Super Nice Pharmacy Managers: how do you talk to difficult customers....

[clachan3]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I was just wondering if there are any super nice pharmacy managers out there who can help me out. I am having trouble talking to older female customers. I just seem to make them really angry, even though I apologized, said I was sorry, etc. I know part of the reason was that I tend to be too rational, and started giving them facts/information that made me sound like I was making excuses.

I am a genuinely nice person, but stubborn when someone accuses us of lying. They already got their prescriptions, I don't know what they want from me. I don't know what else I could do for them. In my mind, I just kept thinking there are so many things that can go wrong every step of the way when filling a prescription, that's life. Maybe that's why this lady said I did not look like I was sorry to her. I didn't know what to say.

My questions are:

• What would you say to these customers to make them less angry?
• How do you respond to customers who said they were going to take their business somewhere else?

I know I can't use the same answer I used before: It was up to you such a bad answer...

Thanks so much!

 

[Naidim]

It's hard to give advice without more specific information, however, saying you are sorry just verifies in their mind that you accept the blame they are laying on you, whatever it may be, and your apology is never enough to assuage their anger.

Try "I wish things were different." This gets you on their side, agreeing with them that they are "right" that things are not the way they want them to be, but skirts around the fact of whose fault it is.

 

[confettiflyer]

Guide the conversation away from them being angry and into something productive, usually when you make them think, it'll calm them down. Example, I see this phrase being said and often it's effective.

"Look...look...okay...listen, I'm sorry about what happened. But what can *I* do for you that's fair to make it right."

Keyword is something fair and something right.

But of course the person can just go right on and demand the sun/moon/stars...but at least you've slowed down the conversation enough. Usually you just have to be firm, admit that you were in the wrong for something (if applicable), but stand your ground about the extent of what you can do.

Also, blaming a third party is easy (ie...insurance company, company policy, federal law, etc...) ie "Listen...I'm sorry but my hands are tied, this is what I can do for you...but I can't (insert what they want here)."

Feel free to throw in "yeah sure i'm the manager, but I do have to report to someone, I don't own this place.." but i don't recommend it because the next question will be the phone # for your DM.

Hope this helps.

 

[confettiflyer]

Maybe that's why this lady said I did not look like I was sorry to her. I didn't know what to say.

My PR response: "Well, I'm sorry you think that way. I'm sorry but what can we do for you today?"

My a-hole response: "Okay...so my face doesn't please you, what do you want me to do about it?" or if they're older "I'm sorry I don't have that many wrinkles to convey emotion for you...so what do you want."

Also as an aside: don't explain everything to someone step by step, they usually don't care. Be vague on purpose unless someone really wants to know what happened. Focus on what you're gonna do from that point forward.

 

[owlegrad]

Guide the conversation away from them being angry and into something productive, usually when you make them think, it'll calm them down. Example, I see this phrase being said and often it's effective.

"Look...look...okay...listen, I'm sorry about what happened. But what can *I* do for you that's fair to make it right."

Keyword is something fair and something right.

But of course the person can just go right on and demand the sun/moon/stars...but at least you've slowed down the conversation enough. Usually you just have to be firm, admit that you were in the wrong for something (if applicable), but stand your ground about the extent of what you can do.

Also, blaming a third party is easy (ie...insurance company, company policy, federal law, etc...) ie "Listen...I'm sorry but my hands are tied, this is what I can do for you...but I can't (insert what they want here)."

Feel free to throw in "yeah sure i'm the manager, but I do have to report to someone, I don't own this place.." but i don't recommend it because the next question will be the phone # for your DM.

Hope this helps.

Good post. I agree. Simple things like "how can I fix this?" are quite effective.

 

[confettiflyer]

I will find some ways to agree with the patient first, saying things like "that does sound frustrating, let me see what is going on here..." It's all about calming them down if necessary and letting them know that I'm there to listen and get to the bottom of it.


Being a cute younger girl doesn't hurt either ;-)

Right, the pt is looking for an ally, BUT as the head honcho of the place (manager), the OP often does not get to play this role. The OP has to say no and that all options have been exhausted.

I would recommend watching the A&E TV show "Airline" for ideas/inspiration on how to diffuse difficult pt's. It's on Netflix for streaming ($7.99/mo for a streaming only plan...watch it on your computer). The whole show is basically difficult/rude/drunk passengers and once the pax gets escalated to a manager, you'll see what I'm talking about regarding having to be a hard ass.


Also, being a cute younger girl doesn't help if your angry patient is an ugly middle aged beastly woman person incensed at being told what they can't have/do by said petite cute girl. I've seen this fail many many times.

 

[MountainPharmD]

Bear with me here because this is a longer answer than I am sure you wanted. I am off for the next two days and I feel like typing today.


I have said this before and I will say it again. Two things happen when most people enter a retail pharmacy. First they lose their mind and then their IQ drops by 50 points. So use this to your advantage when dealing with people.


Nine months after I graduated pharmacy school I was promoted to a Pharmacy Manager and I have been one every since. I have learned alot along the way and I will try to pass some of this knowledge on to you.
The first thing you have to do is stop taking everything personal. It is very hard to do. It is human nature to take every conflict, argument or a-hole customer as a personnel attack. Think about it. If you were out on the street and someone came up to you and started yelling and cursing at you your first instinct would be to defend yourself. It’s the whole flight or fight response we are evolutionarily wired for. In the Pharmacy you have to override this response. Realize upset people are not personally attacking you rather they are raging against a situation or a problem and taking it out on you. My life improved greatly once I started doing this.


In the past someone one would come up yelling and cursing and my blood pressure would shoot through the roof and the fight was on. Some situations used to bother me for days after they were over. Now when a difficult situation arises my blood pressure doesn’t raise a millimeter. The second a difficult situation is over I have already forgotten about it and moved on. I can do this because I do not take things personally anymore. This is just a general piece of advice. It will take years for you to get there if you ever do. I have seen 20-year pharmacists whose first response to a conflict is that old fight or flight response. Taking things personally and fighting or arguing with a customer will never work out in your favor.


A fact of life in retail pharmacy is some people are just rude, disrespectful a-holes that love to make other peoples lives miserable. You will learn quickly to identify these people. They are the ones who complain about everything and nothing is ever right no matter what. My advice on this type of person is to get them in and out. Kill them with kindness and ignore everything they say. You will never make this type of person happy so do not waste one second of your time worrying about it. In and out and kill them with kindness.


LOL’s usually fall into this category. LOL is my slang for Little Old Ladies. Generally the crankiest, most unhappy and difficult people you will deal with. Really there is nothing you can do. I usually just say, yes, oh really, gosh, wow, no kidding a whole bunch of times to whatever they are saying and then they leave. If there was some problem I just fix it. Whatever you do don’t try to explain it to them because that will only make it worse and they will never understand. Again say oh gosh, wow, really, no kidding a whole bunch. I guess LOL’s have nothing better to do so they sit around the house and think of things to complain about.

 

[MountainPharmD]

I am a genuinely nice person, but stubborn when someone accuses us of lying. They already got their prescriptions, I don't know what they want from me. I don't know what else I could do for them. In my mind, I just kept thinking there are so many things that can go wrong every step of the way when filling a prescription, that's life. Maybe that's why this lady said I did not look like I was sorry to her. I didn't know what to say.

Thanks so much!

I guess another piece of advice is to try and empathize with people. The Encyclopedia Britannica (1999 edition) defines empathy as: "The ability to imagine oneself in another's place and understand the other's feelings, desires, ideas, and actions.

It is really easy to do and doesn’t cost you anything. You are not admitting any wrongdoing, you are not apologizing for something you did not do rather you are just understand someone else’s feelings.

I am not sure what you are referring to in your above statement. An example from my pharmacy would be someone complaining about the wait time. It is 5 o’ clock on Monday and you tell someone it will be 30 minutes to get their five scripts filled and they throw a fit. Telling them you are busy or there are other people waiting or x number or people just drop scripts off usually starts an argument that you will not win. People are rude and self-centered when there are well so it is magnified when they are sick. Using logic and reason to try and explain things will only makes things worse. What my staff and I do is empathize with them. “Gosh sir I understand. I do not like waiting either especially when I am sick. We understand and we will do our very best to get your prescriptions filled in about 30 minutes.” I have never seen this not work. You told them the same wait time but you did it by empathizing with them instead of challenging them.

 

[Athelas]

I'm not being sarcastic here, but I truly admire and respect those pharmacists and techs that can work with difficult people with such grace, which sometimes others miscontrue as passive behaviour. What annoys me are people who customers and docs to treat them with disrespect, but then go on to humilate and degrade their fellow co-workers, especially those that they deem below them.

I do wish, however, that the pharmacy profession was treated with more respect as a whole. I get the sense that many customers do not see pharmacists as knowledgeable health care providers but the pharmacy profession as a business which makes them think they have a right to "haggle".

When I was a student, I interned at a chain store in a rather affluent area. The sense of entitlement was unbelieveable and you couldn't ever pay me enough to work with such snotty people who think they are more superior than everyone else. I also had the chance to intern at a store in "ghetto, higher than average" crime area. I would take that job any day even though it is less safe - because the people, as a whole, tend to be more REAL, even though they have their problems.

Hospital Pharmacy has it own issues depending on the politics of where you work, but at least if a situation gets really nasty - I can report the "disruptive behavior".

 

[clachan3]

LOL’s usually fall into this category. LOL is my slang for Little Old Ladies. Generally the crankiest, most unhappy and difficult people you will deal with. Really there is nothing you can do. I usually just say, yes, oh really, gosh, wow, no kidding a whole bunch of times to whatever they are saying and then they leave. If there was some problem I just fix it. Whatever you do don’t try to explain it to them because that will only make it worse and they will never understand. Again say oh gosh, wow, really, no kidding a whole bunch. I guess LOL’s have nothing better to do so they sit around the house and think of things to complain about.

MountainPharmD, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I do like the in and out and kill them with kindness strategy, it has worked for me, but it is a little harder to do now because I am working alone without a tech most of the time at my new job. I sure will try your oh gosh, wow, really, no kidding out next time. I just have to remember whatever I was doing did not work for LOL, and I need to do things differently. Thanks again, MountainPharmD, I really appreciate your advice 🙂

 

[clachan3]

My a-hole response: "Okay...so my face doesn't please you, what do you want me to do about it?" or if they're older "I'm sorry I don't have that many wrinkles to convey emotion for you...so what do you want."

My husband would get a kick out of it if I said that. He was already kind of surprised that I said it was up to her to take her business somewhere else. I only said that because I didn't know what to say.... 😕

 

[phathead]

I

When I was a student, I interned at a chain store in a rather affluent area. The sense of entitlement was unbelieveable and you couldn't ever pay me enough to work with such snotty people who think they are more superior than everyone else. I also had the chance to intern at a store in "ghetto, higher than average" crime area. I would take that job any day even though it is less safe - because the people, as a whole, tend to be more REAL, even though they have their problems.

Thank you. Every time I make that statement, people think I'm nuts.