While waiting for the meds to deal with my annual bout of bronchitis, I listened to a pharmacist have to deal with three sucky customers in a row.
The first wasn't so bad: this guy wanted the pharmacist to substitute a generic for a pricy brand name med, but the script didn't say a generic could be subbed, so no go. The guy fussed for a few minutes and then took the meds and left.
Second woman was yelling because she drove TEN MILES!!!* to pick up her meds and how dare they tell her that they didn't have enough to fill the script?!?!?!! She needed 90 pills, they had something like 60. How dare they not call her and tell her they didn't have the entire amount... when she called in to use the automated system to get the refill and then left the house immediately to come pick it up. Pharmacist tells her to call and talk to a live person next time, one of the options on the automated phone system. Politely offers to cancel he 'script and let her go somewhere else, but if she's in a hurry she needs to let him get back to work so he can finish filling the partial script now. No, she's not getting a discount for her inconvenience.
By the time he got to the third one, the pharmacist was done, and I don't blame him. The third woman had a coupon for a free month of an expensive med. Problem is, the coupon is for a proper dosage of XX mg twice per day, but the doc wrote the 'script for XX mg once per day. Since it isn't the proper dosage for the meds, the coupon doesn't apply. She starts screaming about how her husband is going to DIE because this pharmacist can't get a hold of her doctor at eight o'clock at night. Pharm asks how many days of meds the husband has left, and the woman admits that he has three days left, but the pharmacists was going to kill him if he didn't fill the 'script and give her the coupon NOW! The pharmacist had enough, and very firmly told her that the med was not for a life-threatening condition and if he has three days left then that's plenty of time for her to contact the doc and get the script rewritten. If she didn't want to wait then she could pay the $174 and go, but she would not be permitted to stand there and scream at him because she waited until the last minute to get a script refilled.
I wouldn't have heard any of these if the people hadn't been yelling their private conversations loud enough for everyone within 20 ft to hear them and making the pharmacist raise his voice to be heard over their yelling. Idiots.
*Yes, she yelled that at the top of her lungs. The Wally World is at the edge of a major city with lots and lots of small farm towns spread out around it. Ten miles is seriously no big deal in this case.
The first wasn't so bad: this guy wanted the pharmacist to substitute a generic for a pricy brand name med, but the script didn't say a generic could be subbed, so no go. The guy fussed for a few minutes and then took the meds and left.
Second woman was yelling because she drove TEN MILES!!!* to pick up her meds and how dare they tell her that they didn't have enough to fill the script?!?!?!! She needed 90 pills, they had something like 60. How dare they not call her and tell her they didn't have the entire amount... when she called in to use the automated system to get the refill and then left the house immediately to come pick it up. Pharmacist tells her to call and talk to a live person next time, one of the options on the automated phone system. Politely offers to cancel he 'script and let her go somewhere else, but if she's in a hurry she needs to let him get back to work so he can finish filling the partial script now. No, she's not getting a discount for her inconvenience.
By the time he got to the third one, the pharmacist was done, and I don't blame him. The third woman had a coupon for a free month of an expensive med. Problem is, the coupon is for a proper dosage of XX mg twice per day, but the doc wrote the 'script for XX mg once per day. Since it isn't the proper dosage for the meds, the coupon doesn't apply. She starts screaming about how her husband is going to DIE because this pharmacist can't get a hold of her doctor at eight o'clock at night. Pharm asks how many days of meds the husband has left, and the woman admits that he has three days left, but the pharmacists was going to kill him if he didn't fill the 'script and give her the coupon NOW! The pharmacist had enough, and very firmly told her that the med was not for a life-threatening condition and if he has three days left then that's plenty of time for her to contact the doc and get the script rewritten. If she didn't want to wait then she could pay the $174 and go, but she would not be permitted to stand there and scream at him because she waited until the last minute to get a script refilled.
I wouldn't have heard any of these if the people hadn't been yelling their private conversations loud enough for everyone within 20 ft to hear them and making the pharmacist raise his voice to be heard over their yelling. Idiots.
*Yes, she yelled that at the top of her lungs. The Wally World is at the edge of a major city with lots and lots of small farm towns spread out around it. Ten miles is seriously no big deal in this case.
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