love how somebody who has never worked at a CVS can make broad generalizations about CVS based on hearsay. I get a break at every store that I work at, no matter how busy we are. The pharmacists understand how important it is to an employee's psyche. Pharmacists on the other hand....I see them taking 5-10 minutes at a time depending on how busy it is. Even if you had worked at a CVS, you can't make broad generalizations about the whole company. How a pharmacy operates is going to vary from district to district and more often from store to store. Yeah, I've worked at some stores that are mismanaged and hard to work at because of the pharmacist, the techs, or both. But I've also worked at some stores that are a well oiled machine and can do 600 scripts in a day with 1 pharmacist and 4 techs.

As for the 14 hour days, it's up to the PIC and their partner. At most stores I work at, the pharmacist prefers the 14 hour days because of the number of days off. With more days off, you also have the opportunity to float for overtime. One pharmacist per day also improves the flow of a pharmacy. If you're splitting every day with zero overlap, you don't have time to catch up the other pharmacist on unresolved issues that may have come up earlier in the day. It's human nature to make broad generalizations based on personal experience, I know I have, so I'm not going to hold it against you. But just be cognisant that your opinion isn't always going to be everyone else's opinion.

thank you- you couldn't have said it any better. I run a CVS store where we do 4300 to 4500 scripts a week and I do get my 30 minutes with overlap or no overlap. If I am at a point where I need to eat I simply tell the technician that there will be no waiters for 30 minutes and if an MD calls they can either call back in 30 minutes or leave the RX on Voice mail- till this day never had a problem. I have seen CVS stores that are ran great and some that are ran like crap- ditto to Walgreens and all the other chains. It's all about how the store is staffed. If you have bad techs with a bad pharmacist you are not going to expect great results.
The reason why CVS gets so much heat is because quite frankly they have been doing by far the best on a profit level so they are an easy target. If CVS wasn't making any profit or doing well you would hear crap about the company. How many threads have you heard about Sav-On/Albertsons pharmacy???? Practically zilch- they have sold their wet coast and chicago area stores and in Texas they have been closing stores left and right. When I was in school Walgreens was the big dog and everyone hated Walgreens- well now CVS has taking their place so you can expect some ill feelings toward CVS. I am really just amazed at the amount of people who work for CVS who actually hate the company- I guess in their districts they are being held hostage because I will be damned if I get up every morning an go work for a company that I hate- no sireeee not me. There's not a person on this forum who can tell me that they work for a Retail company that i stress free and has no issues- now I am talking about the major retail chains- I don't consider Sam's and these Mom and Pop Pharmacies to be on the same level as Walgreens and CVS. Bottom line when you are doing well and making money people are always going to say something bad about you- i.e Exxon Mobile and Wal-Mart- for the past 6 or 7 years those who have been globally the biggest profit companies in the world and look at all the negative press they got- I rest my case.

 

[PharmDstudent]

thank you- you couldn't have said it any better. I run a CVS store where we do 4300 to 4500 scripts a week and I do get my 30 minutes with overlap or no overlap. If I am at a point where I need to eat I simply tell the technician that there will be no waiters for 30 minutes and if an MD calls they can either call back in 30 minutes or leave the RX on Voice mail- till this day never had a problem. I have seen CVS stores that are ran great and some that are ran like crap- ditto to Walgreens and all the other chains. It's all about how the store is staffed. If you have bad techs with a bad pharmacist you are not going to expect great results.
The reason why CVS gets so much heat is because quite frankly they have been doing by far the best on a profit level so they are an easy target. If CVS wasn't making any profit or doing well you would hear crap about the company. How many threads have you heard about Sav-On/Albertsons pharmacy???? Practically zilch- they have sold their wet coast and chicago area stores and in Texas they have been closing stores left and right. When I was in school Walgreens was the big dog and everyone hated Walgreens- well now CVS has taking their place so you can expect some ill feelings toward CVS. I am really just amazed at the amount of people who work for CVS who actually hate the company- I guess in their districts they are being held hostage because I will be damned if I get up every morning an go work for a company that I hate- no sireeee not me. There's not a person on this forum who can tell me that they work for a Retail company that i stress free and has no issues- now I am talking about the major retail chains- I don't consider Sam's and these Mom and Pop Pharmacies to be on the same level as Walgreens and CVS. Bottom line when you are doing well and making money people are always going to say something bad about you- i.e Exxon Mobile and Wal-Mart- for the past 6 or 7 years those who have been globally the biggest profit companies in the world and look at all the negative press they got- I rest my case.

Wtf are you talking about? You're an idiot. It's not about profit. It's about all the extra bs that people have to go through.
You have no case.

 

[gambit78]

At most stores I work at, the pharmacist prefers the 14 hour days because of the number of days off.

I worked at a pharmacy where my coworker pencilled in what days she was not available as she did some work at CVS. She wrote 8-10 and silly me thought she was just covering a 2-hr shift so that someone didn't have to open/close a store. It was actually 14-hrs, and I was like, how can you stand for so long? WOuldn't your brain get fried? WOUldn't there be more mistakes? It was like going back to the Industrial Age!

 

[Rxnupe]

Wtf are you talking about? You're an idiot. It's not about profit. It's about all the extra bs that people have to go through.
You have no case.

You know I am not going to go through this with you again- I guess in your perfect world you just want to show up to work- do as low volume as possible- simply verify and go home with a fat paycheck. Correct me if I am wrong CVS or any other retail has to be paying you what roughly 110K a year??? What B.S are you putting up with? Enrolling people in Ready Fill? 7 day Pharmacy calls ? CSI? Get lost now you wonder why there are so many people who think Pharmacist are over paid because people like you give them the perception that all we doing is putting pills in a bottle. I like to hear the extra b.s that makes your 110k salary so difficult. I am most certain that the millions of unemployed Americans and the soon to be graduating Pharmacy school students really feel your pain. Yep you are getting paid nearly 3 times the average Household salary and yet CVS programs are making it so difficult for you to work. How about quitting your job and perhaps CVS can replace your job with someone(pharmacist) who is jobless or perhaps a new graduate??

 

[WVUPharm2007]

For those that don't know wtf you people are talking about, perhaps someone should define "readyfill" and "CSI."

'Cause one sounds like a cheesy cop show.

 

[rxlea]

Makes me realize how much I want to stay in hospital- or do LTC, industry, ambulatory, etc. Basically, anything but CVS.

 

[PharmDstudent]

You know I am not going to go through this with you again- I guess in your perfect world you just want to show up to work- do as low volume as possible- simply verify and go home with a fat paycheck. Correct me if I am wrong CVS or any other retail has to be paying you what roughly 110K a year??? What B.S are you putting up with? Enrolling people in Ready Fill? 7 day Pharmacy calls ? CSI? Get lost now you wonder why there are so many people who think Pharmacist are over paid because people like you give them the perception that all we doing is putting pills in a bottle. I like to hear the extra b.s that makes your 110k salary so difficult. I am most certain that the millions of unemployed Americans and the soon to be graduating Pharmacy school students really feel your pain. Yep you are getting paid nearly 3 times the average Household salary and yet CVS programs are making it so difficult for you to work. How about quitting your job and perhaps CVS can replace your job with someone(pharmacist) who is jobless or perhaps a new graduate??

When I say idiot, I mean babbling idiot.

 

[iFarm]

For those that don't know wtf you people are talking about, perhaps someone should define "readyfill" and "CSI."

'Cause one sounds like a cheesy cop show.

Dude, don't ruin this for me. I'd rather keep thinking that they're talking about the cop show than learn some useless trash about CVS

Makes me realize how much I want to stay in hospital- or do LTC, industry, ambulatory, etc. Basically, anything but CVS.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[gambit78]

I figured the salary of CVS has to be high for folks to put up with a stressful job. There's an influx of foreign pharmacists here and honestly, they could say, "I'll take crap here and get paid six figures vs. working like a dog overseas for pennies..."

 

[Sparda29]

For those that don't know wtf you people are talking about, perhaps someone should define "readyfill" and "CSI."

'Cause one sounds like a cheesy cop show.

Readyfill - a program that where the pharmacy staff has to contact people on maintenance meds and convince them to sign up for automatic refills instead of the patients calling in the refills when they want to. (The customers get an automated phone call informing them that their script is ready for pick up.)

In theory, this is a good thing, but the management micromanages the hell out of this **** and raises expectations for the percentage of people you need to have enrolled every month.