Your honest opinion on ghetto stores please...

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sozetone

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Hey guys,

So i took over this Wal mart in 2017. It's in a poor part of town, has a mental hospital on one side and homeless shelter on the other. My clientele is disgusting (not all, but most). Since 04/2017 i have brought the metrics up much higher and doing well in most areas. I'm very proud of what i accomplished here. that said,

Since Wal mart started the whole restructuring about October 2017, my new DM is tough...etc. Lost hours...everyone quitting...I'm really just not sure what to do here.... i feel like i can only take this store so far. My DM will tell you we can be just as good as the highest profit store in the state, a "champion" store, but I just dont buy it of course. I feel like I have to jump ship, I just dont know if i should have already, or should wait. i'm getting paid 70/hr to do this, and i know salaries like that will NEVER come my way again, so of course i'm clinging on to this job. I feel like they are just salivating at the thought of throwing some poor new graduate in here for 55/hr or so ya know? Much less PTO...etc...so they may come for me eventually.....

What would you do?

Happy thanksgiving to you guys by the way!

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Find another job or transfer out. It sounds like that store has no bright future
 
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How close are you to retirement? You could also just milk it for what it’s worth.
 
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How close are you to retirement? You could also just milk it for what it’s worth.

Oh man, ill be 40 next month...lol. graduated 2012. not even close. This field is just so jacked up, It changes on a monthly basis.....lol. God only knows what this is gonna be in 2-5 years.
 
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Depends what my debt to income to savings ratio has become:

I’d keep my eye out for other openings but I’d milk them for what it’s worth. When I think ghetto Colorado it still sounds like that 70/hr is equivalent to 60/hr in BFE KS due to cost of living but I digress.
 
When your boss visits, repeat after me "/nod yes yes yes, ok ok ok". After your boss leaves, go back to do whatever the fuk you have been doing. Works for me for the past 10 yrs.
 
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I looked up your store's metrics (don't worry I won't tell) and those of another SC nearby (the one that does 400k in dept 40 sales a month).

If your store is really that ghetto (white trash?), 76% adherence rate is amazing. And low-mid volume is not too bad for WM. Your DM's main beef would be with wages I suppose

I would just ride it out. Why would your DM be gunning for you to replace you with an unknown quantity new grad if your store is a problem store? It's actually quite hard to hire good people for retail (a lot of people in retail are either bums wanting to do the bare minimum or "corporatchiks") because the demands are getting worse and worse and that's not considering whether you can get someone who can train techs up
 
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Tbh tech/ rph hours right now are fine. There shouldn't be any issues with the amount of help you are getting. Now as far as the quality of help is concerned, it all depends on the training you are doing and also the available talent pool (depends a lot on area).

And different clientele brings different issues. I have worked in ghetto stores where people were loud and stupid. I have worked in stores where lot of demographic is elderly (people will give you 10 rx numbers over the phone instead of doing it themselves so 3 lines are constantly ringing). And I have worked at stores in affluent neighborhoods where people give you look if they have to wait in line for 2 minutes.

So, no matter where you go, you will deal with bull**** as long as you work retail. But I do agree overall ghetto stores were the worst.
 
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Hey guys,

So i took over this Wal mart in 2017. It's in a poor part of town, has a mental hospital on one side and homeless shelter on the other. My clientele is disgusting (not all, but most). Since 04/2017 i have brought the metrics up much higher and doing well in most areas. I'm very proud of what i accomplished here. that said,

Since Wal mart started the whole restructuring about October 2017, my new DM is tough...etc. Lost hours...everyone quitting...I'm really just not sure what to do here.... i feel like i can only take this store so far. My DM will tell you we can be just as good as the highest profit store in the state, a "champion" store, but I just dont buy it of course. I feel like I have to jump ship, I just dont know if i should have already, or should wait. i'm getting paid 70/hr to do this, and i know salaries like that will NEVER come my way again, so of course i'm clinging on to this job. I feel like they are just salivating at the thought of throwing some poor new graduate in here for 55/hr or so ya know? Much less PTO...etc...so they may come for me eventually.....

What would you do?

Happy thanksgiving to you guys by the way!

View attachment 242449
How bad Walmart cut hrs for pharmacist and techs that make them quit?
 
I looked up your store's metrics (don't worry I won't tell) and those of another SC nearby (the one that does 400k in dept 40 sales a month).

If your store is really that ghetto (white trash?), 76% adherence rate is amazing. And low-mid volume is not too bad for WM. Your DM's main beef would be with wages I suppose

Looks like your customers are engaged in digital (high online refills, decent messaging, even a good amount of mobile express), but your return to stock% is on the high side. Given your numbers I think your adherence is pretty solid (and looks like its trending up big time through this year). Those wages though... :)
 
I don't know if you're referring to OP's store or doing a parody of a DM interaction but that doesn't describe my store re: wages and adherence
 
Hey guys,

So i took over this Wal mart in 2017. It's in a poor part of town, has a mental hospital on one side and homeless shelter on the other. My clientele is disgusting (not all, but most). Since 04/2017 i have brought the metrics up much higher and doing well in most areas. I'm very proud of what i accomplished here. that said,

Since Wal mart started the whole restructuring about October 2017, my new DM is tough...etc. Lost hours...everyone quitting...I'm really just not sure what to do here.... i feel like i can only take this store so far. My DM will tell you we can be just as good as the highest profit store in the state, a "champion" store, but I just dont buy it of course. I feel like I have to jump ship, I just dont know if i should have already, or should wait. i'm getting paid 70/hr to do this, and i know salaries like that will NEVER come my way again, so of course i'm clinging on to this job. I feel like they are just salivating at the thought of throwing some poor new graduate in here for 55/hr or so ya know? Much less PTO...etc...so they may come for me eventually.....

What would you do?

Happy thanksgiving to you guys by the way!

View attachment 242449

"clientele is disgusting "

:(

If you honestly, truly feel that way in your heart you probably should get another job working with less "disgusting" people man. I feel like your ability to provide quality medical care for people you hold such strong disdain for may be compromised. Try to remember these people are victims of their environment and you could have been born into their situation.
 
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Oh man, ill be 40 next month...lol. graduated 2012. not even close. This field is just so jacked up, It changes on a monthly basis.....lol. God only knows what this is gonna be in 2-5 years.
Dude it's going to be much worse in 2-5 years. You think 55 USD an hour is bad? It will be around 38 USD an hour then and you will only be guaranteed 20 hours.
 
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When your boss visits, repeat after me "/nod yes yes yes, ok ok ok". After your boss leaves, go back to do whatever the fuk you have been doing. Works for me for the past 10 yrs.
:corny::corny::corny::banana::banana::banana::soexcited::soexcited::soexcited::nod::nod::nod::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
I looked up your store's metrics (don't worry I won't tell) and those of another SC nearby (the one that does 400k in dept 40 sales a month).

If your store is really that ghetto (white trash?), 76% adherence rate is amazing. And low-mid volume is not too bad for WM. Your DM's main beef would be with wages I suppose

I would just ride it out. Why would your DM be gunning for you to replace you with an unknown quantity new grad if your store is a problem store? It's actually quite hard to hire good people for retail (a lot of people in retail are either bums wanting to do the bare minimum or "corporatchiks") because the demands are getting worse and worse and that's not considering whether you can get someone who can train techs up

Can you unpack what you mean by "corporatchiks" plz and thank you.
 
When your boss visits, repeat after me "/nod yes yes yes, ok ok ok". After your boss leaves, go back to do whatever the fuk you have been doing. Works for me for the past 10 yrs.
True dat...The whole retail pharmacy gig is a sinking ship..except there are no lifeboats..give the boss man a big hug and get the boy out the door.....collect money and pay bills as long as possible..you COULD be getting shot at in some third world pest hole..Any one considering pharmacy these days should look up "indentured servitude"..because that will likely be your fate...broke, desperate...daily high speed drudgery....
 
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True dat...The whole retail pharmacy gig is a sinking ship..except there are no lifeboats..give the boss man a big hug and get the boy out the door.....collect money and pay bills as long as possible..you COULD be getting shot at in some third world pest hole..Any one considering pharmacy these days should look up "indentured servitude"..because that will likely be your fate...broke, desperate...daily high speed drudgery....
The US is a thirdworld ****hole. Have you seen the debt bubble?
 
"clientele is disgusting "

:(

If you honestly, truly feel that way in your heart you probably should get another job working with less "disgusting" people man. I feel like your ability to provide quality medical care for people you hold such strong disdain for may be compromised. Try to remember these people are victims of their environment and you could have been born into their situation.

yeah I try to always provide quality care, my stores always had good feedbacks

buuut it was harder when i worked at ghetto stores... have you ever had patients cursing at your tech and then threatens to jump over the counter to beat the **** out of you when you go to stand up for your tech? or how about people telling you to come to the parking lot and see what happens? lol it's easy for someone who has never worked in that environment to say be compassionate
 
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"clientele is disgusting "

:(

If you honestly, truly feel that way in your heart you probably should get another job working with less "disgusting" people man. I feel like your ability to provide quality medical care for people you hold such strong disdain for may be compromised. Try to remember these people are victims of their environment and you could have been born into their situation.

i have this poor attitude towards my clientele because they have "victimized" me for so long, I am now jaded. SEE? i like this victim thing.....you can apply it to nearly all faults in life and your off the hook.....awesome!
 
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I find the inner city customers easier to deal with than the suburbs with their upper middle class entitlement. They might threaten you, but at least they don't call corporate and demand you are fired.
 
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Can you unpack what you mean by "corporatchiks" plz and thank you.

Pharmacists or DMs who
  • Harangue techs to "upsell" immunizations even though most everyone has gotten a flu shot or another shots (check profiles first bro)
  • Are obsessed with superficial appearances as opposed to getting the work done on time (well the whole store is dingy and unkempt; who cares about dirty baseboards)
  • Complain about ordering non-preferred items even though the preferred item is BLOCKED at McKesson and/or back-ordered
  • Are obsessed with SOP to the detriment of getting work done on time
  • Side with ****-headed patients always even though the patient is a ****-head
  • Want you to split shift everyone to meet schedule optimization goals (LOL)
  • Never have anything positive to say about/to their direct reports
Just a few examples

As for people in low-income areas I assure you everyone that these ****heads still call corporate. I work in places where the diabetes section, drug tests, "family planning" is on lock down (not even in individual keeper boxes but in a case) and even antifungal creams have anti-theft tags. And once in a while some pearl-clutcher is aghast that "this is by far the worst WM I've ever been to"
 
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As for people in low-income areas I assure you everyone that these ****heads still call corporate.

I guess YMMV, but I had more people call corporate on me for complete nonsense in my first month at my current store in the burbs as in 6 months at the one in North Philly I was briefly stationed at.
 
Hey guys,

So i took over this Wal mart in 2017. It's in a poor part of town, has a mental hospital on one side and homeless shelter on the other. My clientele is disgusting (not all, but most). Since 04/2017 i have brought the metrics up much higher and doing well in most areas. I'm very proud of what i accomplished here. that said,

Since Wal mart started the whole restructuring about October 2017, my new DM is tough...etc. Lost hours...everyone quitting...I'm really just not sure what to do here.... i feel like i can only take this store so far. My DM will tell you we can be just as good as the highest profit store in the state, a "champion" store, but I just dont buy it of course. I feel like I have to jump ship, I just dont know if i should have already, or should wait. i'm getting paid 70/hr to do this, and i know salaries like that will NEVER come my way again, so of course i'm clinging on to this job. I feel like they are just salivating at the thought of throwing some poor new graduate in here for 55/hr or so ya know? Much less PTO...etc...so they may come for me eventually.....

What would you do?

Happy thanksgiving to you guys by the way!

View attachment 242449
Your health is worth more than money. Drop them like a sack of knobs.
 
"clientele is disgusting "

:(

If you honestly, truly feel that way in your heart you probably should get another job working with less "disgusting" people man. I feel like your ability to provide quality medical care for people you hold such strong disdain for may be compromised. Try to remember these people are victims of their environment and you could have been born into their situation.
Working in retail has shown me that people are victims of their own stupidity. People are poor in the mind. I have seen people spend every penny they have on booze and lottery and you blame life? No it is personal choice. Why should the OP who made good choices have to suffer people who made bad.
 
Working in retail has shown me that people are victims of their own stupidity. People are poor in the mind. I have seen people spend every penny they have on booze and lottery and you blame life? No it is personal choice. Why should the OP who made good choices have to suffer people who made bad.
"good choices"
>going into pharmacy during peak saturation on borrowed money

yeah man idk if that would be considered a good choice by many. You realize taking a loan out is essential government welfare right? even thought you have to pay it back completely it's still a huge privileged to be loaned 100,000's of USD.
 
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Pharmacists or DMs who
  • Harangue techs to "upsell" immunizations even though most everyone has gotten a flu shot or another shots (check profiles first bro)
  • Are obsessed with superficial appearances as opposed to getting the work done on time (well the whole store is dingy and unkempt; who cares about dirty baseboards)
  • Complain about ordering non-preferred items even though the preferred item is BLOCKED at McKesson and/or back-ordered
  • Are obsessed with SOP to the detriment of getting work done on time
  • Side with ****-headed patients always even though the patient is a ****-head
  • Want you to split shift everyone to meet schedule optimization goals (LOL)
  • Never have anything positive to say about/to their direct reports
Just a few examples

As for people in low-income areas I assure you everyone that these ****heads still call corporate. I work in places where the diabetes section, drug tests, "family planning" is on lock down (not even in individual keeper boxes but in a case) and even antifungal creams have anti-theft tags. And once in a while some pearl-clutcher is aghast that "this is by far the worst WM I've ever been to"
"once in a while some pearl-clutcher is aghast that "this is by far the worst WM I've ever been to"

Reminds me when I was at a mcdonalds in the innercity and a ball game just let out so all the suburnites were out with their family wondering around downtown. They were clueless as to what was going on in the store and very out of place. This particular store was full of homeless and drug dealers and drugaddicts. There was a heroin/weed dealer at the door and a few strung out methadone/heroin addicts laying about the place (across the street was a methadone clinic so they would get their meds and then take them or trade them at McDonalds). The family was trying their best to get into the queue to order food but people kept jumping in front of them to order because that is how it is at some stores. The most aggressive person orders first. The family was there and then the father i think got scared / confused and just left without ordering. He had two attractive young daughters with him and all the drug addicts were salivating over them. It was just a very comical situation. The family was never in any real danger given how many people were around but it's amazing to see different cultures try to interact with each other. Or when people give to the "homeless" panhandlers when I have known some of them for years and they are 99.999% heroin dependent. Most of the truly homeless don't even care to panhandle and just use their EBT card and free housing.
 
I wish I can work in the hood, those are my people
 
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"good choices"
>going into pharmacy during peak saturation on borrowed money

yeah man idk if that would be considered a good choice by many. You realize taking a loan out is essential government welfare right? even thought you have to pay it back completely it's still a huge privileged to be loaned 100,000's of USD.
It used to be entirely private business until the government took over. It isn't welfare, it is a huge money making business. The government gets paid from the interest of the loans and the increased taxes they collect. Student loans is the most collectable debt in existence. You cannot get rid of them in bankruptcy without filing a adversity proceeding.
 
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"once in a while some pearl-clutcher is aghast that "this is by far the worst WM I've ever been to"

Reminds me when I was at a mcdonalds in the innercity and a ball game just let out so all the suburnites were out with their family wondering around downtown. They were clueless as to what was going on in the store and very out of place. This particular store was full of homeless and drug dealers and drugaddicts. There was a heroin/weed dealer at the door and a few strung out methadone/heroin addicts laying about the place (across the street was a methadone clinic so they would get their meds and then take them or trade them at McDonalds). The family was trying their best to get into the queue to order food but people kept jumping in front of them to order because that is how it is at some stores. The most aggressive person orders first. The family was there and then the father i think got scared / confused and just left without ordering. He had two attractive young daughters with him and all the drug addicts were salivating over them. It was just a very comical situation. The family was never in any real danger given how many people were around but it's amazing to see different cultures try to interact with each other. Or when people give to the "homeless" panhandlers when I have known some of them for years and they are 99.999% heroin dependent. Most of the truly homeless don't even care to panhandle and just use their EBT card and free housing.

I wonder where you're really from and what your deal is
 
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When your boss visits, repeat after me "/nod yes yes yes, ok ok ok". After your boss leaves, go back to do whatever the fuk you have been doing. Works for me for the past 10 yrs.

And you call yourself a millionaire. Your boss is towering over you and he got no degree!


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Ugh ghetto stores are the worst!! Even $70 per hour is not enough for me to work in one. I would try my hardest to transfer somewhere better, but in the meantime just stick it out. My first pharmacist job ever was in a store that was all welfare and Medicaid peeps. People (couldn’t really call them customers) would come in and either hide stuff in their baby stroller to steal it, or run in and grab something and run out the door with it. Disgusting!! I would leave work every night in a bad mood. The first chance I had to transfer out, I jumped on it. It meant I had to take a pharmacy management position. I really did not want to be manager, so that park sucked...but not as much as working in the ghetto!
 
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I think that everyone should have to work in retail. It truly does open your eyes about humanity, Machiavelli was right “We can say this of most people: that they are ungrateful and unreliable; they lie, they fake, they are greedy for cash and they melt away in the face of danger.” Retail has taught me that a lot of people and maybe most people don't think past their next paycheck, or bottle of booze, the quart of ice cream, the next high. They do whatever they feel like and couldn't care less about the consequences. But when the consequences do come, they act like a victim and expect society to pay.
 
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If making people work in retail would make them act with more grace and humility, I doubt it. Look at all the "I'm a nurse" and "I'm a pharmacy technician" ***** complaining about mandatory counseling
 
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I think that everyone should have to work in retail. It truly does open your eyes about humanity, Machiavelli was right “We can say this of most people: that they are ungrateful and unreliable; they lie, they fake, they are greedy for cash and they melt away in the face of danger.” Retail has taught me that a lot of people and maybe most people don't think past their next paycheck, or bottle of booze, the quart of ice cream, the next high. They do whatever they feel like and couldn't care less about the consequences. But when the consequences do come, they act like a victim and expect society to pay.

Yes and no. If working retail would improve the world, most pharmacists would be way different.
 
Ugh ghetto stores are the worst!! Even $70 per hour is not enough for me to work in one. I would try my hardest to transfer somewhere better, but in the meantime just stick it out. My first pharmacist job ever was in a store that was all welfare and Medicaid peeps. People (couldn’t really call them customers) would come in and either hide stuff in their baby stroller to steal it, or run in and grab something and run out the door with it. Disgusting!! I would leave work every night in a bad mood. The first chance I had to transfer out, I jumped on it. It meant I had to take a pharmacy management position. I really did not want to be manager, so that park sucked...but not as much as working in the ghetto!

I agree , but times have changed. I am the manager at this ghetto store, and i cant just "jump" into anything where the grass will be greener. Look at the job market right now. The chances of landing another manager job at a "nice" location are slim to none, and slim just went out the window.
 
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I would just keep on doing, what you are doing. Worst that can happen is your DM decides to fire you, but this is probably unlikely (at least in the short-term.) Like you said, and I think this is true of all of us, the job we currently have is probably the highest paying pharmacy job we will ever have in the future. So ride it out as long as you can.
 
I have never worked retail but it sounds like an absolute nightmare.
 
Here's some other ways they can get rid of people (this can happen anywhere) especially if your AP manager is very active and nosy:

  • Fired for not opening amber vials to check product
  • Fired for putting dropped pills back in the bottle (don't be a *******. Even active boards of pharmacy will look into this **** if patients complain)

Walmart new pharmacist pay going down

Also I know of a few people who've gotten fired over QPF

Moral of the story is make your DM work for it and get rid of all your ****ty techs ASAP because they will try to get back at you. It also does not "hurt" to work at a complex store just because AP will be preoccupied with constant shoplifting and ratchet customers so they won't be monitoring pharmacy that much if at all unless they have a good reason. However you have to work at a complex store so that is a huge downside (most pharmacists cannot handle it for an extended period of time)
 
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Here's some other ways they can get rid of people (this can happen anywhere) especially if your AP manager is very active and nosy:

  • Fired for not opening amber vials to check product
  • Fired for putting dropped pills back in the bottle (don't be a *******. Even active boards of pharmacy will look into this **** if patients complain)

Walmart new pharmacist pay going down

Also I know of a few people who've gotten fired over QPF

Moral of the story is make your DM work for it and get rid of all your ****ty techs ASAP because they will try to get back at you. It also does not "hurt" to work at a complex store just because AP will be preoccupied with constant shoplifting and ratchet customers so they won't be monitoring pharmacy that much if at all unless they have a good reason. However you have to work at a complex store so that is a huge downside (most pharmacists cannot handle it for an extended period of time)
What happened to the 5 seconds rule?
 
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Honestly I haven’t come accoross the pharmacist who DOESN’T put the pills back inside the bottle after dropping on the floor.
 
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I can not wrap my head around the pharmacist who doesn't open the bottle to check the contents. They SHOULD be fired IMO. If you aren't doing product review, what are you doing?
 
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I can not wrap my head around the pharmacist who doesn't open the bottle to check the contents. They SHOULD be fired IMO. If you aren't doing product review, what are you doing?

Yeah, that boggles my mind. Putting tablets back in the bottle after dropping on the floor: fairly common. Not opening the amber bottle to actually check the tabs/caps is just... WOW!
 
Yeah, that boggles my mind. Putting tablets back in the bottle after dropping on the floor: fairly common. Not opening the amber bottle to actually check the tabs/caps is just... WOW!

if there's a big enough gap from the label i look through the bottle sometimes. especially the 40 dram if they're big metformin pills. no? i def check the product on every product but i don't always open the cap i guess. is that bad? i mean only if they're big pills obviously with big markings.
 
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I'm all about the "don't get caught" approach

Just watch your surroundings always so customers can't see what you're doing and AP/LP can't confirm what you're doing.
 
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I find the inner city customers easier to deal with than the suburbs with their upper middle class entitlement. They might threaten you, but at least they don't call corporate and demand you are fired.
I agree - when I floated as a prn rph for CVS I preferred the inner city stores - they pay in cash (mostly medicaid) and didn't mind waiting because they had nothing better to do. They rarely questioned you - you could often just sort of blow them off when they asked about refills or PA's or things like that. The rich soccer mom's were the worst, come through the drive thru and expect you to bow down to them bc their spouse made big $$. I know this is over generalization, but I know which I preferred
 
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I agree - when I floated as a prn rph for CVS I preferred the inner city stores - they pay in cash (mostly medicaid) and didn't mind waiting because they had nothing better to do. They rarely questioned you - you could often just sort of blow them off when they asked about refills or PA's or things like that. The rich soccer mom's were the worst, come through the drive thru and expect you to bow down to them bc their spouse made big $$. I know this is over generalization, but I know which I preferred
Ghetto people must be different where you live.

I once did relief at a store where the RPh pulled a 14 hour shift of non-stop screaming.
Just non-stop.
 
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Curious how do they get caught ?

Good question. I did have a tech questioned on a survey though (under what criteria could they make strong inferences)

Ghetto people must be different where you live.

I once did relief at a store where the RPh pulled a 14 hour shift of non-stop screaming.
Just non-stop.

If the queues aren't kept under control and the staff (techs and rph) can't keep a firm hand it can get out of control in an instant
 
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