does anyone else have to be strip searched before leaving store??

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pharmagal

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New rule:
Before leaving store, all employees must have purses, lunch boxes, and any purchases made inspected before video cameras. This does not apply to the district manager, pharmacy supervisor, tech trainer, or loss prevention person. What's with that??? I, of course, have all of the goodies stuffed in my bra;), Anyone else?
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I never come to work dressed up, I usually just put all my dress clothes in a duffel bag, and arrive like 10 minutes early to change, then change out into my hang out clothes after I'm done. Of course, they go through the bag, but recently they've become pricks and want the entire bag emptied out in front of the camera, instead of just looking around.

Also, if I'm going on a break, I have to get my white coat checked? WTF? Are they really that stupid, if I wanted to steal drugs, I'd put them in my pants pockets.
 
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this HAS to be a joke. A funny one at that.
 
That's not strip searching, unless you're taking all your clothes off.

In our store, we have to get our bags inspected as well. It's not in front of a camera though, and we don't have to empty them. The LP just looks around inside the bag.
 
Wow, that sucks a lot. No trust eh?

No one watches the watchers, hmm? Seems like they would be in the best position to steal if they wanted to.
 
They basically frisk my white coat to check for stuff. I don't mind it much most of the time since the person who does the frisking is a pretty hot female at our store.

qualitynod.gif
 
I'm with sparda. If someone wanted to steal drugs, you wouldn't be putting them in your purse/bag/labcoat...
 
Dezixn said:
I'm with sparda. If someone wanted to steal drugs, you wouldn't be putting them in your purse/bag/labcoat...
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I heard of some pretty sneaky **** that people do so that they don't go on camera. So let's say the person is counting pills from a bottle of Lorazepam. They finish counting whatever, and throw the stock bottle into the garbage even though it has pills in it.

Later, when their shift is over, they go to throw out the garbage and remove the bottle from the garbage in the back room.
 
I've never been searched at a pharmacy as an employee or customer. I would suggest you find another job if your employeer is that distrusting.
 
Employers do this because employees steal. It's that simple. When I came to CVS about 10 years ago their stock had taken a major stumble and one of the main reasons is they could not control shrink. One of the main drivers of shrink is employee theft. It's sad but true. Now CVS is very conscious of theft. It doesn't bother me at all as I don't steal. As for doing it front of a camera, that's for your protection. I also stand on the customer side of the counter when I buy anything as that also protects me. Any time somebody steals it's less money for me....
 
Old Timer said:
Employers do this because employees steal. It's that simple. When I came to CVS about 10 years ago their stock had taken a major stumble and one of the main reasons is they could not control shrink. One of the main drivers of shrink is employee theft. It's sad but true. Now CVS is very conscious of theft. It doesn't bother me at all as I don't steal. As for doing it front of a camera, that's for your protection. I also stand on the customer side of the counter when I buy anything as that also protects me. Any time somebody steals it's less money for me....
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That just seems excessive to me. Everything I buy I always go behind the counter but I tape the receipt to everything I buy. If it's a coke then I put the receipt over the coke label, if it's a box of milk duds I put the receipt on the box and keep it with me.

Maybe I'm just too good of an employee or something.
 
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renetto said:
That just seems excessive to me. Everything I buy I always go behind the counter but I tape the receipt to everything I buy. If it's a coke then I put the receipt over the coke label, if it's a box of milk duds I put the receipt on the box and keep it with me.

Maybe I'm just too good of an employee or something.
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At my store, if we buy something, we have to get it rung up at the front end. Takes up a lot of time. When I was working Friday one of the cashiers actually told me that I'll get written up if I buy stuff while on the clock. Since it was a front end cashier, I didn't really care. Well, time wouldn't be wasted if we could have other people ring up our purchases in the pharmacy.
 
Haven't been asked to be searched yet so far. But really? The pharmacist?
 
stevephhs016 said:
Haven't been asked to be searched yet so far. But really? The pharmacist?
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Do you know how many pharmacists steal. It sets a good example for your staff. If you do it, they don't feel bad doing it.
 
I just don't like that there are exceptions to the rule. Do DMs get paid so much more then pharmacists that they wouldn't steal?
 
Old Timer said:
Do you know how many pharmacists steal. It sets a good example for your staff. If you do it, they don't feel bad doing it.
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I'm appalled by the pharmacists that steal. You make over $50/hour. You can't pay for that soap bar, or that hair gel??

Where is the decency these days?
 
Rockinacoustic said:
Honestly, out of all complaints I have about CVS this is at the bottom of the list. Just page manager to the front as you close up the pharmacy.
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it can be kinda humiliating..i remember one time on a sunday when we closed at 6...there were like 3 customers in line up front, and i had to wait for all of them to checkout...then there were 4 more in line..so the manager called for back up and came to search me..the guy tech had just left because he had no bag..but i had my backpack because i had a study group meeting afterward..and i didnt wanna leave my laptop in the car..so the mgr makes a huge deal of going through EVERY pocket, compartment, etc..
ALL the customers walking in and at the register were staring at me..i even heard one say "they must think her backpack is full of stuff" and the girl's friend goes "i wonder what she stole.." :rolleyes:
 
The only employees this will bother are the ones stealing. I do not steal so I do not care what they want me to do. It seems a little excessive to be searched in front of a video camera. The no bags, coats, lunch boxes ect. in the pharmacy policy is a good one.
 
stevephhs016 said:
I'm appalled by the pharmacists that steal. You make over $50/hour. You can't pay for that soap bar, or that hair gel??

Where is the decency these days?
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They are not worried about Pharmacists stealing bars of soap or hair gel. Try hydrocodone, alprazolam, carisoprodol and tussionex. Thoses are the things they are worried about pharmacy perssonnel taking.
 
Where I work, major shrinkage occurs with PPIs and CV drugs. I wish they would search the staff, though we've now got a camera on us in the drug storage area.

We were going through more lorazepam than could be accounted for by dr's orders. So I wrote a report to management, and moved the lorazepam into the narcotic safe, where every pill has to be accounted for and assigned to a specific patient. The following month, our lorazepam usage decreased by 75%.

As the person in charge of the drug inventory, I was hauled into the security manager's office when over 100 Percocet disappeared. I was cleared, but among other things, it's a huge pain in the butt whenever these things happen: reports to be filled out, "Drug Loss" form to complete and fax to the feds, etc.

I'm a mild-mannered person mostly, but seriously, if I caught somebody swiping narcotics and benzos, I'd be ready to brain them with my keyboard. These people are adding to my workload - and it reflects badly on healthcare staff.
 
Pharmavixen said:
We were going through more lorazepam than could be accounted for by dr's orders. So I wrote a report to management, and moved the lorazepam into the narcotic safe, where every pill has to be accounted for and assigned to a specific patient. The following month, our lorazepam usage decreased by 75%.
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I have had the same thing happen with Viagra and Tussionex. Move them to the C-II safe and magically they are not short any more.
 
Sparda29 said:
I heard of some pretty sneaky **** that people do so that they don't go on camera. So let's say the person is counting pills from a bottle of Lorazepam. They finish counting whatever, and throw the stock bottle into the garbage even though it has pills in it.

Later, when their shift is over, they go to throw out the garbage and remove the bottle from the garbage in the back room.
Click to expand...

Lol. I didn't mean to turn this into a "how to steal thread" but yeah. There are plenty of ways you could get away with it. Not that I advocate stealing, just saying it can be done.

The whole "strip search" thing seems ridiculous.
We get checked, but the front store ppl aren't douches about it and they don't "strip search" or anything ridiculous.
 
MountainPharmD said:
The only employees this will bother are the ones stealing. I do not steal so I do not care what they want me to do. It seems a little excessive to be searched in front of a video camera. The no bags, coats, lunch boxes ect. in the pharmacy policy is a good one.
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Eh that's not always true. I can say I've never stolen from a place I worked at and the thought of being searched and having to empty my pockets still makes me uncomfortable. I just don't like it, in fact I have the opposite feeling that you do. You don't steal so you don't care if you get searched but I don't steal so I don't feel I should be searched in the first place.

But I guess to each his own, I'm like the John Madden of pharmacy except I'm not afraid of flying...just the security.
 
I thought these control measures were standard for most retail stores. I've worked at two CVS stores and one HEB Pharmacy (regional grocery chain in Texas), backpacks, bags, purses, and that sort of thing were not allowed in the pharmacy. At best, you could store it in a locker inside the store; otherwise, your best bet is to leave it in the trunk of your car.

As for the white coat, generally taking it home was discouraged, but you could do so only if your pockets had been checked. The pharmacist wouldn't do anything like pat a person down. Instead, typically you just had to turn your pockets inside out or some other quick demonstration to show that you weren't hoarding things in there.

Personally, I don't think it's that big of a deal. It adds an extra minute or two of downtime, and it's pretty inconvenient to not have a backpack with papers ready. However, it's not like they're doing an actual strip search.

In other words, the thread title is pretty sensationalistic.

--Garfield3d
 
What's the purpose of bringing a backpack? Is being a pharmacist like being a hiker?
 
renetto said:
What's the purpose of bringing a backpack? Is being a pharmacist like being a hiker?
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Or if you're coming from school to do your shift...

Personally, I'd try my hardest to find another job if people started searching through my things before I went home.

I've never stolen anything and try to be as honest as possible when I purchase OTC items. We do have policies in place, like for example, that no one can ring themselves up. But no one gets searched. It's a little demeaning.
 
FarscapeGirl said:
Or if you're coming from school to do your shift...
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That's what a car is for, unless you walk to work then I understand.

Sparda29 said:
Because I don't wear a shirt + tie + dress pants anywhere other than work.
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You don't change before you come to work? Don't most businesses find that unprofessional? I mean I would expect that at Wal-Mart but a pharmacy?
 
renetto said:
You don't change before you come to work? Don't most businesses find that unprofessional? I mean I would expect that at Wal-Mart but a pharmacy?
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I come to work like 10 minutes early, don't even go to the pharmacy, change into work clothes, leave the bag in the backroom, work, and then change back into street clothes before I leave. I did the same **** for rotations and the preceptors didn't care as long as I was dressed professionally while I was working. Also, I'd rather not look like pharmacy personnel to other people (customers) when I'm entering or leaving the store, especially leaving the store.
 
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Sparda29 said:
I come to work like 10 minutes early, don't even go to the pharmacy, change into work clothes, leave the bag in the backroom, work, and then change back into street clothes before I leave. I did the same **** for rotations and the preceptors didn't care as long as I was dressed professionally while I was working. Also, I'd rather not look like pharmacy personnel to other people (customers) when I'm entering or leaving the store, especially leaving the store.
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I like this idea. You dont have to wear dress clothes any longer than necessary!:thumbup:
 
type b pharmD said:
I like this idea. You dont have to wear dress clothes any longer than necessary!:thumbup:
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Yeah, the 1st day of my community rotations, I walked into the store wearing new shirt + tie + pants and a shining white long coat, and the 1st thing I hear from the preceptor is, "take your white coat off before a patient sees you".
 
renetto said:
That's what a car is for, unless you walk to work then I understand.



You don't change before you come to work? Don't most businesses find that unprofessional? I mean I would expect that at Wal-Mart but a pharmacy?
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If you think leaving your laptop in your car is a good idea, then by all means, do it with your own. I live in Louisiana where the inside of a car can reach 90-100+ degrees within an hour easily. I'm also a musician and photographer. Often times, I am coming straight to work from or going straight from work to a place where I need either my instrument(s), camera backpack, or school backpack/laptop. Any of those items individually are worth upwards of $1500. Maybe it's because I'm not a pharmacist yet, but to me that's way more money and sentimental value than I'm willing to risk leaving in my car due to theft or temperature. If you can afford to lose that kind of stuff as a pharmacy student, more power to you. The Walgreen's I used to work at (which was in a very bad neighborhood) made a big deal when I brought my sax into the pharmacy (I had a gig right after work) and told me I had to leave it in my car because it didn't fit in a locker. I refused and said I would hold Walgreen's accountable if anything happened to it as a result, and they eventually let me put it in the manager's office.

Also, if I'm playing a gig or going out after work, I don't want to wear my dress clothes or scrubs out and get them all smoky smelling, so I think it's perfectly reasonable to bring a change of clothes to work.
 
By3Times1Minus1 said:
If you think leaving your laptop in your car is a good idea, then by all means, do it with your own. I live in Louisiana where the inside of a car can reach 90-100+ degrees within an hour easily. I'm also a musician and photographer. Often times, I am coming straight to work from or going straight from work to a place where I need either my instrument(s), camera backpack, or school backpack/laptop. Any of those items individually are worth upwards of $1500. Maybe it's because I'm not a pharmacist yet, but to me that's way more money and sentimental value than I'm willing to risk leaving in my car due to theft or temperature. If you can afford to lose that kind of stuff as a pharmacy student, more power to you. The Walgreen's I used to work at (which was in a very bad neighborhood) made a big deal when I brought my sax into the pharmacy (I had a gig right after work) and told me I had to leave it in my car because it didn't fit in a locker. I refused and said I would hold Walgreen's accountable if anything happened to it as a result, and they eventually let me put it in the manager's office.

Also, if I'm playing a gig or going out after work, I don't want to wear my dress clothes or scrubs out and get them all smoky smelling, so I think it's perfectly reasonable to bring a change of clothes to work.
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Again, why can't you go to your apartment/house/place where you sleep to put that stuff? Like I said, I understand if you walk straight from school to your rotation site but if you're like most then it just seems unprofessional to me. We don't use laptops for our rotations either.

Some of the stuff you said just seems to be an excess in my opinion.

Sparda29 said:
Yeah, the 1st day of my community rotations, I walked into the store wearing new shirt + tie + pants and a shining white long coat, and the 1st thing I hear from the preceptor is, "take your white coat off before a patient sees you".
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What was the purpose of this? Are they worried a patient will see you and start talking their head off to you about something?
 
renetto said:
Again, why can't you go to your apartment/house/place where you sleep to put that stuff? Like I said, I understand if you walk straight from school to your rotation site but if you're like most then it just seems unprofessional to me. We don't use laptops for our rotations either.

Some of the stuff you said just seems to be an excess in my opinion.



What was the purpose of this? Are they worried a patient will see you and start talking their head off to you about something?
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how is it unprofessional to bring stuff to your work to keep there while you work??? Or to change clothes at work? You're not doing any disservice to the pharmacy or the patients or disrespecting your coworkers. How is it unprofessional? Btw my boss sometimes wears track pants and a tank top to work.
 
renetto said:
Again, why can't you go to your apartment/house/place where you sleep to put that stuff? Like I said, I understand if you walk straight from school to your rotation site but if you're like most then it just seems unprofessional to me. We don't use laptops for our rotations either.

Some of the stuff you said just seems to be an excess in my opinion.
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As I mentioned, I didn't always have time to go all the way home from classes before work or go home after work to pick up stuff I would need for activities afterwards. If I go into work from home, I wear work attire, but that is not always the case (and even still I usually bring a change of clothes for after work). I am not talking about rotations, but I was referring more to my undergrad years (I'm still a tech, not an intern yet). The independent pharmacy I work at now is a 30 minute commute one way from my home. It's not practical or even possible to go drop off/pick up stuff or go home to change if I have to go somewhere right after work with my schedule. My pharmacists don't have a problem with us bringing a change of clothes if we need to. Maybe you live close to work/rotation sites, so it is more convenient for you than it is for some of us. I think it is fairly common practice in pharmacy from what I've experienced (why do most chains have personal lockers with hangers and all?), and I don't see changing clothes as unprofessional (no different than taking off your white coat and nametag when you get off - it's all work attire). Anyway, sorry for getting off-topic here.

Sparda29 said:
They believe in the "white coat syndrome" and think that white coats only belong in mental institutions.
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All the more reason to wear a white coat. Retail pharmacies ARE mental institutions, after all ;).
 
type b pharmD said:
how is it unprofessional to bring stuff to your work to keep there while you work??? Or to change clothes at work? You're not doing any disservice to the pharmacy or the patients or disrespecting your coworkers. How is it unprofessional? Btw my boss sometimes wears track pants and a tank top to work.
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Read the rest of his post, he talked about bringing a saxophone, photographer equipment, and a laptop. Why can't you go to your place of residence and leave it there, especially if you drive to these sites?
 
renetto said:
Read the rest of his post, he talked about bringing a saxophone, photographer equipment, and a laptop. Why can't you go to your place of residence and leave it there, especially if you drive to these sites?
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Yes, please read the rest of my post where I stated I didn't have time to go home. My store manager had chewed me out for being late coming straight from class as it was. I think there was a good chance of getting fired if I took even more time to go out of my way and bring stuff home. Have you ever worked 2 jobs, and had to go to one straight from the other? Most people bring their work equipment with them (in my case: my sax or photography gear). Most of the time, I got off work at 11PM and was supposed to be setting up at a gig by 10:30 which means I was already late to the gig before I got off work. Like I said, some of us have very hectic schedules at times that don't allow the luxury to stop at home between different obligations. Trust me, I would much rather leave my valuable belongings at home if I could.
 
renetto said:
That's what a car is for, unless you walk to work then I understand.



You don't change before you come to work? Don't most businesses find that unprofessional? I mean I would expect that at Wal-Mart but a pharmacy?
Click to expand...

Not everyone lives in suburbia. If your pharmacy is downtown, most likely, you wouldn't even be able to park there if you have a car (which you may not). You'll be taking public transportation. So your backpack with school stuff, your lunch, and your weather gear all has to come with you. And if you take public transportation, there's often not time to stop at home if you're planning to do something that evening, so you bring everything with you.
 
type b pharmD said:
how is it unprofessional to bring stuff to your work to keep there while you work??? Or to change clothes at work? You're not doing any disservice to the pharmacy or the patients or disrespecting your coworkers. How is it unprofessional? Btw my boss sometimes wears track pants and a tank top to work.
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i agree...i have access to locker rooms at the hospital, i've showered at work before, heck i've been offered a room to sleep in overnight in case snow storms shut down transportation options.

then again i work in a hospital, i mean unless you're actually on the clock in stretch pants and a tank top or something, or actively walking around the work area for an extended period of time in something completely inappropriate (on the clock or not), this is a non-issue.

my old retail store was in a bad area...you'd be dumb as rocks if you left anything of value in your car. so yeah, coming from class meant bringing my backpack and tossing it in the back office. not like i brought in a circus troupe to work.
 
renetto said:
I've never been searched at a pharmacy as an employee or customer. I would suggest you find another job if your employeer is that distrusting.
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Agreed!

Pharmacists are always complaining how the profession has deteriorated over the years and this is one of the reasons why. Anyone putting up with such treatment only perpetuates the problem.
 
Reason #8264015 to not work in retail. I can just imagine the reactions of some of the clinical pharmacists I know if some security peon wanted to search them before they left the hospital. Something along the lines of "Don't you know who I am?" or just "Bite me, rent-a-cop."
 
eeyore spice said:
Reason #8264015 to not work in retail. I can just imagine the reactions of some of the clinical pharmacists I know if some security peon wanted to search them before they left the hospital. Something along the lines of "Don't you know who I am?" or just "Bite me, rent-a-cop."
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:laugh:
 
MountainPharmD said:
I have had the same thing happen with Viagra and Tussionex. Move them to the C-II safe and magically they are not short any more.
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How do people sneak tussionex out haha. I can understand swiping some tabs or caps, but jacking tussionex seems like too much of a hassle
 
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