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Overheard at CVS Pharmacy. Note that I entered the pharmacy area in mid-conversation and I don't know when this it started, but it was loud enough that I couldn't help overhearing from behind her in line and, after another technician helped me out, even the waiting area farther away from the conversation. I'm not one to eavesdrop on any pharmacy counter conversations, but she was so livid I could hear her from where I was sitting:
SC: "...so why wasn't I warned when I got these pills?"
Pharmacist: "Because we weren't aware that they were defective at that time."
SC: "But you should have known!"
Pharmacist: "The recall was not released until a few days ago. We had no way to know that they were recalled."
SC: "You should have tested them first then!"
Pharmacist: "We cannot test them. We don't have the equipment and they are already packaged when we receive them."
SC: "Do you realize what is at stake here? I could be pregnant right now!"
Pharmacist: "I understand and sympathize with you, miss, and I do strongly recommend you get a pregnancy test to ensure you are not pregnant. However, this problem is not our responsibility, but the responsibility of the manufacturer of your pills."
SC: "I cannot believe you would give me defective pills! Why did you give them to me?"
Pharmacist: "As I said before, we had no way of knowing they were defective. We do not do testing on pills we receive because quality assurance is the responsibility of the manufacturer."
SC: "So what do I do?!"
Pharmacist: "I recommend you cease using the pills immediately, use the replacements, and--"
SC: "How do you know that THESE pills are not defective?!"
Pharmacist: "...to be honest, I cannot say. I can only say that these replacements are not subject to the recall."
SC: "So what do I do?! Just hope I'm not pregnant and these new pills work?!"
Pharmacist: "I recommend you use the replacements, and in a week or so use a pregnancy test."
SC: "But how can I be sure the replacements aren't defective?!"
Pharmacist: "Miss, I've told you everything I could. The defects in the recalled prescriptions are most likely an isolated incident that affected one line of products in a specific timeframe at a specific plant. These pills do not fit that timeframe, and so it is very unlikely the same mistake occurred on these pills."
SC: "I still don't understand how you could be so negligent to give me these recalled pills!"
Pharmacist: "Once again, we had NO WAY of knowing these pills were defective. They were not recalled at the time we gave them to you, and as soon as we learned of the recall, we called and informed you of the recall."
SC: "But you shouldn't have given me the pills in the first place!"
...and 'round and 'round we go, when will this cyclical conversation end, no-one knows! I was served my prescription and left, with the customer still harping the pharmacist over something she had absolutely no control over! I felt so bad for the pharmacist because there didn't seem to be anything she could do to defuse the argument and get the SC to go away.
SC: "...so why wasn't I warned when I got these pills?"
Pharmacist: "Because we weren't aware that they were defective at that time."
SC: "But you should have known!"
Pharmacist: "The recall was not released until a few days ago. We had no way to know that they were recalled."
SC: "You should have tested them first then!"
Pharmacist: "We cannot test them. We don't have the equipment and they are already packaged when we receive them."
SC: "Do you realize what is at stake here? I could be pregnant right now!"
Pharmacist: "I understand and sympathize with you, miss, and I do strongly recommend you get a pregnancy test to ensure you are not pregnant. However, this problem is not our responsibility, but the responsibility of the manufacturer of your pills."
SC: "I cannot believe you would give me defective pills! Why did you give them to me?"
Pharmacist: "As I said before, we had no way of knowing they were defective. We do not do testing on pills we receive because quality assurance is the responsibility of the manufacturer."
SC: "So what do I do?!"
Pharmacist: "I recommend you cease using the pills immediately, use the replacements, and--"
SC: "How do you know that THESE pills are not defective?!"
Pharmacist: "...to be honest, I cannot say. I can only say that these replacements are not subject to the recall."
SC: "So what do I do?! Just hope I'm not pregnant and these new pills work?!"
Pharmacist: "I recommend you use the replacements, and in a week or so use a pregnancy test."
SC: "But how can I be sure the replacements aren't defective?!"
Pharmacist: "Miss, I've told you everything I could. The defects in the recalled prescriptions are most likely an isolated incident that affected one line of products in a specific timeframe at a specific plant. These pills do not fit that timeframe, and so it is very unlikely the same mistake occurred on these pills."
SC: "I still don't understand how you could be so negligent to give me these recalled pills!"
Pharmacist: "Once again, we had NO WAY of knowing these pills were defective. They were not recalled at the time we gave them to you, and as soon as we learned of the recall, we called and informed you of the recall."
SC: "But you shouldn't have given me the pills in the first place!"
...and 'round and 'round we go, when will this cyclical conversation end, no-one knows! I was served my prescription and left, with the customer still harping the pharmacist over something she had absolutely no control over! I felt so bad for the pharmacist because there didn't seem to be anything she could do to defuse the argument and get the SC to go away.
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