What Would You Do in Situations Like This?

[pharmtastic]

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We all know that in retail pharmacy, customer service is everything, customers are always right. But what would you do in situations like this when the customer makes unreasonable demands and refuse to cooperate with you.
Here's a real story that happened to me.

Customer (C): Hello, I would like to refill my methadone

Me (M): I'm afraid by law I wouldn't be able to do that. You will need to obtain a new prescription from your doctor.

C: Why?

M: Because methadone is in a category called "schedule 2 substance", the most restricted category of all controlled drugs, and cannot have refill.

C: That' BS. I'm in pain. I need my methadone. You'll have to fill it

M: Sir, as much as I want to, I cannot, that'd be illegal. If you want to, I can help you make a call to your doctor's office and make an urgent appointment for you if you're in pain.

C: No, my doctor is away. I need my meds

M: Like I said, sir, that's illegal for me to fill without a new prescription.

C: *finger pointing to my face* HERE, KID, I WANT YOU TO LISTEN TO ME VERY CAREFULLY. YOU ARE GOING TO REFILL MY METHADONE AND YOU ARE GOING TO DO IT NOW!!! (emphasized on NOW)

Yes, I know this may be an extreme case but I've run into several instances this these. The customer pushes to you to a dead-end where you cannot have any solution. I dont care what the "perfect" regional manager says, at one point you will have to say NO to your customer.
OK, so here's my question, what would you (esp those who's been in retail for a long time) do in cases like this. And also please, do not give me answer such as "retail sucks, go work for a hospital". I consider those answer irrelevant and immature.

 

[AngelaCL]

I would do just what you did - explain multiple times, in a calm manner, that their demand is not possible. Since I am a tech, if they still have complaints I send the pharmacist over after that point.

Sometimes people just refuse to hear what they don't want to hear. At some point you just have to walk away. Today I had a woman that was so mad that her doctor didn't call in her refill - she waited until she was totally out of medication Saturday afternoon to call. We faxed the doctor but of course they weren't in. When she came in this morning I told her the doctor hadn't returned our fax, and she just kept griping that why is this taking so long. I told her that it takes several hours or even days and next time she should call when she's got 3-5 days left of meds, but she just ignored me. I refaxed the doctor, but she demanded I call. I warned her that this doctor has voicemail and wouldn't pick up, but she didn't believe me. I called, and voicemail picked up. I left a message and told her I can't do anything else to get ahold of the doctor, and she pretty much refused to believe me. I gave her two tablets to hold her over, and when she went to the out window to pick up I heard her making the same complaints with the pharmacist. It was like my entire conversation didn't happen with her - I heard her asking him why we haven't called the doctor, how come her refill hasn't come in, she was here two days ago and we haven't done anything yet, etc.

It can be really frustrating, but after a certain point you've done all you can - pass the patient on to a superior, and if they refuse to leave you alone when you've given them your answer then you might have to call security. Unfortunately, some people learn that if they bully people enough that they will eventually get their way - but when it comes to legal/moral issues in the pharmacy, it's never worth it to give up and do something against what you know is right. Keep your cool and don't back down.

 

[PharmDstudent]

Call your mom. She always knows what to do 😛

 

[loo]

We all know that in retail pharmacy, customer service is everything, customers are always right. But what would you do in situations like this when the customer makes unreasonable demands and refuse to cooperate with you.
Here's a real story that happened to me.

Customer (C): Hello, I would like to refill my methadone

Me (M): I'm afraid by law I wouldn't be able to do that. You will need to obtain a new prescription from your doctor.

C: Why?

M: Because methadone is in a category called "schedule 2 substance", the most restricted category of all controlled drugs, and cannot have refill.

C: That' BS. I'm in pain. I need my methadone. You'll have to fill it

M: Sir, as much as I want to, I cannot, that'd be illegal. If you want to, I can help you make a call to your doctor's office and make an urgent appointment for you if you're in pain.

C: No, my doctor is away. I need my meds

M: Like I said, sir, that's illegal for me to fill without a new prescription.

C: *finger pointing to my face* HERE, KID, I WANT YOU TO LISTEN TO ME VERY CAREFULLY. YOU ARE GOING TO REFILL MY METHADONE AND YOU ARE GOING TO DO IT NOW!!! (emphasized on NOW)

Yes, I know this may be an extreme case but I've run into several instances this these. The customer pushes to you to a dead-end where you cannot have any solution. I dont care what the "perfect" regional manager says, at one point you will have to say NO to your customer.
OK, so here's my question, what would you (esp those who's been in retail for a long time) do in cases like this. And also please, do not give me answer such as "retail sucks, go work for a hospital". I consider those answer irrelevant and immature.

You did just fine. Stand your ground. Repeat politely that you will not do it because it is not legal to do so. Always offer more than one option (if possible). I usually tell them they can call their MD (or I will call ) or they can visit their local ED. End of discussion. Be firm, but polite.

This person (usually a frequent flyer) may be testing you or they may have legitimate pain issues. If they have legit pain issues, they need to see an MD anyway.

If they continue, get a manager involved and take yourself out of the situation. Don't let it escalate.

 

[bananaface]

What loo said.

There may be times where people resent boundaries because they can't get what they want. But, you can also make alot of people happy by letting them know what the boundaries are and doing everything in your power to help them.

 

[Old Timer]

C: That' BS. I'm in pain. I need my methadone. You'll have to fill it

Keep a civil tongue in your head or this conversation is over. Any more profanity from you will cause me to have you removed from the store.

C: *finger pointing to my face* HERE, KID, I WANT YOU TO LISTEN TO ME VERY CAREFULLY. YOU ARE GOING TO REFILL MY METHADONE AND YOU ARE GOING TO DO IT NOW!!! (emphasized on NOW)

Answer One: I own my own store: Point that finger at me one more time and I'll break it off and shove it up your ***.

Answer Two: I work for a chain store: If you wish to have a civil discussion than I am more than happy to help you. If your point your finger at me one more time I will have security remove you from the building, Which option would you like to take. OK, you want to work this out. Please call your doctor's office and see who is covering while he is away. Call that doctor and go for a visit. If they can't see you they are allowed to phone in a 72 hour prescription, please have the doctor contact me. Failing that, you will have to go to the emergency room. I wish I could be more helpful, however it is against the law to dispense Methadone without a written prescription from your physician.

 

[MountainPharmD]

You should always try to give people an option. If you get backed into a dead end then state the facts and end the conversation. Call security or the police if it gets ugly. In this siutuation I find it hard to believe someone on methadone was unaware of the regulations concerning c-II's.

 

[loo]

[Answer Two: I work for a chain store: If you wish to have a civil discussion than I am more than happy to help you. If your point your finger at me one more time I will have security remove you from the building, Which option would you like to take. OK, you want to work this out. Please call your doctor's office and see who is covering while he is away. Call that doctor and go for a visit. If they can't see you they are allowed to phone in a 72 hour prescription, please have the doctor contact me. Failing that, you will have to go to the emergency room. I wish I could be more helpful, however it is against the law to dispense Methadone without a written prescription from your physician.
[/COLOR]

Unprofessional Answer Three (if they persist, do not have a weapon, if they are a known frequent flyer, and your weasel manager attempts to appease them with free coupons): You have been told what options you have. It's up to you to make a decision. If you continue to harass me, I'm gonna leap over this counter faster than a spider monkey and give you a valid reason for your f*@5king methadone, b*tch!

I couldn't help it...sorry.

 

[imperial frog]

I really don't see where the customer/management conflict is here. The adage "customer is always right" isn't absolute and I hardly think any manager is going to side with the customer in a situation like this. If they do and somehow convince you to fill C-IIs without scripts, well, you probably won't have to worrry about filling too many scripts for long.

You say situations like this don't have solutions. I disagree. The solution here isn't hiding, obscure, or even vague.

 

[loo]

I really don't see where the customer/management conflict is here. The adage "customer is always right" isn't absolute and I hardly think any manager is going to side with the customer in a situation like this.

Ah yeah...you'd be suprised what "spin" customers put on things. People will lie to get what they want. Fortunately, most management folk can tell the difference.

In a retail environment, store management only gets involved when customers get out of hand, behavior-wise. Upper management (pharmacy supervisors, etc.) only get involved when customers complain about pharmacy issues, whether they be law or clinically related.

Yep, it's pretty obvious what the solution is here...I agree it's not vague at all. People disagree in the way that the obvious is presented to the customer.

As for my "coupon" crack...that was a joke.

 

[evilolive]

Keep a civil tongue in your head or this conversation is over. Any more profanity from you will cause me to have you removed from the store.





Answer One: I own my own store: Point that finger at me one more time and I'll break it off and shove it up your ***.

Answer Two: I work for a chain store: If you wish to have a civil discussion than I am more than happy to help you. If your point your finger at me one more time I will have security remove you from the building, Which option would you like to take. OK, you want to work this out. Please call your doctor's office and see who is covering while he is away. Call that doctor and go for a visit. If they can't see you they are allowed to phone in a 72 hour prescription, please have the doctor contact me. Failing that, you will have to go to the emergency room. I wish I could be more helpful, however it is against the law to dispense Methadone without a written prescription from your physician.

🙂

 

[Old Timer]

🙂

Glad I could make you smile.....

 

[jpharmfarm]

the answer is "or what?"

 

[b0lingball]

all you need to do is to tell him if you don't leave the pharmacy right now you're gonna call the cops....

 

[Pharmavixen]

I work in a methadone-dispensing pharmacy one day a week, and these sorts of things happen all the time. By attempting to bully the pharmacist, the patient is exhibiting classic drug-seeking behaviour. You don't see people pulling this crap when they run out of their hydrochlorothiazide.

When this happens in our pharmacy, the tech and I both take a strong stance, throwing it back in the patient's face. "YOU KNOW what the rules are. WE NEED a written for meth. No, we WILL NOT call your doctor for you. Bring us a script and we can help you. Otherwise, there is absolutely nothing we can do. YOU KNOW that."

We emphasize that the patient knows what the rules are because of course she does. Once they start bullying you, you have to stand firm.

If they threaten to change pharmacies, I say, "That's up to you. Bring me a script and I can help you. No script, no meth."

MOST IMPORTANT: you need to have a boss who backs you up. If your boss doesn't support you in these kinds of situations, you have to find a new job.

 

[Farmercyst]

The only other thing I can think of from the customer service standpoint is to acknowledge the customer's pain. If they understand that you are at least aware of their severe pain and that you understand pain is a very serious affliction, that may help ease the delivery of, "but I still can't help you" (put much more diplomatically.)

I doubt they'd go for the synnergistic effects of APAP/IBU🙄. Not having had the legal classes yet, can you offer them something else in the meantime other than OTC? Is it possible to suggest them something that would be at least more effective than ES APAP or the like? Looking at some of the Schedule 5 laws it looks like many narcotic products are available, but for non-analgesic purposes (codeine cough syrups and the like). My guess is a scriptless C5 sale would therefore be illegal even in states that allow scriptless c5 sales. The ones I looked at indicated the C5 had to be sold for the indicated conditions only.

 

[Pharmavixen]

I can't speak to the legal situation at all, as I'm in a different country. We have OTC codeine available here in an 8 mg strength/tablet combined with caffeine and acetaminophen (Tylenol#1), but that's pretty wussy compared with methadone. We used to sell tons of the 200-size to vacationing Americans on their summer holidays, but not so much lately; I'm guessing all the homeland security border stuff makes folks a bit nervous about smuggling narcotics home.

Acknowledging a person's pain is all very well and good, but if you're dealing with someone on methadone, she has been taking other opioids before that, probably for years. I've never heard of methadone being given to opioid-naive patients (well, I've read about it, but I've never seen it). These patients are well-versed in the legislation around these drugs.

In my opinion, a methadone client who says she doesn't know meth scripts can't be refilled is lying. Perhaps she saw a young person behind the counter and thought she'd try and scam you.

A methadone client came into a pharmacy here in Canada with a script for 90 mg daily dispense. She swore up and down that it was supposed to be 95 mg and the doctor had made a mistake. It was in the evening and the doctor's office was closed. So the pharmacist filled it for the 95 mg, figuring she could call the dr the next day and get him to fax a new script. Long story short, the patient was lying, and the pharmacist ended up getting reprimanded by our professional college.

People on long-term opioids require more vigilance. I'm professional, and even nice, but I give these patients much firmer boundaries than, say, elderly patients on antihypertensives and hypoglycemics.

 

[McZyprexalynn]

Sometimes you just have to walk away. If they're being persistently annoying and you've told them the same answer repeated times, sometimes you just have to say, "I'm sorry, but that's the way it works." and just walk away and busy yourself with something else (make sure you look really busy). Most of the time they'll grumble for a while and then wander off when they realize they're being ignored (kind of like a child throwing a tantrum).

 

[BidingMyTime]

OK, so here's my question, what would you (esp those who's been in retail for a long time) do in cases like this. And also please, do not give me answer such as "retail sucks, go work for a hospital". I consider those answer irrelevant and immature.

Rule #1, never argue with a customer (after all, they are always "right".) If a customer starts arguing or threating, call over either the pharmacy manager or the store manager. That is their job to deal with those kinds of situations (and they usually have a bit of training on how to do the politic talk, ie make the customer think he "won" even though he still didn't get his methadone.)

If it's just you and there is no other manager, then I would tell them they will have to get their methadone filled elsewhere. Then call the police and have them arrested for trespassing if they refuse to leave.

Don't waste time with pointless arguments with a customer. Tell them what you can or can't do for them, then move on.