CVS to Kroger Pharmacist??

[asmaabadr]

HI all,
Thinking of switching to Kroger,been a pharmacist with CVS for more than a year and been an intern with them for longer,I m tired of no breaks ,very little tech help,and the super stressful day"and I catuall a very laied back person".
I hear at Kroger they make a lot less rx # A DAY,but I hear they have a lot less tech help and the computer system is really bad , like it does not convert brand to generic and it does not carry pill images on the verification screen so it is a little bit more work,but I mean how little could tech help be ,we usually do more than 250 rx a day with less than 20 tech hours/day.
Any thought please?

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[nnguyenc]

i think a job is what you make of it

got to learn how to deal with stress

 

[Style]

HI all,
Thinking of switching to Kroger,been a pharmacist with CVS for more than a year and been an intern with them for longer,I m tired of no breaks ,very little tech help,and the super stressful day"and I catuall a very laied back person".
I hear at Kroger they make a lot less rx # A DAY,but I hear they have a lot less tech help and the computer system is really bad , like it does not convert brand to generic and it does not carry pill images on the verification screen so it is a little bit more work,but I mean how little could tech help be ,we usually do more than 250 rx a day with less than 20 tech hours/day.
Any thought please?

Doesn't the new system that Kroger has out now have those sort of upgrades you are speaking of such as the pill images?

The Krogers that I've been at generally appear more relaxed than your average CVS pharmacy even if Kroger may have less tech help, but that is just my observation.

 

[Chiral]

Doesn't the new system that Kroger has out now have those sort of upgrades you are speaking of such as the pill images?

The Krogers that I've been at generally appear more relaxed than your average CVS pharmacy even if Kroger may have less tech help, but that is just my observation.

Honestly, I have worked for kroger for almost two years now, as a tech, and it all depends on where you work and who your is manager. Sometimes we will process more than 250+ scripts a day (not including refills). We have only 1 pharmacist on shift and he/she has his/her lunch in the pharmacy. We only have 3 techs, on ave, and we always feel we are short handed. I have heard of worst when we transitioned to the new system that some locations were processing 300 to 400 new scripts and then the new system rolled out and numbers drop drastically.

But they have excellent benefits and travel opportunities for pharmacist... best of luck

 

[MountainPharmD]

HI all,
Thinking of switching to Kroger,been a pharmacist with CVS for more than a year and been an intern with them for longer,I m tired of no breaks ,very little tech help,and the super stressful day"and I catuall a very laied back person".
I hear at Kroger they make a lot less rx # A DAY,but I hear they have a lot less tech help and the computer system is really bad , like it does not convert brand to generic and it does not carry pill images on the verification screen so it is a little bit more work,but I mean how little could tech help be ,we usually do more than 250 rx a day with less than 20 tech hours/day.
Any thought please?

The only way you could have less tech help than CVS is to have no techs at all. CVS is the pit of hell for retail pharmacists. Anywhere you go save for Walgreens will be a drastic improvement. At my store we average over 250 rx's a day with an average of 35 tech hours per day. The tech average includes Saturday and Sunday. Monday I have 48 tech hours scheduled to do 350- 400 rx's and 12 hours on Sunday to do about a 100 in six hours.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone works for CVS.

 

[mipharmd]

kroger now has split days where you end up working half days 3 days a week, one 12 hour day and every other weekend.. so no more three day weekends, and no more just working 3-4 days a week... you end up working half days but ur working almost everyday it seems.. every two weeks you work 6 days in a row..

their new system has all the updates so its not a bad system anymore.

 

[Style]

Honestly, I have worked for kroger for almost two years now, as a tech, and it all depends on where you work and who your is manager. Sometimes we will process more than 250+ scripts a day (not including refills). We have only 1 pharmacist on shift and he/she has his/her lunch in the pharmacy. We only have 3 techs, on ave, and we always feel we are short handed. I have heard of worst when we transitioned to the new system that some locations were processing 300 to 400 new scripts and then the new system rolled out and numbers drop drastically.

But they have excellent benefits and travel opportunities for pharmacist... best of luck

Can you share some of the excellent benefits and travel opportunities you speak of? Some people say that retail is retail and the benefits are comparable. Others would say that CVS and Walgreens overall has better benefits.

I believe one downside with Kroger as far as vacation goes is that you have to schedule it at the beginning of the year and you take your vacation a week at a time as opposed to having one or two days off here and there.

 

[Style]

The only way you could have less tech help than CVS is to have no techs at all. CVS is the pit of hell for retail pharmacists. Anywhere you go save for Walgreens will be a drastic improvement. At my store we average over 250 rx's a day with an average of 35 tech hours per day. The tech average includes Saturday and Sunday. Monday I have 48 tech hours scheduled to do 350- 400 rx's and 12 hours on Sunday to do about a 100 in six hours.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone works for CVS.

Do you currently work for CVS? If yes why do you continue to do so? For some reason, I feel like this question may have already been answered somewhere in this forum.

 

[Style]

kroger now has split days where you end up working half days 3 days a week, one 12 hour day and every other weekend.. so no more three day weekends, and no more just working 3-4 days a week... you end up working half days but ur working almost everyday it seems.. every two weeks you work 6 days in a row..

their new system has all the updates so its not a bad system anymore.

Hmm, at what state is is it like that? In South Texas a typical schedule for a Kroger pharmacist is that you work 3-4 days in a row before you get one or two days off. I'm unsure about 6 days in a row. Maybe this is a very recent change in their scheduling...

 

[MountainPharmD]

Hmm, at what state is is it like that? In South Texas a typical schedule for a Kroger pharmacist is that you work 3-4 days in a row before you get one or two days off. I'm unsure about 6 days in a row. Maybe this is a very recent change in their scheduling...

Texas...That is the official corporate schedule. Its been that way for a long time from what I have been told.

 

[crazybob]

I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone works for CVS.

Does it pay better than Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Kroger, etc?

Even in places without many Wal-Mart or Kroger stores, I thought there would be enough places like Rite Aid or Duane Reade.

 

[ancient]

I can only speak for my area but Kroger seems to be a better situation than CVS. Our store is busy enough that we always have two Pharmacists on duty during the week. That gives us the opportunity to leave the store and take a 1 hour lunch break most days. We have 4 Pharmacists so we only have to work every fourth weekend. Tech hours are adequate and benefits are good. Kroger does pay a bit less that the other chains, though. The new computer system that was just rolled out last year is actually pretty good, I like it better than the old PDX system we had before. We are open 9 to 9 instead of 8 to 10 (CVS) so that is a plus also.

 

[rx2010]

I can only speak for my area but Kroger seems to be a better situation than CVS. Our store is busy enough that we always have two Pharmacists on duty during the week. That gives us the opportunity to leave the store and take a 1 hour lunch break most days. We have 4 Pharmacists so we only have to work every fourth weekend. Tech hours are adequate and benefits are good. Kroger does pay a bit less that the other chains, though. The new computer system that was just rolled out last year is actually pretty good, I like it better than the old PDX system we had before. We are open 9 to 9 instead of 8 to 10 (CVS) so that is a plus also.

Does Kroger give yearly raises? They told me they assess your salary yearly, but I was afraid to ask if that meant it can possibly go down as well. Do they ever lower your salary or can it only increase?

 

[ancient]

I have never heard of anyone's salary going down. My anniversary date is coming up in a few months so I will let you know.

 

[Style]

I can only speak for my area but Kroger seems to be a better situation than CVS. Our store is busy enough that we always have two Pharmacists on duty during the week. That gives us the opportunity to leave the store and take a 1 hour lunch break most days. We have 4 Pharmacists so we only have to work every fourth weekend. Tech hours are adequate and benefits are good. Kroger does pay a bit less that the other chains, though. The new computer system that was just rolled out last year is actually pretty good, I like it better than the old PDX system we had before. We are open 9 to 9 instead of 8 to 10 (CVS) so that is a plus also.

Must be nice to only have to work every fourth weekend and also be able to take a hour lunch break. I wonder if I can find a Kroger pharmacy that does that much volume in my area, because the typical schedule for a Kroger pharmacist in Texas is to work every other weekend.

 

[MountainPharmD]

Must be nice to only have to work every fourth weekend and also be able to take a hour lunch break. I wonder if I can find a Kroger pharmacy that does that much volume in my area, because the typical schedule for a Kroger pharmacist in Texas is to work every other weekend.

It depends on the volume. At higher volume Krogers in Texas you only work every third weekend and do not do 12 hour shifts. The every other weekend schedule is for the slower volume stores.

 

[rx2010]

I have never heard of anyone's salary going down. My anniversary date is coming up in a few months so I will let you know.

Thanks! I just asked a pharmacist who's been working for Kroger for 3 years, and she said they usually assess your salary to give raises, but with the current economy, it may not be much.

 

[scavok]

I have been at King Soopers (Colorado Kroger chain) for 8 years now (6 tech and 2 intern) and plan on working for them when I'm done with school. I've worked part time at a lot of other pharmacies to help ends meet and then through interning too and I gotta say that the King Soopers is by far the best. Not too busy, not so slow that the days drag. We do around 400 scripts a day but are more than adequately staffed with 3 pharmacists and 5 techs (or 4 techs and me).

The computers take getting used to but are fast, paperless and have good security (prevents a tech from selling an rx without counseling if the pharmacist puts a note on it as well as other stuff like that).

Coming in with no seniority you may be in the floater pool for a while, but its still worth it to get out ov CVS in my opinion

 

[scavok]

Does Kroger give yearly raises? They told me they assess your salary yearly, but I was afraid to ask if that meant it can possibly go down as well. Do they ever lower your salary or can it only increase?

Some krogers (most?) are union involved so it depends on their individual contracts. Here in colorado the unionized pharmacists do not get bonuses but are guaranteed at least $0.36 an hour raise every year (almost always more).

 

[MountainPharmD]

I have been at King Soopers (Colorado Kroger chain) for 8 years now (6 tech and 2 intern) and plan on working for them when I'm done with school. I've worked part time at a lot of other pharmacies to help ends meet and then through interning too and I gotta say that the King Soopers is by far the best. Not too busy, not so slow that the days drag. We do around 400 scripts a day but are more than adequately staffed with 3 pharmacists and 5 techs (or 4 techs and me).

The computers take getting used to but are fast, paperless and have good security (prevents a tech from selling an rx without counseling if the pharmacist puts a note on it as well as other stuff like that).

Coming in with no seniority you may be in the floater pool for a while, but its still worth it to get out ov CVS in my opinion

King Soopers is the gold standard for retail. Primarily due to the fact the Pharmacists and technicians are in a union. I miss my days therer. 3 Pharmacists, plenty of tech help, only work every third weekend, three day weekened every third week. We also got a 1 hour lunch everyday. We also got paid time and a half for over time. It was pretty good.

 

[PumpkinSmasher]

King Soopers is the gold standard for retail. Primarily due to the fact the Pharmacists and technicians are in a union. I miss my days therer. 3 Pharmacists, plenty of tech help, only work every third weekend, three day weekened every third week. We also got a 1 hour lunch everyday. We also got paid time and a half for over time. It was pretty good.

Sounds like a pretty sweet retail gig. I imagine it is tough to get in with them right now though.

 

[kmb71179]

I have been with Kroger for 10 years, 3 as a pharmacist and I am very happy with them.

We have had the new computer system a year at my store and we like it. My store does 2000 a week and has 3 pharmacists so we do every 3rd weekend. We are open 9-9 M-F, Sat 9-7, and Sunday 11-7. I get about 220 technician hours a week. We do not get a scheduled lunch break, so we eat when we can. Additionally, we determine our own RPh schedule. As far as vacation, this year our division has allowed us to take one week a day at a time and the remainder as full weeks. I know I don't get paid as much as the CVS or Wal-Green's RPh's, but I would rather the company give me additional tech hours, so it is not that bad of a trade off to me.

Overall, will you EVER really have enough tech help. As a manager, I set my expectations of each employee and we cross-train EVERYONE. I don't expect anyone in the pharmacy to do something I wouldn't do myself. It's a stressful job regardless of where you work, but we are greatly compensated for it.

Not every Kroger Pharmacy is the same (trust me, I have worked OT at some of them ). Just as all Wal-Green's, CVS, Target, etc are not the same. Your work-life is what you make of it regardless of who you work for.

P.S. Kroger now REQUIRES you to be immunization certified in order to be a pharmacist.

 

[MountainPharmD]

We have had the new computer system a year at my store and we like it. My store does 2000 a week and has 3 pharmacists so we do every 3rd weekend. We are open 9-9 M-F, Sat 9-7, and Sunday 11-7. I get about 220 technician hours a week. We do not get a scheduled lunch break, so we eat when we can. Additionally, we determine our own RPh schedule. .

I like the new computer system. It was easy to learn and once you get it down it does make things easier. I like the All Rx Status which tells you where every prescription for a particular patient is.

Wow 2000 a week and only 220 tech hours? You must not have a drive thorough. Either that or they are taking some of your tech hours away because you have three full time pharmacists. We occasionally do 1900 and I get 280 techs hours for that. Of course I only have 2 and a half pharmacists and we have a drive through.

I know I don't get paid as much as the CVS or Wal-Green's RPh's, but I would rather the company give me additional tech hours, so it is not that bad of a trade off to me.

I wouldn't work for CVS or Walgreens even if they paid double what I make now. The slight pay difference is not worth the hell you would have to go through everyday. For comaprison sake the CVS across the street from me is a 24 hour store and does double the volume we do. They have the same amount of Pharmacist hours and half the tech hours we do. I do not know how or why anyone works there.

Overall, will you EVER really have enough tech help. As a manager, I set my expectations of each employee and we cross-train EVERYONE. I don't expect anyone in the pharmacy to do something I wouldn't do myself. It's a stressful job regardless of where you work, but we are greatly compensated for it.

Not every Kroger Pharmacy is the same (trust me, I have worked OT at some of them ). Just as all Wal-Green's, CVS, Target, etc are not the same. Your work-life is what you make of it regardless of who you work for.

P.S. Kroger now REQUIRES you to be immunization certified in order to be a pharmacist.

Yep every where I have ever worked we have always complained about not having enough tech hours. I look back and can only wish I had that many tech hours now. Complaining about not enough techs hours is something we have always done and always will do.

The key to a well run pharmacy is good well trained technicians. It doesn't matter how many hours you have if you have bad technicians.

 

[kmb71179]

We don't have a drive-thru, but we are about to get a much needed remodel and we will be getting a walk up window.

Drive-thru's are evil. Pharmacies are not Burger King, it's not your way right away!!!

Kroger-4-Life

 

[MountainPharmD]

We don't have a drive-thru, but we are about to get a much needed remodel and we will be getting a walk up window.

Drive-thru's are evil. Pharmacies are not Burger King, it's not your way right away!!!

Kroger-4-Life

We got a walk-up window at my old store. I do not get it but Kroger seems to like it. Drive through or not retail pharmacy is all about the fast food your way right away RIGHT NOW!!!!

Consider yourself lucky. The newer stores they are building not only have a drive thorugh but a double drive through! Woo Hoo!!!!

 

[klein82887]

Perspective from a low-volume Kroger -

I'm a tech at the Kroger Superstore in Blacksburg, VA. (Go Hokies!) Going to be headed to MCV/VCU next year.

Anyhow, we do around 140/150 average a day and have a drive-thru. We only get people in spurts. The new system is fine if you teach yourself how to work with the fallacies. ex. some Rxs go to our Data Entry que and some go to our Inbound Comm. que. When sent electronically or non-linkage between the brand and generics in the system. IMO the most frequent errors/problems I experience are just still helping the older techs adapting to the new system - having them check data entry/adjudication frequently, using the All Rx search to find Rxs instead of asking every single other person individually.

Ok now I'm ranting. All in all, it really isn't bad. I enjoy my work and the time I spend there. Try to get a low-volume store!

 

[clachan3]

HI all,
Thinking of switching to Kroger,been a pharmacist with CVS for more than a year and been an intern with them for longer,I m tired of no breaks ,very little tech help,and the super stressful day"and I catuall a very laied back person".
I hear at Kroger they make a lot less rx # A DAY,but I hear they have a lot less tech help and the computer system is really bad , like it does not convert brand to generic and it does not carry pill images on the verification screen so it is a little bit more work,but I mean how little could tech help be ,we usually do more than 250 rx a day with less than 20 tech hours/day.
Any thought please?

I have worked at a slower store (under 100 rx per day) I actually feel more comfortable filling at 160 or so per shift. I can't imagine having extra time to do ... I don't even know what to do. I guess some kind of community/clinic type of thing would be fun, but I'm not a very creative person. I can show you how/what to do in 5 minutes, but I can't handle teaching classes (one of my rotations at a grocery store, my preceptor was teaching weight loss classes). I don't know where I'm going with this, but I know the constant cash register beeping noise at Kroger would drive me nuts

 

[297point1]

King Soopers is the gold standard for retail. Primarily due to the fact the Pharmacists and technicians are in a union. I miss my days therer. 3 Pharmacists, plenty of tech help, only work every third weekend, three day weekened every third week. We also got a 1 hour lunch everyday. We also got paid time and a half for over time. It was pretty good.

A union? In retail pharmacy?

Details please if you've got them!!

 

[MountainPharmD]

A union? In retail pharmacy?

Details please if you've got them!!

Nothing secret about it. The Pharmacists with King Soopers in Colorado are represented by a labor union. The contract stated time and a half for over time over 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Pharmacists had to be hourly so they got paid for exactly what they worked. Mandatory lunches and breaks and compensation if they were missed i.e. on the weekend. No more than one manager per pharmacy i.e. no assistants. Staffing ratios were in the contract. The technicians were also union. It was a good deal. I miss it everyday.

 

[297point1]

Nothing secret about it. The Pharmacists with King Soopers in Colorado are represented by a labor union. The contract stated time and a half for over time over 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Pharmacists had to be hourly so they got paid for exactly what they worked. Mandatory lunches and breaks and compensation if they were missed i.e. on the weekend. No more than one manager per pharmacy i.e. no assistants. Staffing ratios were in the contract. The technicians were also union. It was a good deal. I miss it everyday.

How did this get organized? Did King Soopers decide to add pharmacy services to its stores, and pharmacy/technicians got rolled into an existing union? Did the pharmacists/technicians at existing stores vote to unionize?

And if it was the latter, what's preventing pharmacists at other stores from doing the same (other than the obvious lack of vertebrae)

This is fascinating...are there any more retail shops that are unionized?

Thanks in advance for the insight!

 

[Harry007]

Great team Union.

I am from Rite aid, I handle daily 150 to 200 Rx...but the system ok...they are planning of getting central which reduce load in store. lett see..any idea about the central fill ...in yours.

 

[MountainPharmD]

How did this get organized? Did King Soopers decide to add pharmacy services to its stores, and pharmacy/technicians got rolled into an existing union? Did the pharmacists/technicians at existing stores vote to unionize?

And if it was the latter, what's preventing pharmacists at other stores from doing the same (other than the obvious lack of vertebrae)

This is fascinating...are there any more retail shops that are unionized?

Thanks in advance for the insight!

Kings has been union forever. Colorado is actually a big union state. It goes back to the gold mining days.

The technicians are part of the same union as the grocery store, The United Food and Commercial Workers or UFCW. It was interesting come contract negotiation time. If the store goes on stike so do your technicians. The Pharmacists were part of The United Steel Workers Union I think.