My pharmacy technician is a bully

[squiggles5270]

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I have 2 techs. One is a bully. She is older, has been grandfathered into her position ( not national certified) and has a "hood mentality". When I ask her to do things, she often tells me she is not going to do so, then has the audacity to routinely be late, and often asks to leave early. The pharmacy manager does not back me up when it comes to dealing with her, and I am more than sure he is if terrified of her, himself. I looked at the store director as a source, but as many transgressions as they have had with her ( and their are many), he always states he is not getting rid of her. It makes for a challenging work environment. Any suggestions or advice?

 

[Digsbe]

I think you could try reporting her to the DM or possibly HR if there are HR violations. The only other option I could think of would be for you to demand that they never schedule you and the tech together.

It's truly a bad situation. The fact that she knows no one will fire her probably gives her the mentality that she can get away with a poor work ethic.

 

[Skrumpy]

I have 2 techs. One is a bully. She is older, has been grandfathered into her position ( not national certified) and has a "hood mentality". When I ask her to do things, she often tells me she is not going to do so, then has the audacity to routinely be late, and often asks to leave early. The pharmacy manager does not back me up when it comes to dealing with her, and I am more than sure he is if terrified of her, himself. I looked at the store director as a source, but as many transgressions as they have had with her ( and their are many), he always states he is not getting rid of her. It makes for a challenging work environment. Any suggestions or advice?

Is this a chain store? If so then I guess I would do as was suggested and go directly to their HR department. If she has consistently been late they should be able to track that and get rid of her. Did the store director state why he wasn't getting rid of her? Something seems fishy there if that's all he said. My GF had somewhat of a similar situation with an employee. She actually was a good worker and personable but was horribly late all the time. My GF went through the necessary steps, documented everything fastidiously, and when the time came to fire her it didn't go well. She (the employee) claimed that both my GF and the other pharmacist there and the store manager were being racist and she was threatening to sue everyone and was very verbal in her accusations. However, since my GF had a long series of documented write-ups (which the employee had signed), verified late punch ins, and a written log of offenses.. there was no chance of that happening and HR backed her all the way. It's tough but you definitely want to cover your ass just in case!

 

[squiggles5270]

yes its a chain store. and i have documented as you suggested

 

[rxtech2012]

I have 2 techs. One is a bully. She is older, has been grandfathered into her position ( not national certified) and has a "hood mentality". When I ask her to do things, she often tells me she is not going to do so, then has the audacity to routinely be late, and often asks to leave early. The pharmacy manager does not back me up when it comes to dealing with her, and I am more than sure he is if terrified of her, himself. I looked at the store director as a source, but as many transgressions as they have had with her ( and their are many), he always states he is not getting rid of her. It makes for a challenging work environment. Any suggestions or advice?

I agree with going to HR with the documentation. Once you mention HR, usually your superiors will kick into action, my experiences at least.

 

[rph3664]

Every employer has Those People who are exempt from disciplinary action. Ask me how I know this.

 

[squiggles5270]

Every employer has Those People who are exempt from disciplinary action. Ask me how I know this.

ok humor me, how do you know this? In particular ii dont think this woman should be exempt, she doesn't type scripts at all, just wants to get by with the bare minimum, such a waste i think. there are people just waiting for one shoot to prove themselves on a job, and this lame catches all the breaks

 

[Skrumpy]

ok humor me, how do you know this? In particular ii dont think this woman should be exempt, she doesn't type scripts at all, just wants to get by with the bare minimum, such a waste i think. there are people just waiting for one shoot to prove themselves on a job, and this lame catches all the breaks

If there is documented, bullet-proof evidence of policy violation, which the employee has been made aware of then there should not be an issue. The problem arises when not enough evidence has been collected and/or the employee has not been made aware they have violated policy. Our work documents all warnings, both written and verbal and each is signed by the employee who has the option of having a union steward present.

 

[rph3664]

ok humor me, how do you know this? In particular ii dont think this woman should be exempt, she doesn't type scripts at all, just wants to get by with the bare minimum, such a waste i think. there are people just waiting for one shoot to prove themselves on a job, and this lame catches all the breaks

I'd be here the rest of the day telling you stories, and not just in the pharmacy world either. 😡

 

[Angela1234]

Look at the big picture, at least you are employed. There are tons of us like myself without any pharmacist work who can't even pay back our loans. Keep in mind that you are the boss over her. Give her a verbal warning, then work through your company's complaint system. She has to know you mean business. Don't let her get to you.

 

[zelman]

I have 2 techs. One is a bully. She is older, has been grandfathered into her position ( not national certified) and has a "hood mentality". When I ask her to do things, she often tells me she is not going to do so, then has the audacity to routinely be late, and often asks to leave early. The pharmacy manager does not back me up when it comes to dealing with her, and I am more than sure he is if terrified of her, himself. I looked at the store director as a source, but as many transgressions as they have had with her ( and their are many), he always states he is not getting rid of her. It makes for a challenging work environment. Any suggestions or advice?

Most people do things that are technically against policy at some point or another. Have they ever opened a beverage prior to paying for it? Get that security footage, and you can have them immediately terminated (at my chain, at least). Learn the rules, because they probably haven't.

 

[Sparda29]

I know what you mean. I had a hard time ordering the techs around my first few months since almost all of them are way older than me and don't like taking orders from a 25 year old kid straight out of school. Director told me not to be afraid to give them orders, so ever since then it's been good.

There's still one that's been really resistant to taking orders. I want her to answer the phones and keep the nurses at bay and fill the orders we verify rather than work on filling the cart for the morning pharmacist or replenishing crash carts. Me and the other pharmacist and the tech will probably need to have a sit down with the director. She's still here even after being caught stealing stuff from the hospital and pharmacy.

 

[npage148]

Most people do things that are technically against policy at some point or another. Have they ever opened a beverage prior to paying for it? Get that security footage, and you can have them immediately terminated (at my chain, at least). Learn the rules, because they probably haven't.

Not a bad idea because the LP people are brutal. The only thing they love are catching people stealing. Plus the LP person probably has no personal relation with this person so they couldn't care less about cutting them loose

 

[amox]

The best way to fire someone is to cut their income. Slowly schedule them less hours over time, eventually to almost nothing. The employee will have to find a new job and quit.

Winner!

 

[Momus]

She's still here even after being caught stealing stuff from the hospital and pharmacy.

What kind of ****ty company does not fire a worker who steals?

 

[Sparda29]

What kind of ****ty company does not fire a worker who steals?

Well the only thing that was actually caught was her taking home a ****load of coffee in a box. Like making like 50 cups of it and taking it home. Hospital had free coffee at the time so, nothing really they could do.

One of the pharmacists claimed they saw bottles of meds (stock bottles) in her purse.

 

[zelman]

Not a bad idea because the LP people are brutal. The only thing they love are catching people stealing. Plus the LP person probably has no personal relation with this person so they couldn't care less about cutting them loose

When they get someone fired, they look good, and have no negative ramifications. When a manager does it, it's the opposite.

 

[BidingMyTime]

As RPH3664 said, there are "untouchable" people at every work environment, and no logical reason why. I've always wondered if the untouchable was blackmailing the manager or something? I have no solutions for the op, other than to accept the situation or move to another job--the pharmacy manager has already bluntly told you that he's not getting rid of her, and its clear her behavior is not going to change. Accept that there is nothing you can do about the situation, then either learn to live with it or move on.

 

[squiggles5270]

As RPH3664 said, there are "untouchable" people at every work environment, and no logical reason why. I've always wondered if the untouchable was blackmailing the manager or something? I have no solutions for the op, other than to accept the situation or move to another job--the pharmacy manager has already bluntly told you that he's not getting rid of her, and its clear her behavior is not going to change. Accept that there is nothing you can do about the situation, then either learn to live with it or move on.

wouldnt that be like a cop out tho? 8 years in school, and to sell out to someone with barely a 5th grade education, and no decorum...some would say moving on would be a sell out to that

 

[525329]

I have 2 techs. One is a bully. She is older, has been grandfathered into her position ( not national certified) and has a "hood mentality". When I ask her to do things, she often tells me she is not going to do so, then has the audacity to routinely be late, and often asks to leave early. The pharmacy manager does not back me up when it comes to dealing with her, and I am more than sure he is if terrified of her, himself. I looked at the store director as a source, but as many transgressions as they have had with her ( and their are many), he always states he is not getting rid of her. It makes for a challenging work environment. Any suggestions or advice?

Just curious, what ethnicity are you and she?

 

[squiggles5270]

we are both African american, however raised on two different sides of the track. two different outlooks on life....that's a pleasant way of putting it, im sure your mind will do the rest.

 

[kvl1027]

I have 2 techs. One is a bully. She is older, has been grandfathered into her position ( not national certified) and has a "hood mentality". When I ask her to do things, she often tells me she is not going to do so, then has the audacity to routinely be late, and often asks to leave early. The pharmacy manager does not back me up when it comes to dealing with her, and I am more than sure he is if terrified of her, himself. I looked at the store director as a source, but as many transgressions as they have had with her ( and their are many), he always states he is not getting rid of her. It makes for a challenging work environment. Any suggestions or advice?

Do we live in parallel dimensions???

I have the same issue, except mine might be a little harder (not bragging) in that I am at an independent and we dont have "HR" or corporate policy/violations to warrant any disciplinary action.

My tech is in her 50's. She could not pass the board exam if it meant her life. She was grandfathered in and I wish they never allowed techs to be grandfathered passed the process. Any competent tech should be able to easily pass the exam, especially techs with multiple years experience. She bullies my other techs, is very difficult to work with, and contributes to about 98% of the errors that occur in my pharmacy.

Before I arrived, she was the top dog. She worked the front counter, barked at customers, and did mostly adjudication. She was one of those empoyees that would try to do everything so she could take credit for it and the workflow was non-existent.

I complained to the owner and was told there would be nothing done about her and that she was "here to stay". So, if I couldn't get rid of her I was gonna let her know what was what. I took her off the front counter and now she has very little contact with customers. She longer gets to do order entry, as she lacks the basic math skills to appropriately calculate days supply or do dosing conversions/ calculations. She is now merely a "packager". It works, she has been knocked down a peg and has been much more pleasant to work with. You may want to give something like this a try.

If she doesn't want to listen, send her home. You shouldn't have to put up with that shizz.

 

[squiggles5270]

Do we live in parallel dimensions???

I have the same issue, except mine might be a little harder (not bragging) in that I am at an independent and we dont have "HR" or corporate policy/violations to warrant any disciplinary action.

My tech is in her 50's. She could not pass the board exam if it meant her life. She was grandfathered in and I wish they never allowed techs to be grandfathered passed the process. Any competent tech should be able to easily pass the exam, especially techs with multiple years experience. She bullies my other techs, is very difficult to work with, and contributes to about 98% of the errors that occur in my pharmacy.

Before I arrived, she was the top dog. She worked the front counter, barked at customers, and did mostly adjudication. She was one of those empoyees that would try to do everything so she could take credit for it and the workflow was non-existent.

I complained to the owner and was told there would be nothing done about her and that she was "here to stay". So, if I couldn't get rid of her I was gonna let her know what was what. I took her off the front counter and now she has very little contact with customers. She longer gets to do order entry, as she lacks the basic math skills to appropriately calculate days supply or do dosing conversions/ calculations. She is now merely a "packager". It works, she has been knocked down a peg and has been much more pleasant to work with. You may want to give something like this a try.

If she doesn't want to listen, send her home. You shouldn't have to put up with that shizz.

That description is exactly how I would describer her " a packager", "no basis math skills", and then having upper management tell you "she's here to stay", i weep for us both.

 

[rph3664]

I just found out last night that an "untouchable" pharmacist I worked with in the mid 1990s got disciplined by our state's licensing board. He's still licensed, and I was unable to find out what he did (or, more likely, didn't do).

 

[BidingMyTime]

wouldnt that be like a cop out tho? 8 years in school, and to sell out to someone with barely a 5th grade education, and no decorum...some would say moving on would be a sell out to that

I don't see facing reality as "selling out". If you don't own the pharmacy, and the person who does and/or manages it says that the technician is going to stay, then what other options do you see besides learning to live with it, or moving on to a different job?