Floater for life?

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Bugslife32

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Hi there, I currently work in retail for a couple of years now (Walgreens). I basically started off working as a staff pharmacist almost right away but after a couple years decided to step down and just float (took a lot to make this happen). Been doing this for a year plus now and I really enjoy floating rather than being at one store.

Wonder if I can do this for the rest of my life (remain a floater)? They've tried to threaten me because I refuse to be a staff at other stores and say I wouldn't be guaranteed hours as a floater but I've been getting full time (40 hours a week) and OT almost every month in a very very saturated part of Cali. Just wondering if it is doable to be a floater for as long as possible.
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It would be easier to stay a floater if you did it across companies. Obviously you can't work for CVS but what about adding Walmart and/or grocery chains. I have a full-time job and float at two other hospital systems. If you are good and people like you it's easy to get even 80 hrs/week as a floater. It all depends on the relationships you build and your hustle. Always saying yes to last minute shifts should engratitate you to the scheduler.

Unless you're married to someone with benefits, it would be sensible to take a full-time job somewhere but you can still float.
 
Monsterdaddy said:
It would be easier to stay a floater if you did it across companies. Obviously you can't work for CVS but what about adding Walmart and/or grocery chains. I have a full-time job and float at two other hospital systems. If you are good and people like you it's easy to get even 80 hrs/week as a floater. It all depends on the relationships you build and your hustle. Always saying yes to last minute shifts should engratitate you to the scheduler.

Unless you're married to someone with benefits, it would be sensible to take a full-time job somewhere but you can still float.
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Most retail companies wouldn't let you work for a direct competitor (i.e. any other pure retail including grocers).
 
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As a floater, are you also required to cover graveyard?

In most companies that I've worked at in my retail days, the life was a floater was not a glorious one.. most people that I've talked to say a good store beats floating any day... a lot of floaters have to do more closing shifts, weekends, far travels, difficult stores... most of the these inconveniences outweigh being a staff... but it guess to each their own
 
Bugslife32 said:
Hi there, I currently work in retail for a couple of years now (Walgreens). I basically started off working as a staff pharmacist almost right away but after a couple years decided to step down and just float (took a lot to make this happen). Been doing this for a year plus now and I really enjoy floating rather than being at one store.

Wonder if I can do this for the rest of my life (remain a floater)? They've tried to threaten me because I refuse to be a staff at other stores and say I wouldn't be guaranteed hours as a floater but I've been getting full time (40 hours a week) and OT almost every month in a very very saturated part of Cali. Just wondering if it is doable to be a floater for as long as possible.
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Yes, there are tons of floaters I know that are lifers. They never want to be a staff because they like the 0 responsibility thing.

I like to be a staff because my commute will be less and I don't like last minutes calls. I'd never want to be a manager since I already make more than most sup/dm/pdms with just 40h work week + investment capital gain/dividend.

To each his own.
 
You probably could. I get annoyed that I have to sit outside and wait for a shift supervisor to open the store and they usually don't show up until the minute the store is supposed to open.
 
You don't choose the floater life, the floater life chooses you.


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Well, I have a pretty good reputation with the company and the schedulers so I haven't had to do overnight yet (by my request). The reason I like floating is because everyday is new. New people, new customers, new challenges. So it's pretty exciting when I get to go to a new store (Also, I get to show off a little bit too when I'm a floater but try not to :) I'm trying to stay a floater for as long as I can (at least until I have kids) because basically I enjoy it and it's fun.
 
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Bugslife32 said:
Well, I have a pretty good reputation with the company and the schedulers so I haven't had to do overnight yet (by my request). The reason I like floating is because everyday is new. New people, new customers, new challenges. So it's pretty exciting when I get to go to a new store (Also, I get to show off a little bit too when I'm a floater but try not to :) I'm trying to stay a floater for as long as I can (at least until I have kids) because basically I enjoy it and it's fun.
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do you still get benefits ?
 
I know of many floaters who are in their 50s that have been floating forever. They say they prefer it and can easily get over 50 hours/week which they like. Though they are really not that good of pharmacists and are slow so probably aren't pressured to take a manager/staff spot to begin with.
 
ldiot said:
I know of many floaters who are in their 50s that have been floating forever. They say they prefer it and can easily get over 50 hours/week which they like. Though they are really not that good of pharmacists and are slow so probably aren't pressured to take a manager/staff spot to begin with.
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I guess floater is a cushy job but theres really no room for growth or good raises and I guess for some that's ok. I like knowing what i'm going to come into. I like setting up my tech schedule and putting processes in place to make it a smooth running pharmacy and nothing left over night and the rest of my staff understands that. Again for some they don't want to do that and just go in and leave and not care what transfers you left, how many pages in qp and qv left.
 
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There were a few floaters in my old district who were still pretty young but had been with wags for like 5-6 years and just kept floating becaus ethey wanted to

I only had to float with them for 6 weeks and then was in the same store for 2+ years until i got my grocery job. Im floating now for grocery since im new and i dont mind floating at all but i feel like theres such a stigma like you arent a good pharmacist because you are a floater. I mean im sure that is true for some but i prefer it wayyy more when i know my customers/techs etc and im not "just a floater" says every other customer
 
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6GodPharm said:
I guess floater is a cushy job but theres really no room for growth or good raises and I guess for some that's ok. I like knowing what i'm going to come into. I like setting up my tech schedule and putting processes in place to make it a smooth running pharmacy and nothing left over night and the rest of my staff understands that. Again for some they don't want to do that and just go in and leave and not care what transfers you left, how many pages in qp and qv left.
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In some districts you might get less pay than a manager but have the option to average ~55 hours if you are willing to drive and as far as I know they don't make anything less than a staff pharmacist so some of these guys make a lot. I know of 2 long time floaters that have a long term average of over 50 hours. And I doubt they care what they are walking into because within 2 hours of them being there it will turn into a mess anyways as slow as they are lmao. Though I feel like this isn't common seeing how everything online is saying that new floaters aren't even getting 30 hours in many states. Though if you are really bad the DM won't even let you go to certain stores with bad techs or high volume.
 
Well, I realize floaters have a bad rep (and probably for good reasons since I was a staff at first too). But to be honest, I really don't care when I go into a new store that doesn't know me. It only makes it more nice when the other techs, store managers, pharmacist, etc might look down on me and give me an attitude at first, but when the day is over, almost every store that I have gone to has either beg me to come back in one form or another. haha. I guess my problem is I have to somehow stay low key so they don't continue to force me to take over stores when an opening comes along( even though tons of other floaters want a store!). My DMs have stopped asking me a long time ago if I want a store because they know the answer but as a floater sometimes they put you in a store permanently whether you want it or not . I just don't want to get in trouble with management but also to remain a floater.
 
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EML9255 said:
There were a few floaters in my old district who were still pretty young but had been with wags for like 5-6 years and just kept floating becaus ethey wanted to

I only had to float with them for 6 weeks and then was in the same store for 2+ years until i got my grocery job. Im floating now for grocery since im new and i dont mind floating at all but i feel like theres such a stigma like you arent a good pharmacist because you are a floater. I mean im sure that is true for some but i prefer it wayyy more when i know my customers/techs etc and im not "just a floater" says every other customer
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I gather that floaters have a rep for leaving stores a mess with plenty of tasks unfulfilled.. which sounds like the bonus to taking that job. Personally, I like having my own space with my own team where we can run things our way. I don't work retail, but I bet I'd feel the same way if I did.
 
I went from being a full time staff pharmacist to a floater. I am so much better now as a pharmacist than I ever was as staff. As staff, you always have to stress about the store's metrics and all the petty stuff of corporate America. Now as a floater I can go in, do my job, and that's that. I always make a point of leaving the store looking better than I find it. Personally I don't see myself going back to a staff position.
 
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Bugslife32 said:
Hi there, I currently work in retail for a couple of years now (Walgreens). I basically started off working as a staff pharmacist almost right away but after a couple years decided to step down and just float (took a lot to make this happen). Been doing this for a year plus now and I really enjoy floating rather than being at one store.

Wonder if I can do this for the rest of my life (remain a floater)? They've tried to threaten me because I refuse to be a staff at other stores and say I wouldn't be guaranteed hours as a floater but I've been getting full time (40 hours a week) and OT almost every month in a very very saturated part of Cali. Just wondering if it is doable to be a floater for as long as possible.
Click to expand...

Waste too much time driving around as a floater. I prefer a decent store, staff rph of course haha. After having a 8 minute one way commute I cant see myself floating again.
 
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If I were to float, I'd keep a name badge with a fake name on it to dodge customer complaints.

You'd be invincible.
 
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Sounds beautiful, I am unemployed right now... I would float, take a store, drive the heck out of miles (I ride a ninja bike)... Where are these floating opportunities?
 
In chain retail, being annoyed by performance metrics IS part of the job these days. I don't like it but it's part of the job. I don't let floaters get way with this **** either. If they **** the bed they will get called out. If they don't like it, give up their job to all the unemployed masses looking for work. No one put a gun to your head to get into pharmacy or retail pharmacy.

If only you could literally be fired for being slow though instead of DMs coming after you for nitpicky **** to get rid of you. Retail pharmacy is a good sinecure for a lot of poorly performing pharmacists compared to higher-pressure occupational domains like finance or tenure-track academia. I can't believe it's 2017 and retail is still short pharmacists at CVS and Walmart in northern CA, at least outside the Bay Area. Are all these UoP grads working for Kaiser or something?
 
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PharmerIsMe said:
Sounds beautiful, I am unemployed right now... I would float, take a store, drive the heck out of miles (I ride a ninja bike)... Where are these floating opportunities?
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Come to Louisiana! Also fair amount of jobs in TX,CA
 
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