CVS manager rant

[Aznfarmerboi]

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We did 600 yesterday on 40 hours and we actually felt better staffed than our typical 400 scripts on 32 hours. I think it was because production could just count and not get pulled around between pick-up/drive through like a pinball machine due to someone being dedicated to these stations. Plus a large portion of that was ReadyFill. I agree though I think if I was a pharmacist I'd rather have more techs as opposed to overlap. Overlap would only outweigh an extra 2 techs during flu season though an intern would solve this problem too.

I did ~650 yesterday with 60 tech hours and 2 pharmacists.

Yesterday was busy for us because it was right after Memorial day weekend and a Jewish holiday. I probably could have done more scripts because half of my doctor's call were still not done. (50-60 requests)...

Although that is what we do average on a Tuesday with 50 tech hours usually...

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

In a sense, I have "failed" at CVS since using the workstation assignment board is one way to enforce fairness and get techs proficient at everything. In reality they know to help customers first without the help of the board, know their secondary roles, etc. (One possible explanation is that with no PIC or staff pharmacists for a long time those stupid enough not to quit figured out what causes the least amount of customer bitching and moaning.) MySchedule can generate assignments but it won't populate assignments with PSAs/tech trainees and half my "real" techs aren't good at anything anyway.

CVS survives as a company in part due to suckers like me who will tolerate verifying ~650 scripts (on 48 tech hours so it wasn't that bad) because bad floaters leave a mess behind and **** up your CII counts (the day after Memorial Day no less).

I heard at Walmart the trade-off is fewer tech hours with more pharmacists. I really wouldn't like working with a ****ty pharmacist as a co-worker since it's already bad enough having to clean up floater messes like 90-150 late scripts the first thing in the morning (again more CVS Stockholm syndrome).

This!!!!!

Most floaters are people who need more development and can not handle the usual volume at CVS. While they might suck at our stores, they are average outside of the company from quirky and weird to awesome because they are caring.

I don't hate them because I understand it is not their fault and wonder how CVS would be if we were all staffed as "regular" RPhs.

About WSAB... I don't know anyone who uses them. I think it can be a useful tool... but my store runs like we are using a WSAB without using one anyway. I can do a better job of rotating staff.... but at least I rotate them which I cant say for most of the stores out there.

 

[BMBiology]

I am in the top percentage paid in terms of pharmacist salary so I don't want to out myself. However my base is a little bit shy of 160k... and like other PICs here, is probably on track to making 180-220k for the year once you factor in over time, bonuses, stock options, vacation pay, and holiday pay.

I also invest my money wisely like Warios etc, so I get my 15 percent ESPP bonus yearly and my 401k match which is 5 percent of my salary.

In addition, I also get corporate benefits such as their car fleet discount so I saved a few thousand on my Mercedes after negotiating hard, commuter benefits, etc.

Here is my compensation benefits for 2015:

Base: 159,xxx
Holiday: 3,xxx (factoring in 6 paid national holidays)
Lump Sum merit: 2,xxx (given when your salary is capped)
Pharmacist incentive: 5,xxx (I got 10,xxx last year)
Vacation pay and Vacation pay prior: 3 weeks... and any time un-used is paid out the year after. I always have a few hours un-used...

I also have 401k match which is ~8,xxx
I have stock options which is usually ~3,xxx after cashed but granted at 1.5k
I have ESPP @25,500 with a 15 percent discount... which is ~3.8k

My minimum compensation is 180k. I usually pick up 1-2 shifts every pay check.... which is approximately 25 to 30k a year depending on the shifts.

All together, I am probably going to end the year with a compensation of 200-210k.

With my investments such
ESPP return... my last grant price was 59.84 and 64.63 respectively when the stock is at 103 this year..., so I made about 10k
401k return... it goes up and down my annualized return is 17 percent the last 3 years. ~20k last year
Real estate...
Stock...

I have so many investments that I cant keep track of it because how do you value real estate, and my stocks go up or down a few k every day but I made a return of at least 10 - 15 percent last year. This year, my stocks are up about 5 percent...

Including everything (OT, ESSP, etc), what is the salary difference between you working as a PIC vs staff pharmacist?

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

Including everything (OT, ESSP, etc), what is the salary difference between you working as a PIC vs staff pharmacist?

It depends on how many years of experience my staff pharmacists have, and if they are over night or not.

A new grad starts at 120k.

A staff Rph with a lot of retail experiences, 130-140k.

An overnights, 140-150k.

My base is 160k for comparison.

They also get a little bit less stock options than I do and half the bonus. I got 10k last year, they get 5k. I got 5.5k this year and they got 2.25k.

Over all, a PIC raise should be a lot more than a staff...

 

[BMBiology]

It depends on how many years of experience my staff pharmacists have, and if they are over night or not.

A new grad starts at 120k.

A staff Rph with a lot of retail experiences, 130-140k.

An overnights, 140-150k.

My base is 160k for comparison.

They also get a little bit less stock options than I do and half the bonus. I got 10k last year, they get 5k. I got 5.5k this year and they got 2.25k.

Over all, a PIC raise should be a lot more than a staff...

I am talking about you. If you had worked just as hard but chose to work as a staff pharmacist instead of a PIC, what is the salary difference today?

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

I am talking about you. If you had worked just as hard but chose to work as a staff pharmacist instead of a PIC, what is the salary difference today?

I would probably be making 130k ish base.

Overall, I am making 30k more in a span of 5 years for doing the same amount of work that my staffs are doing but with extra liability and stress if something goes wrong. (Think compliance, regulatory, hiring, developing people, leading by example, etc)

Over 10 years, I will be making 300-400k than I would if I was a staff for the same amount of effort.

Knowing myself, if I was a staff, I would have probably quit CVS and opened my pharmacy a few years back. Staff pharmacists generally have less meetings, less things to do on their time off than a PIC... and can venture into other things.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

I would probably be making 130k ish base.

Overall, I am making 30k more in a span of 5 years for doing the same amount of work that my staffs are doing but with extra liability and stress if something goes wrong. (Think compliance, regulatory, hiring, developing people, leading by example, etc)

Over 10 years, I will be making 300-400k than I would if I was a staff for the same amount of effort.

Knowing myself, if I was a staff, I would have probably quit CVS and opened my pharmacy a few years back. Staff pharmacists generally have less meetings, less things to do on their time off than a PIC... and can venture into other things.

Just curious, what kinds of things do you have to do on your time off? How many hours/days do you work without paid extra shifts? When I was in retail one of my favorite things was only working 40 hours per week.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

Just curious, what kinds of things do you have to do on your time off? How many hours/days do you work without paid extra shifts? When I was in retail one of my favorite things was only working 40 hours per week.

The thing that drives me nut is people calling out. I feel like I spend a lot of time calling up stores, texting people, etc to see if they can cover shifts.

Training... I feel like there are 3 to 4 modules every month. Tracking training for a lot of staff members is a bitch also. When you think about all the stuff we have to do in-store, doing modules almost always happen on our days off.

District and region meetings consists of 1 to 2 every other month that takes up the entire day. It sucks because days off are hard on a lot of us especially with the new split schedules that we have to do. I also have to go in for my CPR re certification next month.

Extra shifts are plenty and if I don't take some of them, my store goes to ****ter because of floaters and no over lap for my partners.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

The thing that drives me nut is people calling out. I feel like I spend a lot of time calling up stores, texting people, etc to see if they can cover shifts.

Training... I feel like there are 3 to 4 modules every month. Tracking training for a lot of staff members is a bitch also. When you think about all the stuff we have to do in-store, doing modules almost always happen on our days off.

District and region meetings consists of 1 to 2 every other month that takes up the entire day. It sucks because days off are hard on a lot of us especially with the new split schedules that we have to do. I also have to go in for my CPR re certification next month.

Extra shifts are plenty and if I don't take some of them, my store goes to ****ter because of floaters and no over lap for my partners.

I think I would float or staff and pickup extra shifts. Better yet go to a grocery store chain. They pay about the same or better for a lot less stress, depending on the region. You would be a superstar at one of those places.

 

[M0df]

Would the company drop your rate if you stepped down? I hear a lot of conflicting information on that. It would make sense for them to do it but I have seen some who got to keep their rate.

There are 3-4 mandatory company wide meetings every year. You only get to paid for 1 of them. It seems your district has a few more meetings.

Either way 5-10% a year is only worth it if you can get it for "the same amount of effort." But since you would have owned your own pharmacy and probably done well, I am not sure how much you are really ahead.

 

[FarmD711]

Would the company drop your rate if you stepped down? I hear a lot of conflicting information on that. It would make sense for them to do it but I have seen some who got to keep their rate.

There are 3-4 mandatory company wide meetings every year. You only get to paid for 1 of them. It seems your district has a few more meetings.

Either way 5-10% a year is only worth it if you can get it for "the same amount of effort." But since you would have owned your own pharmacy and probably done well, I am not sure how much you are really ahead.

You get paid for one meeting a year? We don't get paid for any of them and have to use vacation time or make up the hours if we are scheduled in our store that day.

 

[owlegrad]

Would the company drop your rate if you stepped down? I hear a lot of conflicting information on that. It would make sense for them to do it but I have seen some who got to keep their rate.

My guess is it depends where on the payscale you are. I assume that PICs have a higher cap and if you are at the top they may require a pay cut to step down. I can say my pay wasn't cut, but I was no where near the top. It may depend on other factors as well.

 

[FarmD711]

My guess is it depends where on the payscale you are. I assume that PICs have a higher cap and if you are at the top they may require a pay cut to step down. I can say my pay wasn't cut, but I was no where near the top. It may depend on other factors as well.

Going through this process now. I'll let you know what I find out. I don't think I'm at the cap but I've gotten some big raises the last two years so we'll see.

 

[doublehh03]

Would the company drop your rate if you stepped down? I hear a lot of conflicting information on that. It would make sense for them to do it but I have seen some who got to keep their rate.

There are 3-4 mandatory company wide meetings every year. You only get to paid for 1 of them. It seems your district has a few more meetings.

Either way 5-10% a year is only worth it if you can get it for "the same amount of effort." But since you would have owned your own pharmacy and probably done well, I am not sure how much you are really ahead.

I think if you step down, your pay rate does go down. Staff rph and PICs have a different pay grade according to CVS (just like sups have higher pay grad, then DMs, then regional managers).

Each pay grade has a max rate. So if your rate is within that range, then most likely not. If it exceeds, then most likely your pay rate will be downgraded b/c you can't exceed the pay grade max.

 

[M0df]

The engagement meeting in the fall usually gets compensated.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

The engagement meeting in the fall usually gets compensated.

Lucky... we don't get compensated for the engagement meeting.

I think the pay stays the same when you get demoted... except you will be super capped for a few years.

 

[FarmD711]

The engagement meeting in the fall usually gets compensated.

We do not get compensated for this

 

[Son_Goku]

It depends on how many years of experience my staff pharmacists have, and if they are over night or not.

A new grad starts at 120k.

A staff Rph with a lot of retail experiences, 130-140k.

An overnights, 140-150k.

My base is 160k for comparison.

They also get a little bit less stock options than I do and half the bonus. I got 10k last year, they get 5k. I got 5.5k this year and they got 2.25k.

Over all, a PIC raise should be a lot more than a staff...

Lol put the koolaid down bro. New grads at CVS aren't making anywhere near 120k. Aren't you in the middle of nowhere as well?

 

[Sparda29]

Lol put the koolaid down bro. New grads at CVS aren't making anywhere near 120k. Aren't you in the middle of nowhere as well?

Nope, he's in the NYC/Long Island area.

 

[veneto1]

I was offered exactly 120K for CVS in a very desirable area...I am a new grad.

 

[dblock05]

Lol put the koolaid down bro. New grads at CVS aren't making anywhere near 120k. Aren't you in the middle of nowhere as well?

128k in Kansas city/overland park area. And while its not chicago...its not really a bad area either.

 

[Son_Goku]

Nope, he's in the NYC/Long Island area.

Then his standard pay isn't all that different to a person making 120K in a less expensive place to live. Makes sense. Not to mention the state taxes.

 

[Sine Cura]

In fact I started above $65 as a new grad in what would be considered the middle of nowhere by most people (it can be characterized by what it doesn't have--no IMAX, no Costco, no Vietnamese restaurants, no class, etc.) but is still a metropolitan statistical area (~200k) in 2014.

 

[KidMelody]

I am a CVS manager and just hired on at at another pharmacy so will be leaving. Final straw for me is not having any say in my schedule in a few months and being forced to split shifts. 340b contracts also suck (getting 40 plus totes of outside vender that has to be scanned in every 2 weeks). And I have been in the top ten stores for metrics quite often in the past. CVS seems to want to drive their experienced people away.

 

[mustang sally]

I'm probably out of the loop here, but why would people agree to go to meetings that they're not getting paid for? Seems crazy to me.

 

[Sine Cura]

Refusing to go to a meeting could be considered insubordination, which would be a reason to write someone up.

 

[waiter]

rant