We Are Closed...

That reminds me of a story of someone coming at 5pm when i closed. She was like, I MADE IT before 5pm. I had already closed up and recommended a closeby 24 hour store. Then she gave me a sob sob story aboutspending her WHOLE day at the beach. It just just pissed me off. To make a long story short... I gave her 35 cents and told her to call someone who cares! SOO PISSED OFF!!!

Sure, I would be happy to fill your prescription. (NOT!) Oh you know what, I don't have it in stock, but the other pharmacy down the street does. Haha! :-)

dang pharmacists!

Ive used that excuse.
I used the "my computers SHUT DOWN at 5pm sharp."
Or the "Pharmacist has left already... Im just the stock boy, and i cannot dispense without him!"

yo man, u stoled my excuses!!!!
dont i miss this shit?
"is the pharmacy closed?" yes
"are u the pharmacist?" no
and im still wearing my white coat as i walk out of the store

haha.. You BASTARD!
Dont you hate this one...

"Can't you fill this NOW? Your only counting pills. Anyone can do that."

hahahahha!

"well, im sure the manager can help you inside"

Do you go to the post office 10 minutes before it closes? How about the bank? Best Buy? A fast-food chain? Do you feel guilty that you're preventing the employees from closing on time or do you feel that they should serve you? The point is that in EVERY customer service industry this type of thing happens. Contrary to your posting, customers aren't staring aimlessly at their watches, waiting until 9:50 to get their prescriptions so as to annoy you. They usually have circumstances that prevent them from coming in earlier. They have real jobs, real families and real problems to deal with. They may even have to deal with more issues than you do. As unfair as it may seem to some, people don't put the happiness of their pharmacists in high priority just as they don't put the patience of post office clerks, bank tellers and sales representatives in high priority. Yes, it is annoying to have a new customer come in close to closing...we've all dealt with it if we have had a customer service job...but an extra 10, or even 20 minutes to help a real person out really isn't that much to ask if all you're going to do after work is catch up on your TiVo and play on your labtop.

Actually... #1 -- I *DON'T* run into any banks or stores the LAST minute b/c I *DO* feel guilty for preventing the employee from leaving! #2 -- All I am saying is that if the Rx's need to be fill --- THERE ARE 24HR STORES!!!! You don't need to be running out of breath to my store and STOP me from leaving my 8hr shift. #3 -- I also have REAL families and REAL problems to deal with too. After my 8hr shift, I would like to go home as well to attend to my issues. All I am asking is you to respect my time like you would yours. I don't think you would appreciate it I make you stay late from work. #5 -- I mention "REGULAR" customers ... not NEW in my posting. #6 -- UCSF candidate: Talk to me AFTER you start working in retail. Haha

haha..
Let the FLAMING begin!

1. I ALSO feel guilty going to a resturant when the close or to a BEST BUY when its 8:55 and it closes at 9pm. If i make it to the store 10 mins before it closes, i just dont GO. And if i really need to go, i will go to a store that is open all night...
YES, that would be great it they had a 24HR best buy, and i do reguard this toward my health!!!

2. I RESENT that we are reguarded as less than having a real job, real families and REAL problems. i guess my problems are less than them and they should just kick me in the balls when they feel like it. I have NO real feelings either i suppose.

3. Having problems and having PLAIN common courtesy is two things. If they don't show you the respect.... dont show it to them. "Do on to them as they do to you..."
I guess you will understand that once you get your life threatened with when you refused to fill a vicoden for a DRUGGIE for the first time...
ah... Young blood.

i can go on but i wont...
as i said before
'LET THE FLAMING BEGIN!"

Also here is my point as i have mentioned before about our profession...

Never has a struggle been SO hard to prove your profession as more than counting drugs.

As someone has referred the the life as a RETAIL pharmacist as a soilder on the FRONT line. We take the brunt of the attack-- the bullets, the sticks and stones for the profession that dubbes my pharase: "To Serve and Dispense"

Now a days, when students go thru pharmacy school they PUSH residency and other NON-retail positions because of the fact of all the BITCHING and COMPLAINING that retail carries with it. The profession itself doesnt reguard itself as never had have the problems it seems that they care creating other positions that migrate away from mere DISPENSING roles--- managed care, residency, State funded jobs....

And as i mentioned to one of my friends....
You will not see the patient yelling at any medical doctor in the same respect as they yell at us.
Even the respect of a small store pharmacists have been taken away from the modern role, and they dont even give us that respect.

Its sad, but true. When compared to any customer service, the CUSTOMER IS NOT ALWAYS RIGHT.
If that were the case, we would dispense all the T3, and vicoden the patient would say they deserve...
Once that distinction is differentiated, we must realized that the role of a retail pharmacist is much different..

here i go again... trying to perserve what i do..
ahh.... Young blood.. cant even claim ignorance...

One of the statements I made was miscontrued. In saying that people have real jobs, real problems and real families, I did not mean that you don't have real jobs, problems and families as well. I just want you to remember that your customers also have real jobs, problems and families. And if you know this, why do you talk the way you do, as if there is no explanation for them not always thinking about what is convenient for you?

And in regards to Patrick's comment about the druggie, is that suppose to scare or shock me? What is actually frightening to me is the SEEMINGLY lack of empathy that you feel for your customers, the people who gave you your job (RE: I gave her 35 cents and told her to call someone who cares! ). You don't always have to go the extra mile. It's not wrong to close on time. It is your right. However, it is respectful to at least try to understand where they are coming from even if you won't stay overtime for them. In the postings above, I don't hear consideration for the circumstances of your customers. How can you even begin to expect people to feel for your situation if you don't feel for them? Granted, you might still get treated like crap if you treat them with the utmost respect; but you have to start somewhere.

Also, the quote isn't "Do on to them as they do to you..." It is, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." In other words, treat them as you would want to be treated. You completely twisted the quote. And here's another one for you in regards to not respecting people if they don't respect you, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

It is normal and understandable for you to FEEL frustrated and annoyed by whatever situation comes your way. There are many challenges to being a retail pharmacist. It is not cool to THINK and maybe even TREAT (if you do that kind of thing) your customers as mere annoyances rather than people with needs...which is what I'm hearing from you.

"Ignorance is bliss..."

P.S.
"...people who gave you your job..."
The last time I checked... I went to school and EARNED my job.

In addition, to me, respect and empathy are both earned ... not given blindly.

For someone who claims to look at both side of the coin, I find it very close-minded of you to not be able to see this entry as just venting from a bad day of work. Perhaps you should learn to give benefit of the doubts to EVERYONE (not just what you THINK is correct) before insulting my (and Patrick's) work ethics and professionalism.

First of all, your customers gave you your job because without them, you wouldn't have this job. Secondly, it's kind of your job to give them respect and empathy. But if your credo is true and respect and empathy is earned in every situation, why do you expect them to give it to you blindly as well? They don't really know you and they don't recognize everything that you you do, which I do admit is unfortunate and unfair. They may not even realize that you feel that they are disrespecting you. It would be great if people were nicer, more decent, and treated you as well as you treat them, but they're not. But if you don't take the first step, who will?

And yes I recognize that it's a bad day at work, but it's the little things that add up. It's the things that you say that become who you are. Am I at fault for doing the same thing? Yes, and I have people to remind me when I'm being a little too cynical. I commented because it seemed like everyone was bashing on the customers and getting angrier and more bitter. I just don't want you to reach a point where your frustrations consume you and possibly blind you to those who are genuinely in need, because I've seen that happen. That's all.

And in terms of giving people benefit of the doubt, I gave you chances to refute what I interpreted and my entries were full of qualifiers (i.e. seemingly, if you do that kind of thing). In the last sentence of my last entry, I even gave you a stepping stone to refute me on what I interpreted on the postings. I said that this is what I seem to hear from the entries that people have written...you could have just said that I misread it. Also, ask yourself, do I give my customers the benefit of the doubt when they come in late? I'm not implying that you don't, because you might do it everytime they come in. It's a good question to ask though if you've never asked yourself.

In terms of questioning your ethics and professionalism, I'm not saying you do shoddy or unlawful work. I'm sure both of you stand by the rules. I even wrote that you have the right to do what you do (closing when you do). All I wanted to say was this kind of thing happens in every job and people approach these situations in different ways. We all have to deal with some annoying thing everywhere we work, but sometimes it would be nice to go the extra mile when you can.

It seems that you give more credit to the customers problems and life rather than the problems and life of your cousin. You would rather say the “customers needs’ come before the needs of your cousin or any pharmacist. However, we need things in order to fill your prescriptions CORRECTLY and this is where the problems arise. Their Life, their needs is all that I’m hearing now. Yes, we show them empathy as I am going to explain, but this weblog entry is just an instance of michelle’s bad experience and of her venting.

My phrase of the Druggie is not meant to shock you or scare you. I do not need to do that, the majority of customers will do that on their own. The ones that you hold soo dearly to will be the ones who will offend you the most. This instance of a vicoden abusing person is an situation that is common. I am trying to open your eyes to prepare you since you seem to have your eyes closed to these things. Retail pharmacy is a scary place and I have always the sexist phrase that women should not belong in this world. I would NEVER in a millions years want my daughter to work there because of the stress. I have tried to convince Michelle to avoid this pitfall, butt she gave me a good answer. She feels that retail distribution of medication is best way to have the most impact on a patient. Once she told me this, I thought she was full of BS, but after a while I realized she was right and I respect the reason she remains in it. I do sadden to this past year of events at walgreens. Instances where she was robbed outside a store and where her car was vandalized with $3000 worth of damages have made me worry about my honey.
If you think that I treat all my customers with an attitude such as the 35cents story, you are more naïve that I realized. If I did tell EVERYONE to “call someone who cares” do you think I would still be employed?? Even if I did like 20% of the customers this way do you think I would get away with it and be the mean old pharmacist?? Did you ever once think that we attempt to treat customers with respect and reserve the “special treatment” to the ones who deserve it? NO
You like to look at things at all angles. It’s pretty easy to look at it that way with a closed mind. The customer and their needs never left your thought process as you argue with us.
Now we come to the twisting a quote. “An eye for an eye…” It sounds like you think I want revenge on someone. Where in these past comments do I sound like I want this? “Do unto others as you would have them to unto you.” Whatever way it reads or sounds it does mean “treat them as you want to be treated.” How did I twist my quote?? Like I said, I do not go into any store within 10 mins of closing. If I do, I realize that they have the option of not serving me. I do not complain when I have to wait in line for something that seems to take so little time to do. I don’t expect my late planning to be rewarded with a quick fix. This comes to the 35cents story. If I go late I KNOW that I had the other 8-12 hours to come in. And if I miss that, it’s all on my fault. Luckily for pharmacies there are 24 hours stores that alleviate these problems. Like I said, that instance was when that lady spent the whole day at the beach and did not plan her picking up her OCP. Dunno how come you don’t understand my frustration. I guess you like to be pissed on. I do not like to do these things and I find it distasteful when someone does it to me. Therefore my pervious quote is correct. I don’t know why I had to explain it. I thought it was apparent to the open eye.
I could write on and on about this but I seems like I am repeating myself and you are criticizing something I thought you had some idea on since your are PHARMD CANIDATE. But according to your comments it doesn’t seem you understand just even a little bit. In any customer service job you are going to experience days such as michelle. But you must realize that she is working at job where she can make a difference. As corny as it sounds it is difficult for me to hear these problems she is having and I wish I could just solve it all with a wisk of a wand.
I am glad that she writes on this website of her experiences because it reminds me of how it was to start to float and It gives her a way to relieve this pressure. In the Osco that I previously worked there were a lot of problem patients and as a result the 3 pharmacist working there including me developed twitches. Some of them were treated with Klonopin and I recovered once I left the store. Now the store I am at now, the customers are not as bad. About 80% know me by name and I know them by last name because I don’t think I should know them on a first name basis because of professionalism and they are mostly elderly. We still have the problems, but im beyond that because it is over balanced by the quantity of good patients.
My point is that we are saying these things out of experience. It is easy to criticize and say that we are wrong. I always use the model of a boxer in a fight. You watch him get beat up and all you can say is, “you should have dodged that.” Obiviously its easier to say about something you have no idea about.

"First of all, your customers gave you your job because without them, you wouldn't have this job."

Funny --- I don't remember asking for their permission to work.

Wow, miss a little, miss alot?

I find it humorous that the one person that was offended by this blog was a person that not only has never worked a day as pharmacist but hasn't even completed pharmacy school.

I can honestly say that this blog was meant to be a humerous way to vent out a typical evening ending day at a retail pharmacy.

I would definitely respect a fellow RPH if he/she called us out on what they thought of as a lack of professionalism as UCSF PharmD Candiate did.

But being called out by a wannabe pharmacist is like a snot-nose West Point Cadet admonishing a Veteran Army Officer for commenting that "war sux".

UCSF PharmD candiate, you have the right to say or write whatever you want, but until you grow up, finish pharmacy school, and work a single day as pharmacist, don't tell us tell us what we can or cant feel when we are working in the phamacy and push your idealist (yet noble) beliefs of professionalism when you havent "seen the elephant". You made some comments that makes sense and I felt that way one time but theory and application never go hand in hand.

Other than that, good luck at UCSF. After 4 years of pharmacy school and 1 day of working as pharmacist, Im looking forward to be put to shame by the personification of empathy and professionalism.

shit!! i should read this log more often!!! SO MUCH DRAMA!!! hao wanna play too!! =)