Random thoughts by all you pharmacy clerks

[confettiflyer]

This thread is for all the random thoughts all you pharm clerk/techs think of when you're at work. Just post up random thoughts, questions, insight, etc... Doesn't have to make sense. I'll start with a few:


People who pick up birth control tend to be happy people, I haven't gotten a pissed off b/c pick up yet.

Medicare/Medicaid/Caloptima is a pain in the ass sometimes...I just wish people paid cash for stuff and took care of it themselves.

People think I'm a pharmacist, because I look older than some of the pharmacists at work

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[nerv12345]

if one more person comes up to my register while on their cell phone and then stalls like a broken transmission everytime i say a word to them because they can't do two things at once, i will punch a baby in the face

why is it that everytime someone has a question for the pharmacist and i say "hold on let me get the pharmacist for you", they still manage to continue to tell me about their ailments as i creep away to grab the pharmacist?

last week a lady asked me to explain to her what a gift card was (we have a promotional thing going)....and no she wasn't a foreigner that may not be used to things like this

 

[fenixtnlfan]

if one more person comes up to my register while on their cell phone and then stalls like a broken transmission everytime i say a word to them because they can't do two things at once, i will punch a baby in the face

Sounds like you have a pretty high chance of punching that baby

 

[HaleyRX]

I hate when people pull up to the drive-thru, push the button for someone to come help them, and then are on their cell phone and motion for me to wait on them to finish. Um, hello? You called me over here!
At CVS we have extracare cards and they are a pain in the ass. People are always like "oh let me find my card." "oh just key in my phone number..that didn't work? try this one: 555-333-9999...that didn't work either? well maybe it's my cell number 999-333-4444..not that one either? oh you know, I think it is under my husband's cell number" or "why didn't you ask me about my card? I need credit for my purchase!"
Sometimes the Extrabucks rewards don't print. One time a man yelled at me "THAT $10 SHOULD HAVE PRINTED. IF YOU TELL ME YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE ME $10, THEN YOU NEED TO DO IT. THAT'S WHAT YOU PROMISED, AND YOU NEED TO FOLLOW THROUGH." I said "sir, I personally don't have anything to do with that. You can call the 1-800 number and they can help you. I have no control over that" and he said "YOU PROMISED ME $10 IF I GOT 5 PRESCRIPTIONS AND YOU NEED TO COME THROUGH ON THAT." and I said "sir, I didn't promise you anything."
Cashiering in a pharmacy is very rough. Our pharmacy is very busy and very shorthanded most of the time.

 

[PharmDstudent]

I hate when people pull up to the drive-thru, push the button for someone to come help them, and then are on their cell phone and motion for me to wait on them to finish. Um, hello? You called me over here!
At CVS we have extracare cards and they are a pain in the ass. People are always like "oh let me find my card." "oh just key in my phone number..that didn't work? try this one: 555-333-9999...that didn't work either? well maybe it's my cell number 999-333-4444..not that one either? oh you know, I think it is under my husband's cell number" or "why didn't you ask me about my card? I need credit for my purchase!"
Sometimes the Extrabucks rewards don't print. One time a man yelled at me "THAT $10 SHOULD HAVE PRINTED. IF YOU TELL ME YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE ME $10, THEN YOU NEED TO DO IT. THAT'S WHAT YOU PROMISED, AND YOU NEED TO FOLLOW THROUGH." I said "sir, I personally don't have anything to do with that. You can call the 1-800 number and they can help you. I have no control over that" and he said "YOU PROMISED ME $10 IF I GOT 5 PRESCRIPTIONS AND YOU NEED TO COME THROUGH ON THAT." and I said "sir, I didn't promise you anything."
Cashiering in a pharmacy is very rough. Our pharmacy is very busy and very shorthanded most of the time.

They love you Haley! You're the best cashier(tech in training now) that store has ever seen.
Me
+ ----> Haley
hug
Call me when you get some free time, or we can catch up on Facebook.

 

[confettiflyer]

I hate when people pull up to the drive-thru, push the button for someone to come help them, and then are on their cell phone and motion for me to wait on them to finish. Um, hello? You called me over here!
At CVS we have extracare cards and they are a pain in the ass. People are always like "oh let me find my card." "oh just key in my phone number..that didn't work? try this one: 555-333-9999...that didn't work either? well maybe it's my cell number 999-333-4444..not that one either? oh you know, I think it is under my husband's cell number" or "why didn't you ask me about my card? I need credit for my purchase!"
Sometimes the Extrabucks rewards don't print. One time a man yelled at me "THAT $10 SHOULD HAVE PRINTED. IF YOU TELL ME YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE ME $10, THEN YOU NEED TO DO IT. THAT'S WHAT YOU PROMISED, AND YOU NEED TO FOLLOW THROUGH." I said "sir, I personally don't have anything to do with that. You can call the 1-800 number and they can help you. I have no control over that" and he said "YOU PROMISED ME $10 IF I GOT 5 PRESCRIPTIONS AND YOU NEED TO COME THROUGH ON THAT." and I said "sir, I didn't promise you anything."
Cashiering in a pharmacy is very rough. Our pharmacy is very busy and very shorthanded most of the time.

+1 for this post!!!

Confession: I don't even ask for the CVS card anymore...I just engage the customer in conversation. If they forget, it's their fault. I haven't been bothered about it by anyone.

I don't wear a tie to work, I don't get paid enough to wear a tie.

I dont' wear black shoes to work, I don't get paid enough. In fact, I wear tennis shoes (not ugly ones, so it actually blends in a bit).

Everyone at work complains about CVS, it makes me not want to work for the company. They seem like a bunch of cheap asses (mgmt-wise, I like my pharmacists at work though).

I always bash CVS when I work...I always blame the company (ie "sorry sir, we're understaffed here, the company is pretty cheap" or "sorry it's what the company says I have to do, I don't want to get fired...i know it doesn't make any sense sir, it's pretty stupid. this company is pretty stupid." or "i know, i don't like it either...ever since we changed over to CVS, it's gone downhill."

I openly talk about how Target is a better retail store (when prompted).

This thread should have been titled "Confessions of a Pharmacy Clerk" haha

 

[nerv12345]

oh man so much bottled up anger haha!

i freaking hate it when someone walks in and you say hi to them and they just say their last name (no hi or anything back in return) and want you to pull their rx from the shelf. at that point i just ring them up and walk away with an apathetic attitude

 

[DrEaMeRcHiCk]

oh man so much bottled up anger haha!

i freaking hate it when someone walks in and you say hi to them and they just say their last name (no hi or anything back in return) and want you to pull their rx from the shelf. at that point i just ring them up and walk away with an apathetic attitude

I can top this one....I work for a smaller chain and a couple of our patients have been with the company for years. I don't work that often during the week so I don't know every single aspect of each patient.

But there will always be those patients who come in stare at me, say "prescription", and I ask "your name".....and they stare at me blankly for 5 minutes (yup, that's right....5 minutes). Finally, she gave in and gave a big sigh because I didn't know her name/appearance by heart.

Then there's a woman who won't give her information at all!!!! She says she has the right to her own information, all we have on file for her is a P.O. box address. Her insurance info is run when she comes into the pharmacy with her card and demands that we keep none of her info.

Can anyone else top me?

 

[steveysmith54]

i work for a big chain. Some idiots come to the wrong store and try to pick up their drugs here. They don't realize once insurance been billed in one store, they have to get it from there.

one woman didn't let me refill her drugs when she found out I am not a PharmD.

I have gotten compliments that I would make a good PharmD, which always makes me happy. A lot ask me if I am in Pharm school.

So far, It's been a good experience.

 

[PharmDstudent]

+1 for this post!!!

Confession: I don't even ask for the CVS card anymore...I just engage the customer in conversation. If they forget, it's their fault. I haven't been bothered about it by anyone.

I don't wear a tie to work, I don't get paid enough to wear a tie.

I dont' wear black shoes to work, I don't get paid enough. In fact, I wear tennis shoes (not ugly ones, so it actually blends in a bit).

Everyone at work complains about CVS, it makes me not want to work for the company. They seem like a bunch of cheap asses (mgmt-wise, I like my pharmacists at work though).

I always bash CVS when I work...I always blame the company (ie "sorry sir, we're understaffed here, the company is pretty cheap" or "sorry it's what the company says I have to do, I don't want to get fired...i know it doesn't make any sense sir, it's pretty stupid. this company is pretty stupid." or "i know, i don't like it either...ever since we changed over to CVS, it's gone downhill."

I openly talk about how Target is a better retail store (when prompted).

This thread should have been titled "Confessions of a Pharmacy Clerk" haha

I worked for them for three years. They really are that pathetic! They have the cheapest a**hole customers, and they reward bad behavior from their customers by giving them gift cards.

 

[babietuan323]

lots of people go to the back of the pharmacy and ask me if i knew where they stocked the brooms, or computer hardware.

my pharmacist said, its like you wouldnt go to the auto shop and ask "hey, you got any amoxicillin back there?"

 

[airen]

I know how you feel. That's why CVS is "Closing Very Soon" or a "Cheaper Version [of] Sav-On"

+1 for this post!!!

Confession: I don't even ask for the CVS card anymore...I just engage the customer in conversation. If they forget, it's their fault. I haven't been bothered about it by anyone.

I don't wear a tie to work, I don't get paid enough to wear a tie.

I dont' wear black shoes to work, I don't get paid enough. In fact, I wear tennis shoes (not ugly ones, so it actually blends in a bit).

Everyone at work complains about CVS, it makes me not want to work for the company. They seem like a bunch of cheap asses (mgmt-wise, I like my pharmacists at work though).

I always bash CVS when I work...I always blame the company (ie "sorry sir, we're understaffed here, the company is pretty cheap" or "sorry it's what the company says I have to do, I don't want to get fired...i know it doesn't make any sense sir, it's pretty stupid. this company is pretty stupid." or "i know, i don't like it either...ever since we changed over to CVS, it's gone downhill."

I openly talk about how Target is a better retail store (when prompted).

This thread should have been titled "Confessions of a Pharmacy Clerk" haha

 

[airen]

hahaha, I know, one time a lady came to ask where we have the pots and pans!

lots of people go to the back of the pharmacy and ask me if i knew where they stocked the brooms, or computer hardware.

my pharmacist said, its like you wouldnt go to the auto shop and ask "hey, you got any amoxicillin back there?"

 

[airen]

keep your eyes open on those customers who b*tch and complain about paying $1 or $3.10 copays and drives a Mercedes! Grrr.....

I worked for them for three years. They really are that pathetic! They have the cheapest a**hole customers, and they reward bad behavior from their customers by giving them gift cards.

 

[no-see-um]

Pharm clerk's a rough job... I have the utmost respect for someone who could last more than a few weeks doing it.

 

[nerv12345]

some guy made me give him a refund for a packet of doritos he purchased from our pharmacy register
..why you ask? because i rang it up as $3.49 when it was on sale for $2.50

thanks holding up the line!

 

[no-see-um]

some guy made me give him a refund for a packet of doritos he purchased from our pharmacy register
..why you ask? because i rang it up as $3.49 when it was on sale for $2.50

thanks holding up the line!

People don't like to feel gyped when it comes to their money. They could be the most sane folks on earth- good decision makers, but that ends when they see their doritos should have been a dollar off!

Wierd stuff. I see this all the time...

Personally, as a customer, I let things like that go.

 

[PharmDstudent]

I love to make the joke about paint thinner. We don't carry paint thinner! One day, a lady asked for turpentine. I asked everyone I was working with if they knew that turpentine was paint thinner. Well... no one had a clue that turpentine was paint thinner, but I told the customer that we didn't carry paint thinner.
People think pharmacies are extensions of hardware stores, grocery stores, or office supply stores. We don't carry paint thinner, bananas, or office furniture!

 

[confettiflyer]

I think I have hit a nerve with this thread.

People who hand me insurance at the REGISTER...omg people, get that **** taken care of at drop off.

Everytime this happens, the line balloons because I have to deal with it. Add in Murphy's law, and the TP rejection errors pops up because the stupid card wasn't clear in the first place (ie added extra zeroes or letters to the ID on the card which i was supposed to omit).

I hate insurance!!!

 

[steveysmith54]

I love to make the joke about paint thinner. We don't carry paint thinner! One day, a lady asked for turpentine. I asked everyone I was working with if they knew that turpentine was paint thinner. Well... no one had a clue that turpentine was paint thinner, but I told the customer that we didn't carry paint thinner.
People think pharmacies are extensions of hardware stores, grocery stores, or office supply stores. We don't carry paint thinner, bananas, or office furniture!

when people ask me stuff like where is the shampoo, i tell them this is the pharmacy and ask someone up front. However, if someone asks to find OTC tylenol, claritin, etc. I usually go with them and show them where it's on the shelf when ever I can.

 

[airen]

Whenever a mean customer would throw a fit, I would just roll my eyes and made sure they saw me doing that. I love the frustrated look on their face.

I think I have hit a nerve with this thread.

People who hand me insurance at the REGISTER...omg people, get that **** taken care of at drop off.

Everytime this happens, the line balloons because I have to deal with it. Add in Murphy's law, and the TP rejection errors pops up because the stupid card wasn't clear in the first place (ie added extra zeroes or letters to the ID on the card which i was supposed to omit).

I hate insurance!!!

 

[confettiflyer]

haha i had a patient yesterday...i told them that their medication was too early for a refill, and the next available date was November (guess they got a 90 day supply via mail). His response involved throwing up his hands and in frustration saying "Well I'm moving out of state...RIGHT NOW!" and he stormed out.

I was so puzzled, I thought he was gonna yell at all of us....instead, he told us he was moving? hahaha

 

[RxExpress]

you can tell if a customer will give you a hard time the moment he/she hands you the prescription. They have this piss off look on their face.

One time, this customer hands me a prescription with this piss off look on his face. He told me how long it would take to fill it. I told him the usual 35 minute wait since we were busy. He gives me this look like are you crazy. And then he tells me how come it takes so long and that it only takes 5 minutes at CVS. I told him I will try my best. So he stands in front of me while I type up his prescription. I try my best to speed up because I want him to get out of my face. When I process through his insurance, it says it is too soon. I tell him that it is too soon. Then he gets really angry and wants his prescription back. He storms out of the store, saying he's going to go to CVS. What a *******.

 

[confettiflyer]

::waits for the CVS clerk that helped him out to post a story here::

haha yeah...i get a lot of stupid patients. To lighten the tone, I get nice ones too.

Also... 5 minutes at CVS? yeah right, the LEAST we will tell someone is 10 minutes even if there is no one around. The ONLY time it will take 5 minutes is if it's maybe 20 minutes before closing time, all the scripts are filled through the next day, there's no TP errors, and all the clerks/techs finished the end of day stuff.

I've learned to take my time...as someone said in the pharmacy forum, just because you can get a cheeseburger in 3 minutes doesn't mean you should get your medication in 5. If someone is in a rush and being pissy about it...I'll treat them the same as anyone else (not gonna dash around, not gonna run here and there, not gonna stress myself on their behalf).

But...if you're nice and say you're late for work, have to be here/there in 20 minutes....I'll make a conscious effort to help you out. No courtesy on your part = no courtesy on mine.

On a random note...I HATE when businesses encourage this bad behavior. Sure, I guess it's good for bottom line...but I think it has pushed society along this path of instant gratification/lack of patience/lack of character. I see bratty kids who have a leash on their parents and cringe. No one has the guts to say NO anymore!!

sorry, had to vent

 

[CHARMO]

haha i had a patient yesterday...i told them that their medication was too early for a refill, and the next available date was November (guess they got a 90 day supply via mail). His response involved throwing up his hands and in frustration saying "Well I'm moving out of state...RIGHT NOW!" and he stormed out.

I was so puzzled, I thought he was gonna yell at all of us....instead, he told us he was moving? hahaha

Now that's really funny.

 

[AshleyCPhT]

I hate it when people cry and expect me to feel sorry for them when they are wanting to pick up pain/nerve medication early.

I hate it when they want to know what color our oxycodone is, you're gonna sell it for more than you're paying for it regardless. So what does it matter.

I don't like the fact that people think I know NOTHING of Pharmacy just because I'm a tech. I work with retired pharmacists at an independent store, and honestly, I usually know more than they do. You'd think they'd quit asking for a pharmacist when they get transfered back to me EVERY TIME!

I Don't like getting paid 1/5 of what my boss does, when I do the same exact thing he does (my motivation to go to Pharmacy school)

 

[AshleyCPhT]

::waits for the CVS clerk that helped him out to post a story here::

haha yeah...i get a lot of stupid patients. To lighten the tone, I get nice ones too.

Also... 5 minutes at CVS? yeah right, the LEAST we will tell someone is 10 minutes even if there is no one around. The ONLY time it will take 5 minutes is if it's maybe 20 minutes before closing time, all the scripts are filled through the next day, there's no TP errors, and all the clerks/techs finished the end of day stuff.

I've learned to take my time...as someone said in the pharmacy forum, just because you can get a cheeseburger in 3 minutes doesn't mean you should get your medication in 5. If someone is in a rush and being pissy about it...I'll treat them the same as anyone else (not gonna dash around, not gonna run here and there, not gonna stress myself on their behalf).

But...if you're nice and say you're late for work, have to be here/there in 20 minutes....I'll make a conscious effort to help you out. No courtesy on your part = no courtesy on mine.

On a random note...I HATE when businesses encourage this bad behavior. Sure, I guess it's good for bottom line...but I think it has pushed society along this path of instant gratification/lack of patience/lack of character. I see bratty kids who have a leash on their parents and cringe. No one has the guts to say NO anymore!!

sorry, had to vent

I agree with the fact that alot of people are annoying about wanting to get moved out fast. But I work at an independent and know that at most chains, they tell you an hour no matter what, when in reality it take a whole 2 minutes to fill a prescription. Even when we're backed up it never takes us more than thirty. I want to get pwople n and out as fast as possible because I, like them, have better things to do than stand around in a store all day. And to me, if its the customers with the brattykids you're waiting on... get them out the door even faster!!! Rid yourself of them rahter than stooping to their annoying impatient level

 

[PharmDY]

Wow this was a lot to take in especially since I'm starting my job as a pharm clerk by the end of this week! Earlier this week I was hired by Longs. It sounds like I probably need to double up my patience by tomorrow =P

 

[confettiflyer]

Working at a pharmacy has allowed me to live the concept of emotional detachment.

You need thick skin to work as a clerk in retail.

 

[HaleyRX]

If you're going to start working in a pharmacy, keep these 2 ideas in mind:
1.) You can't make everyone happy.
2.) The customer is NOT always right.

I have had people hand me scripts and I say "when do you want to pick this up?" and they say "20 minutes ago" or "yesterday". I have had people try to order burgers and fries in the drive-thru and get mad when I don't laugh at their joke. I have had a woman try to through a clipboard at me through the drive-thru because her doctor didn't call a refill in. I have had a woman gripe at me for copying information from her driver's license when she bought Claritin-D. Um, well that's the law.
We have customers who beg our pharmacists to loan everything from inhalers to hydrocodone. We have customers who get mad when our pharmacists don't agree to commit insurance fraud or give gift cards for controlled substances. These customers call and complain and get $30 gift cards "for their inconvenience."

 

[parabolic]

Random thought: why can't insurance companies put on the card what they want us to put into our system? If the card indicates that the member ID is WJXL333444555, that's what I want to type in... only to have the senior tech tell me that no, you actually drop the letters and add 001 to the end. So intuitive.

 

[nerv12345]

^lol @ that....i've been working there for about 4 months now and i STILL don't know how to input insurance! haha

and what the heck...the card says united healthcare but you have to input the code for medco? how am i supposed to know that?!!

 

[ADN1226]

This is my 3rd week working at CVS and i've already seen so many of these situations!

I work with a girl who's been a tech for nearly 2yrs here and like you confettiflyer - she's thrown her emotions out the window - she was telling me she used to care and tried to make the customers happy but now she can care less and is pursuing nursing school hehee. But she's been called some nasty names and its always because of insurance issues.

I had this one patient come through the drive-thru saying her mother needs her norvasc NOW since they're leaving for vacation for a week tomorrow morning. Well first she went through drive-thru - told me the names, I looked through the bins, couldn't find it. Looked up the info on our comp and realized that the prescription expired, we called the doctor but no replies yet (its been 2days). I explained that to her and she's like "no way, its been 2 days theres NO WAY the doctor has not called back" - and then she goes "why don't you guys call us to let us know the doctor has not called back" are you kidding me?!?!? I explained that she should call her doctor to hurry them along but she explained she's leaving tomorrow for vacation and her mother needs at least a week's worth of norvasc. SO i explained this to the pharmacist and she tells me the rules is that we can only dispense 3 pills --- i explained this and got yelled saying that she needs 7 pills!!!! I talked to the pharmacist again and she finally agreed to give 7 pills. Seeing that its been nearly 15mins theres cars behind her --- so I told her ok, the pharmacist will dispense 7 pills this time - and if she could drive around or come in to wait 10mins so I can help the next person in the drive-thru. She goes NO i've been waiting here already, i'm going to wait! ARGGHHH she drove me crazy ---- so I told the pharmacist and the pharmacist talked to the patient and that made her drive around so we thought! 10 minutes later i'm waiting and waiting for this lady cuz the 7 pills is ready and where is she??? NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.

OMG. so far thats the worst customer. I've had others that swears swears swears that they dropped their medication off at our CVS when in actuality it was the next town over... seriously - this one customer has had their prescriptions filled at 4 different CVS in the surrounding area!!!

OK, rant over. most of the time the customers are really nice -- then again, its only my 3rd week - its funny, were a busy CVS making around 400-500 scripts and all my coworkers are so afraid of me quitting because of the hectic environment and these customers.

 

[confettiflyer]

Yeah there's a rite aid, a sav-on, and like 3-4 other pharmacies on the same damn STREET. Literally, all our addresses are like XXXX Streetname1 Ave, and it doesn't help that we used to be a sav-on, so customers still think we're a sav-on when in reality the sav-on is 20 numbers up on the same street.

yeah...insurance is a pain! what i do now is cover my own ass to deflect responsibility back to insurance or the doctor. I always preface things like, "We contacted your doctor 2 days ago, but they haven't gotten back to us yet"... "I contacted your insurance, but they say there is no coverage."

Tip for y'all...always begin with something concrete that you/pharmacy actually did (ie We called this, We faxed that, etc...), it'll be harder to yell at you since blame is on another entity.

Also...for legal stuff, just be firm! Say it's illegal...that's it, end of story, no discussion. You are not risking prosecution for their stupid ass. A lack of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine. Ok, don't say this out loud, but keep that in mind!

I once had to repeat that something was illegal about 15 times before the person stopped persisting.

We do about 500 scripts per day...and we're understaffed, I'm seriously debating quitting. I got my pharmacy experience, now I need more money and my sanity back!

 

[browneyes021]

For me, the worst part of the job was the drive-thru. We always had people would drop off their prescription without giving me a chance to check if we had it and get all of their information. What made it worst was when people would ask if it could be ready in 15 mins and I'd have to say, 'it'll be ready in an hour.' then they'd say, 'well, can you have it done in 15 mins.' to this I just replied, 'if you come inside it will take 15-30 minutes.' Then the customer would ask why it took shorter if they came in the store as opposed to just waiting in their car.

My worst experience was when a customer and his wife dropped off a prescription and came back in an hour and we were a little behind. They ended up screaming at me, 'This happens every single time we come to Rite-Aid. How long does it take to get the pills off goddamn shelf! Just count them and put them in the bottle." After I told them it would be a couple of minutes, they decided to come into the store so they wouldn't 'waste their gas' and at the checkout counter they continued to bitch only it was at the pharmacist.

My favorite experience happened when I had had enough of the bitching and impatience of people. A woman came in and her prescription wasn't ready so I told her to wait and when I turned around the line inside the store had gotten so long. To make matters worse, our printer broke and the pharmacist was freaking out. I would say after a good 15-20 minutes (maybe more) I returned to the window with her prescription and apologized for the wait and explained to her what happened and that I had to help the others inside the store who were in line. She then started to complain and said she didn't buy that our printer broke (even though all three actually did). So after a couple of seconds of her complaining, I turned the speaker off when she was talking and just looked at her as if I was listening to what she was saying.

 

[MrNiceThai]

funny funny stuff. i feel for you my brethren.

 

[babietuan323]

i like it when an SUV goes into the drive thru with a load full of people (6 people) have the same prescription for BONTRIL. and driver says, "it'll be done in 10 minutes?"

 

[exsell]

How many techs/clerks have said " Your Rx will be ready in 30 minutes" and the darn people come strolling in 3.0 minutes later, complaining about how it's taking forever for a simple refill?"

Thank GoD my community setting tech days are behind me for now. I have seen it all! one time , a patient actually threw scissors at my pregnant pharmacist because she didn't fill her narcotic pain meds, which didn't have a signature, no watermark, and yeah.. the Rx paper was damp.. lol

I now work in a Hospital. Instead of third party adjudication, I get to deal with Dr's egos and nurses' imPatient nature.. lol lovely.. i dont know which one is better.. hmm i guess I will say institutional. more pay, less scissor threats!

 

[Nerdd13]

This thread is just too funny! i've had a few laughs and all post are TRUE!! ALL THE CVS POST COULDN'T BE ANYMORE TRUE.

*I HATE it when a customer walks up to the counter and they say "hi, i'm here to pick up a persciption"...(SILENCE FOR LIKE 2 MINS!! & I'm looking at them like they are idiots and waiting for them to tell me their name. Do I REALLY have to indicate "what's ur last name sir/maam?"

*There are certain foreign (spanish, asian etc etc) last names I can make out even if they say it properly but my goodness, the ones that are way off, and they tell me expecting me to understand them!!! I ask them again and they Still pronouce it so thick. Have the decency to clue me in on the first three letters!!!!! UGH.

*"Hey, I have 5 scripts here, can you tell me the price of each one? I have insurance, but I'm not going to pick it up."

*Customer coming thru the drive thru asks me "oh can I also get a bottle of _______" (I'm thinking oh i'm sorry I didn't know this was a drive thru convient store!!!!).

*Do you have anymore of those $30 gift card in ur ads I can have?" Are there any in the store? When will you be having those gift cards again?

 

[parabolic]

I wanted to resurrect this thread because it was funny, and because I had a slew of the same kind of patient today. The life-story patients. You know, the ones who walk up to you and begin a spiel that lasts forrreeeever.

I don't like getting "[Last name]!" barked at me the moment you walk up to the register... but I also don't need to know why you are getting this prescription, which doctor you saw, whether they faxed or called it in, what time and day they did it, what you ate for breakfast last Tuesday, and so on. Just let me know that you're picking something up, and THEN if there is an issue with your prescription, we can talk at length about it, I promise.

Oh and hey, about the lady who asked for turpentine (a couple of posts above here): we actually keep some in our pharmacy. This confused me for a long time, until I asked our pharmacist, who had to look up its indication on the computer. It apparently has one, but I've long since forgotten it, and we've never sold that one lonely bottle to anyone.

 

[lessotto]

Hey, I work at CVS. And yes, everything sounds familiar, but come on people - it is a pharmacy! People feel bad and NEED DRUGS!

Sure thing a patient with a vicodin Rx faxed in by dentist (and not completed in 4 hours) will be mad. Root canal procedures tend to be painful.
And mothers in drive thru with little sick kids on the back sit are mean because antibiotic for their kids is not ready/mixed for a reason.

I am sure you too would be mad.
Despite mean customers, i like my job.

The other day a bunch of teens came in a drive-thru. 3 boys, 1 girl. They picked up 3 packs of condoms at no charge (I was surprised medicare even pays for it)!!!

I only do not like people who tell me "Oh my, 10$??? I usually do not pay AS MUCH. Please re-run my insurance. And no, I do not care about 4 cars behind me in drive thru who need to wait!" Come on - 10$. (And medicine almost always ends up costing the same). Today a guy bought Levitra and Viagra. Paid over $400 and left happy.

 

[labrat024]

I think it is kinda funny how Walgreens calls errors in prescription dispensing "quality events."

 

[CPhTtoPharmD]

Well Im sorry for you poor unfortunate souls that work RETAIL. I have worked in hospitals my entire career (about 4 and 1/2 years). Neverr have to deal with patients.

We do have the occasional time when I have to take Charity meds to a Patient becuase the MD feels they cant pay for their meds, and they are pretty pissed that it took an hour, to get their FREE meds.

The only frustrations we have are Nurses that are incompetant and lazy.

One thing that pisses me off is Doctors that cant spell, You shouldn't be writing for things you cant spell.

They also write for things in hospital Like " Docusate PRN", They know that we need dose & frequency For all meds.

I say an order the other day that said "one Supp as needed for diarrhea" Which Freaking Supp Dumb***? there are lots of Supps for diarrhea.

 

[PharmDnPhD]

I have worked in hospital, retail and "on base". I heard the most complaints from retired military than the other two pharmacy sites combined!! It is amazing that all of the med's that the retired military receive for FREE and they still come up with the most complaints. I agree that they deserve their care for life but to complain about what they receive for FREE is ridiculous!!! When you walk out with a bag full of prescriptions that probably costs well over $300-$400 you shouldn't be complaining...right???!!! That is my 2-cents.

 

[NateAZSD]

Has anybody else ever been handed a shopping list at the drive-thru window? For me, it was the final straw...A few weeks later I made the switch to inpatient pharmacy.

 

[Knickerbocker]

Has anybody else ever been handed a shopping list at the drive-thru window? For me, it was the final straw...A few weeks later I made the switch to inpatient pharmacy.

Let me guess... The person in the car was in their 20s and not disabled in any way, right?

 

[firefighter9015]

1. My favorite is when they come in depending for refills when they are out of refills. It says plainly on the bottle, no refills, and on the last refill my store puts a pink slip saying something to the affect that you will need to contact your doctor about a new script. Yet, they will yell and scream and cuss at us because they are out of refills, come on people, take responsibility for your own health.

2. We actually had a customer ask one day what the difference between a CPhT and a Pharm.D was and aren't they the same. The pharmacist I was working with was like "Umm, try adding about 6 years of school....."

3. I work at an independent store and we have little old ladies who will only talk to the male pharmacist, even if they have to wait a week to speak with him. When this happens, we have to keep questioning them to make sure it is not something urgent that needs to be taken care of, b/c we actually had a woman call one time and ask for the male pharmacist and what she needes was to know whether she should call an ambulance b/c she was having severe chest pains. He wasn't going to be back untill Monday and it was Saturday.

I agree with the above posters in that hospital is much better. I have worked both, and my preference is hospital.

 

[AngelaCL]

I wish patients would understand that abusing the staff gets them nowhere.

The other day, a guy came up to the in-window and didn't say anything except his phone number. I typed in the number and saw a man's name and a woman's name, and I asked him for his name to verify I had the right phone number.

Jerk: "Well it *better* say John Smith!"
Me: "Yes sir, I was just verifying... What can I get you?"
J: "Blood pressure medicine!"
Me: "Sir, I need the name of the medication."
J: "It's white. You should know this."
Finally, I figure out which medication he needs, and the Rx is on hold so I have to click through a few extra screens.
Me: "Just one moment please"
J: "Are you kidding me? Is there some kind of problem? This is ridiculous!"
M: "No problem, I just need to click through some screens, it will just be a moment."
J: "How long will it be?"
M: "Just a moment, I want to make sure the insurance is going through"
J: "WHY WOULDN'T IT?"
M: "I'm just making sure so I don't have to call you back. It's the beginning of the year and lots of people have new cards."
J: "I HAVE THE RIGHT CARD!!"
The insurance does go through, and I tell him it will be 15 minutes. We had a few ahead of him so that was a pretty reasonable estimate.
J: "Make it 10!"
Me: "How about 12 and a half?" This is the way I point out that someone is being petty, the times are just an estimate that may not be exactly to the minute and I'm not going to bicker about 5 minutes. It takes as long as it takes, and I'd rather say 15 minutes and manage to get it done in 10 than say 5 minutes and then have the pharmacist tied up and it takes 15. Usually when I say something like this with a smile on my face, the customer realizes it won't kill them to wait an extra couple minutes if necessary and they back off. This guy, not so much.
J: "Whatever. *biggg sigh* When (Manager) is here you guys go faster."

Now, I'm professional and I like my job and I'm not going to do anything like give you the wrong medication or not screw the cap on or something to punish bad customers. But, I will *not* rush for someone who is insulting me. I will type a little slower, maybe put their script in the fill station at a lower priority than a drive-through customer not currently in the store, I might triple-check the count. I put the Jerk's stuff after a couple other scripts and made sure it took 12.5 minutes, even though I actually could have had it done a couple minutes early.

The script gets filled in precisely 12.5 minutes, the pharmacist calls out Jerk's name. Jerk has wandered off. A few minutes later he returns.
"You took longer than you said! It's been 14.5 minutes!"
Me: "Actually, I've had it done for two minute, you just weren't at the counter." With that I walk away to let the pharmacist dispense and I get on the phone with insurance. The guy then starts talking to the pharmacist about me.
J: "Looks like your help finally decided to work!"
Me: *speechless with rage, I turn my back to the customer and pretend not to hear him*
The customer continues to bitch and I just keep my back turned until he left.

What a butthead! Luckily, the nice customers outweigh the entitled pricks like this guy. I wish customers realized that being nice pays off - we will do everything in our power to help the nice ones, while we will do an adequate job for the jerks. For my favorites, I will call pharmacies all around town looking for an out of stock medication - the jerks will be directed to a phonebook. If someone nicely explains why they need their medication ASAP, I will try to put them to the front if possible and shave off some minutes - if someone instead *demands* that I work faster, I will not. It's not like I'll spit in someone's cough syrup or something, but I won't bust my *** for an ***.

 

[ladifantasy]

ok, so earlier today a lady dropped off a new script at the drive-thru 15 mins before the store closes. it was for some C-2 patches. i asked her if she wants the generic or brand. she said generic...but i didnt have any generics in stock. so i told her that. so she asked me to run it through her insurance for the brand to see how much it will cost her. it came out to be about 35 bucks. she said ok, she'll take the brand. so she came inside the store to wait for it. then after i rung her up, she left the store with no probs. then 2 mins before its time to close, she drove back through the drive-thru and asked for a refund because she wanted the generic instead. she didnt like the manufacturer of the brand. we didnt have the generic in stock, so we gave her the refund and script back. i think customers just love to drive us nuts...

i also hate it when people talk softly in the drive-thru with their loud engine running...and expecting me to hear them. then they get pissed off when i asked them to repeat themselves many times or talk louder.

 

[hngo003]

A couple of weeks ago, I had a customer who got pissed that her medications weren't ready. She dropped off prescriptions with a total of 9 medications to be filled. Usually, I told her that it takes about 40 minutes to an hour to prepare these, depending on how busy the pharmacy was. I even told her that it might take a while since there are a lot of medications to be processed and filled. From the start, she gave me a fit about having a wait time that long.

She was like, "Can't it be done less than 15 minutes? You guys aren't busy."

Yes, it's not as busy now, but with only one pharmacist and myself working in the pharmacy, it can easily get crazy.

The whole time, the customer kept on staring at me as if it would make me go faster. It doesn't make me go faster; the staring makes me feel uncomfortable and lose focus.

After 15 minutes of processing the prescriptions while multitasking on my other responsibilities, I give it to the pharmacist to fill. Of course, the pharmacist is occupied with a customer.

After 40 minutes, she was finally able to pick up the medications. She was very pissed. She blamed on me for the wait time. She even blamed on me for having a patient who waited in line behind her have his medication ready faster than her's. Her prescriptions (9 medications total) vs. his prescription (1 prescription of eye drops)....geez, I wonder which will be done faster, lol.

To top that, she also blamed on me for taking away her daughter's studying time who was there with her. Umm...why is she not home studying? lol And yes, she's going to fail for not studying for the past 40 minutes. Oye...

She wouldn't let her frustrations go as she was paying for her medications and stated again and again that she will not come back to our pharmacy again. Geez...no impatience and understanding at all.