Walgreens Pharmacy problem - Advice needed

[Zapages]

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Ok guys...

I've been working at Walgreen for 1.5 years. Everything was great when I was at different store. Walgreens opened a new store near by me and I was transferred there. Everything seemed to be good and all. My Pharmacy Manager would never give me any hours during my vacation time except for 6 hours that I did during school due to school/research that I did. I even broke my hours up so she could be helped out like 2 hours one day and then 4 hours the next to help out. After that she wanted to share me with a different store and eventually transfer me there, which was a bit far from where I live. I told I really can't go there and I am sorry. Regardless of that, I told them that I was applying to pharmacy school. So everything should be good. Right?

Then I finally got accepted to pharmacy school. I got really excited and I told them that I've been accepted to Pharmacy school in Florida. Since then, my Pharmacy Manager(in NJ) has been cutting my hours up so bad sometimes I am not even working the whole week and she will then give me 6 hours a week as usual or sometimes even 4 hours for the whole week. While giving all other techs good hours during the week for some who are not even going to Pharmacy and just going to start college. When I do work with her, she makes clean the shelves or do some other menial tasks. I know that the other techs don't have to do that stuff and only I have to do.

Also did you guys get a pay raise? I am still working at 10.50 per hour...

I am just blowing steam and sorry for the rant. But seriously...

What should I do?

 

[TTUMike]

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do. I would just be grateful that the experience helped you get into pharmacy school.

 

[mrblah]

Ok guys...

I've been working at Walgreen for 1.5 years. Everything was great when I was at different store. Walgreens opened a new store near by me and I was transferred there. Everything seemed to be good and all. My Pharmacy Manager would never give me any hours during my vacation time except for 6 hours that I did during school due to school/research that I did. I even broke my hours up so she could be helped out like 2 hours one day and then 4 hours the next to help out. After that she wanted to share me with a different store and eventually transfer me there, which was a bit far from where I live. I told I really can't go there and I am sorry. Regardless of that, I told them that I was applying to pharmacy school. So everything should be good. Right?

Then I finally got accepted to pharmacy school. I got really excited and I told them that I've been accepted to Pharmacy school in Florida. Since then, my Pharmacy Manager(in NJ) has been cutting my hours up so bad sometimes I am not even working the whole week and she will then give me 6 hours a week as usual or sometimes even 4 hours for the whole week. While giving all other techs good hours during the week for some who are not even going to Pharmacy and just going to start college. When I do work with her, she makes clean the shelves or do some other menial tasks. I know that the other techs don't have to do that stuff and only I have to do.

Also did you guys get a pay raise? I am still working at 10.50 per hour...

I am just blowing steam and sorry for the rant. But seriously...

What should I do?

and this is why I quit walgreens. I went throught the same thing you did. All you can do is try and make until you start school again in FL and pick up hours as a intern. As a intern, you will get intern pay, so hang in there.

 

[TTUMike]

Why is that strange that they would give your hours away considering you are leaving? It may seem unfair to you but the pharmacy manager is just covering herself. This would be the perfect time for her to find someone capable of filling your position even if that means cutting your hours to keep the full time people happy.

 

[GatorRxGirl]

It's a shame but this happens a lot at Walgreens stores. Ask for a recommendation from them so you can transfer to a store in FL and you can work as an intern and get intern pay. Also, since you have experience they may bump you up and pay you as a 2nd or 3rd year intern.

 

[cbrons]

Oh good old Walgreens. If I didn't love my RxM as much as I do, I'd have jumped ship on those bastards months ago.

 

[fiorio]

they shouldn't treat you like that. you have more experience, then you should get more hours.
I recommend you call other walgreen around to see if they need extra help, so you can work at other store like a floater.

 

[DeterminedGal09]

Trying talking to the pharmacist and see what she says

 

[mochiko]

Since you'll be leaving in a month or two, they'll want to give the other techs more time to be trained and gain more experience. I'm sure they don't want to be left with useless techs once you've gone off to do greater things. It might suck from your perspective, but for the greater good of the pharmacy it makes perfect sense.

 

[mrblah]

I spent 6 years with walgreens, and when they found out that I was moving out of state for pharm. school, I got my hours cut to 4 hours. I can understand that they need to train new employees, but that is not how you treat your employees, especially when they expect/want loyalty and dedication from you. I've worked with other pharmacies before, and they would bend over backwards to keep you, to find new accomodations for you, etc. Walgreens was, more or less, saying take a hike.

THis is the conversation: "We recently hired a new tech trainee and they can only work weekends. Just to let you know, we need to train them in the summer months so they are up to speed for the winter months, I'll just cut one day off your schedule."
My response, "I'm only working 8 hours atm."
Managers response: "well, I guess you can have that early summer vacation."
My response: "I never said I was going on vacation".
Manager: "I'll look over the schedules and see what I can do".
Two weeks later, my schedule was marked 4 hours or "not scheduled". I knew my store was overbudgeted in tech hours, but I never thought I would have been the easy way out to fix their budget problem. All tech trainee's are billed to the district, so the district saw the potential in laying me off.

What makes me even more bitter is that if you've ever read their montly newsletter, it talks about how much they give back to the community, and to their employees, but I have never seen walgreens give anything back to the community, or to their employees. I've learned alot working at walgreens, mostly that big business will always be big business even though they like to say they are your "neighborhood pharmacy".

Here is the irony, since they kept cutting my hours, I ended becoming eligible for unemployment benefits because in the eyes of the state, I was "laid off" by their definition and Walgreens could not fight it (although they tried). It cost walgreen's more money to lay me off than to keep me around (UI benefits factors years of service/hours worked). I ended up getting 50% of my fulltime pay for 6 months even though I was only working 8 to 16 hours for the last few months before I left.

So im not as bitter as it seems

P.s. I don't know if I'm looking forward or dreading the day I have to go back to walgreen's for rotations.

 

[panzer]

Does the student / intern pick the retail store they want to do their rotation or is it done through some pre-approved list from the pharmacy school? I don't know if I want to go back to walgreens ever again...

 

[alum]

Hi everybody! How much is intern pay by the way? I keep seeing it mentioned since I'm trying to find a job at a Walgreens or some other derivative... =)

It's a shame but this happens a lot at Walgreens stores. Ask for a recommendation from them so you can transfer to a store in FL and you can work as an intern and get intern pay. Also, since you have experience they may bump you up and pay you as a 2nd or 3rd year intern.

 

[TTUMike]

Since you'll be leaving in a month or two, they'll want to give the other techs more time to be trained and gain more experience. I'm sure they don't want to be left with useless techs once you've gone off to do greater things. It might suck from your perspective, but for the greater good of the pharmacy it makes perfect sense.

Thank you. I was hoping there was at least one person who sees this from a business perspective. As horrible as it might be for you (op), the business must move forward for the sake of their customers. I can assure you the pharmacy manager meant nothing personal by moving forward. And by the way, Walgreens would not be the only company to employ these practices.

 

[mrblah]

Does the student / intern pick the retail store they want to do their rotation or is it done through some pre-approved list from the pharmacy school? I don't know if I want to go back to walgreens ever again...

It depends, for my school, we dont get to choose until 3rd year, or at least that is what I was told.

 

[tk1tpod]

wow...i guess we here it lucky here in the pacific northwest. at least in the Seattle area. They love Interns. It's because we can counsel...take VM.. but then again I work @ a 24 hour store so we have lots of hours. My manager is really flexible, she knows that I need to make money before I start school again so she gives me at least 32 hours so I can get benefits.

I would recommend that u talk to your district pharmacy supervisor or DPTC (district pharmacy technician training coordinator) and see if they can work something out for you. Hope it works out for you!

Also intern pay depends on what year you are in. In my area for P1 is about 14-16 an hour.

 

[MountainPharmD]

This is a great thread. You are all seeing the advantage of working before and during pharmacy school. I would consider yourselves lucky you found this information out now. You will be able to make an informed decision when you graduate as to whom you will work for.

My first job after graduation was with Walgreens. Trust me it does not get any better once you are a pharmacist. I suffered through 3 months of float pool hell and quit. I paid back my bonus and have not regretted it for a second. Walgreens (and its twin sister CVS) are absolutly the worst chains to work for. It does not matter if you are a tech, intern, clerk, store management or a pharmacist.

 

[GatorRxGirl]

Walgreens is the devil.

 

[MountainPharmD]

Walgreens is the devil.

Well said!!!!

 

[panzer]

What chain is the best? I heard about Costco is pretty good. I don't expect wonders from Wal Mart though they do give you hour long lunches! 😀

How would manage care business change since Walgreens [CVS will follow] are on a run acquiring all these different companies. Will the same culture penetrate into these manage care organizations?

Mountain pharm, how much can you get from walgreens if you made a promise whatever to work for them [i think 4 years for each year in pharm school]? 1,000 or 2,000 per year?

 

[tk1tpod]

Hey Panzer.. u don't get much from Walgreens if you agree to work for them. This is taken directly from their website:

Educational Assistance Programs: Progressive

Progressive Pharmacy Student Educational Assistance Program

Program Details:
The Walgreen Co. Progressive Pharmacy Student Educational Assistance Program (the Progressive Program) is offered to pharmacy students attending their last four years of pharmacy school. This program offers enhanced awards, which increase each year a student participates. The first time a student applies and meets all of the requirements, he/she will receive $1,500. Every subsequent year he/she applies the dollar amount will increase by $500. These award amounts may be equitably adjusted for students attending three-year pharmacy programs such that the award will be $1,500, $3,000 or $4,500.

To participate in the Progressive Program students must meet the following requirements:

• Be in one of your last four years of professional pharmacy school
• Be a past or present Walgreens Employee
• Be recommended by a Walgreens District Pharmacy Supervisor, District Manager and the Educational Assistance Program Committee

After graduating from pharmacy school, the student must remain employed with Walgreens on a full-time basis as a pharmacist for the same number of years for which he/she participated in the Progressive Program. (The work requirement is equitably adjusted for students attending three-year pharmacy programs such that the first year a student receives an award he/she will have a 1 year work requirement and each additional award received will add a 1 ½ year work requirement). If a student leaves Walgreens before that period of time elapses, he/she will have to repay the award received.

 

[MountainPharmD]

Hey Panzer.. u don't get much from Walgreens if you agree to work for them. This is taken directly from their website:

Educational Assistance Programs: Progressive

Progressive Pharmacy Student Educational Assistance Program

Program Details:
The Walgreen Co. Progressive Pharmacy Student Educational Assistance Program (the Progressive Program) is offered to pharmacy students attending their last four years of pharmacy school. This program offers enhanced awards, which increase each year a student participates. The first time a student applies and meets all of the requirements, he/she will receive $1,500. Every subsequent year he/she applies the dollar amount will increase by $500. These award amounts may be equitably adjusted for students attending three-year pharmacy programs such that the award will be $1,500, $3,000 or $4,500.

To participate in the Progressive Program students must meet the following requirements:

• Be in one of your last four years of professional pharmacy school
• Be a past or present Walgreens Employee
• Be recommended by a Walgreens District Pharmacy Supervisor, District Manager and the Educational Assistance Program Committee

After graduating from pharmacy school, the student must remain employed with Walgreens on a full-time basis as a pharmacist for the same number of years for which he/she participated in the Progressive Program. (The work requirement is equitably adjusted for students attending three-year pharmacy programs such that the first year a student receives an award he/she will have a 1 year work requirement and each additional award received will add a 1 ½ year work requirement). If a student leaves Walgreens before that period of time elapses, he/she will have to repay the award received.

Under no circumstances should any student consider this foolishness. When you graduate yuo will have no idea what you want to do. Its a horrible thing to be locked into a contract.

 

[panzer]

Well the money isn't that much but the way the rates are going up on student loans, some might be tempted to take this contract..

Though on the other side, you are guaranteed a job and you can always break the contract. I wonder if you work for 1 year and then break the contract then do you still pay for 4 years or is it for the 3 years like some pro-rated refund?