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  • Pharmacy closed (longish)

    Our pharmacy has been without a permenent pharmasist since Easter and down a pharmasist for about 6 months. Normally there are 2 and they switch days, but one got very ill and the other was offered a much better job. We have been making do with substitute pharmaists for a while but it isn't ideal. They have a lot more leaway with hours and will sometimes work less than the nomal day. This makes customers annoyed.

    Today was one of those days. I got a call yesterday saying that the phamacy would be closing at 3 today. As it was closing early that day, I put up a sign saying "The pharmacy will be closing at 8:00 today. It will be open 8:00 to 3:00 tomorrow. We appologize for the inconvenience."

    When I got in at 2 today, the pharmacy was already closed. My sign was still up though someone added in the dates. I made a new sign saying "The pharmacy is closed this afternoon. We appologize for the inconvience." This sign was attached to the door everyone has to go through to get into the store.

    Want to guess how many people walked up to the pharmacy, looked at the closed shutters and asked me "Is the pharmacy closed?"

    I had one man who wanted to know why he wasn't called. Like we call every RX customer and tell them that we are closed. Then he wanted me to leave a note about his refill. I'm not working the next day. Finally he wanted my assurance that they would be open tommorrow. I informed him that I could get a call that afternoon that it would be closed tommorrow. I can't garentee anything.

    Another customer asked me, "Well what are you going to do about it?"
    Me: Do about what?
    SC: What are you going to do about transfering my perscription to CVS?
    Me: I can't do anything sir. All the information is in the pharmacy."
    SC: Well can you pass a message to your boss to do it.
    Me: He won't be in untill tommorrow. When the RX is open.
    Not to mention, neither of us can trasfer a perscription. Didn't get into that part with him.

    I also got this.
    Idiot woman: Is the pharmacy closed for good?
    Me: No just today.

    READ PEOPLE!
    I have PMS and a black belt. Any questions?

    This random moment is brought to you by the letters A D and D.

  • #2
    I hate it when we have to shut down. People take it as such a personal insult. No, the pharmacist didn't get sick or go on vacation just to piss you off.

    We almost had to close down on overnights last week, but we got some volunteers just in the nick. Thank god.
    I'm always amazed at the people who complain that they can't get their pills at 1 am. Hmm...have you considered operating during normal business hours like just about everyone else? Yeaah......

    Comment


    • #3
      Is the pharmacy closed for good?
      This is a legitimate question, even considering the signs that were up. I, too, would wonder if the pharmacy was closing permanently considering the recent irregular hours and seeing a different pharmacist or tech every time you go in. That is very hard on a business and once you get the personnel straightened out it is going to take a long time to rebuild the customer base again.

      I say this knowing that no one reads signs, or if they do read them, believe that it only pertains to other people.
      This isn't an office. It's Hell with fluorescent lighting.

      Comment


      • #4
        Quoth Delphae View Post

        Another customer asked me, "Well what are you going to do about it?"

        I'll just tell everyone to open regular hours. I don't run the store but what the hell.

        what kind of answer should customers expect when they ask that question to a regular worker I mean c'mon.
        Providing Excellent customer service and Filtering out nonsense people.

        Comment


        • #5
          Quoth AFpheonix View Post
          I'm always amazed at the people who complain that they can't get their pills at 1 am. Hmm...have you considered operating during normal business hours like just about everyone else? Yeaah......
          Ahem there are emergency prescriptions for instance the date rape drug combo that could very well have to come in at that time. Not all hospitals will fill that in fact a number of women were not offered it even though they law says it's supposed to be. Since that is a time critical med it has to be fullfilled immediatly. Someone could also have been out of surgery or a doctor's visit that would require a very strong pain medicine. Also a diabetic could need insulin at that moment due to some accident involving their supply.

          A pharmacy should be open 24 hours just like a hospital.

          Comment


          • #6
            Those I can understand. It's the people who have left their birth control here for a week and a half and then want to pick it up at 1 am who bitch.

            Everyone else seems ok with driving a few minutes to get to the next 24 hour pharmacy.

            Trust me, I've been workin' the late shift for several years now. Oh....and Plan B is effective for 72 hours after the incident. And it's available OTC now.

            Frankly it's not cost effective for every pharmacy to stay open 24 hours. Even as busy as my store is, we tend to get pretty much no one in from about 1am to 5am or so, and then it gets kinda busy during the time people are going to work, dies out for awhile until doctor's offices open and start sending us back refill ok's and new rxs.
            Then we die down a little again about noon, and then it's from about 2pm to 8 or 9pm when we get another small breather, and then about 10pm we start getting a buttload of emergency room scripts.

            On weekends, it's pretty slow until 6pm, and then we start getting buttloads of customers from other pharmacies who didn't get in before they closed. The ones that filled at our chain (and don't have a control II script) I can do something about, everyone else is about SOL.

            Sorry if I sound a little cranky, but this job has pretty much killed my empathy gland for people who, due to their own lack of foresight, brought their own little problem about. I reserve what's left of my empathy for the truly deserving people like hospice patients and their families.

            Comment


            • #7
              I too, would wonder (silently, I hope) if the pharmacy was going to close, but would realize that whatever problems it had in staffing management would be trying to rectify.

              Not too long ago I had to schedule elective surgery. The practice I called had one doctor who performed it. He was booked the whole month of August, and taking the month of September off. Booked for all of october, and taking November off.

              Know what? it was an easy work-around...call another practice. First doctor's sec told me everything would be do-able...but I have no idea why he has to take two months off out of three. Bad divorce? Humanitarian mission work overseas?

              Pick up the phone and dial, people. And, what did people do before the big chains opened 24 hours? Die? I don't think we have any 24 hour pharmacies in our city. Folks aren't dropping like flies....

              Comment


              • #8
                When I was a kid back in the 60s, we had two pharmacies in town--a Rexall and an independent store. Back then you could call the pharmacist at his home if you had an emergency prescription to fill at 3 a.m. He would come in and fill it for you. That went for the chain store as well as the independent. I suspect you could still do that nowadays with a store or two, but those days are long, long gone--as gone as the days when you paid five bucks for a visit to the doctor's office. Yeah, I'm ancient

                Comment


                • #9
                  Quoth infavorofnaturalselection View Post
                  A pharmacy should be open 24 hours just like a hospital.
                  No, it shouldn't. A pharmacy should be open for the hours they find most profitable, just like any other business. If you think you will have to drop off or pick up your prescription at some bizarre hour, then you should get it filled at your local hospital pharmacy, which will often be open extended hours or a full 24/7.

                  My ex was diabetic. Type 1. Losing your insulin is not a medical emergency that won't wait until the morning. If it is, then you need a hospital visit, not just more insulin.

                  And the "morning after" pill will wait until the morning after. It is not so time sensitive that you really need it at 1am.

                  There are very few medications (pain pills and inhalers come to mind) that are vital enough to require a refill in the wee hours.

                  ^-.-^
                  Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

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                  • #10
                    Quoth workerbee222 View Post
                    ...Pick up the phone and dial, people. And, what did people do before the big chains opened 24 hours? Die? I don't think we have any 24 hour pharmacies in our city. Folks aren't dropping like flies....
                    In Europe it's common for all pharmacies in a given area to take turns doing night duty. Each closed phamacies is required to display a sign in it's window stating where the nearest open one is. From what I understand customers often have to pay a premium for purchases they make whild the pharmacy is on night duty.
                    Mon aƩroglisseur est plein des anguilles!"

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Quoth alphaboi View Post
                      In Europe it's common for all pharmacies in a given area to take turns doing night duty.
                      This is a wonderful idea, I think. That way, if it really is an emergency, or for some reason you really really can't make it during normal hours before it becomes an emergency, you have an option, and no business is strained with having to stay open all the time, and trying to find workers for that.
                      Ba'al: I'm a god. Gods are all-knowing.

                      http://unrelatedcaptions.com/45147

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                      • #12
                        There are 24 hour pharmacies not far away. And you can go to any store in our branch and get their script filled. And there are 2 more of our pharmacy on the same street but in different towns.
                        I have PMS and a black belt. Any questions?

                        This random moment is brought to you by the letters A D and D.

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