Work Stories

So, it is 3:45 am and for some reason I am wide awake.  If I had horrible heartburn requiring me to sleep on so many pillows I was upright and eat Tums like candy, it would take me right back to being 8 months pregnant.  However, I am not pregnant so I have no idea why I can't sleep.  I just hope this doesn't become a habit.

Usually when I can't sleep I think about random stuff.  Memories from college, high school, and even early in childhood randomly come to mind.  Then I think about weird things that happen at work.  Upon remembering the work stories I think, I have got to write this stuff down.  Thus, the random 3 am posting about stories from work....

Story Number One didn't happen to me, it happened to my partner when I was off but I thought it was hilarious.
A man sticks his head through the pharmacy drop off window and asks, "Hey, is this window open?" Keep in mind, his head is THROUGH the window.
Pharmacist: "Looks open to me,"
Man at window: "So, this window is open?"
Pharmacist: "Is this a trick question?"

Story number 2: This happens on a regular basis....
To preface this story I need to explain that when you call the pharmacy, the electronic message says, "Thank you for calling your WALMART pharmacy." Then, it prompts you to do a number of different things, the last one being "press 0 to speak with someone in the pharmacy."

The phone rings.  I answer it by saying, "WalMart Pharmacy."
Customer: "Is this WalMart?"
Again, is this a trick question?
Me: Yes it is.
Customer: "Is this the pharmacy?"
Seriously??
Me: Yes it is.
Customer: Uhhhhh.... uhhhh.... I uhh......uhhh...

This gets me every time.  How do you not know who you called? How do you then, not know why you called them? I don't understand.


Story Number 3: "My Baby's Prescription"
This one happened a while back but since then I have noticed a recurring theme and it happens pretty frequently....

A woman comes to pick up a prescription.  When she gets to the register she realizes it is not on the insurance and tells the cashier.  The cashier turns to all of us behind the counter and states that we need to put the prescription on insurance.  We say,"ok" and finish what we are doing because we are currently working on someone else's prescription.  Keep in mind, it is our job to know EVERYTHING about EVERYONE's insurance and what drugs they pay for and how much their copays are and what their ID numbers are.  It is NOT the PATIENT's responsibility to know what their insurance is and BRING IN THEIR INSURANCE CARD. (That is sarcasm in case you don't know.)  Anyway, after a minute or two passes, the woman bursts out (and I mean, bursts out yelling in a loud voice),

"AIN'T NOBODY GONNA DO ANYTHING ABOUT MY BABY'S PRESCRIPTION??!!! MY BABY NEEDS HIS PRESCRIPTION!!!!!"

Upon closer examination, her "baby" is 28 years old.

Story Number 4: "The Similac and the Nudist"
I am behind my computer working when a customer out on the floor (the OTC area) catches my eye as though he is trying to get someone's attention in the pharmacy.  I don't think anyone else notices him so I call out over the counter, "Do you need some help?" He motions for me to come talk to him and walks up to the counter. ("Oh no", I am thinking to myself because this guy looks kinda crazy.)  He proceeds to hand me a can of infant formula and says, "She tole me to get a bottle of this formula and I don't know if this is what I was supposed to get."

Me: Well, what did she tell you to get?
Customer: A small bottle.
Me: (Not knowing what to say but trying to be helpful)Well, this is a can. This is the smallest can they make.
Customer: I don't know if this is the right one.
Me: Well, did she say to get (reading the can because I have no idea how to respond) "Similac"?
Customer: Yes.
Me: Similac Easy Digest?
Customer: I think so.
Me: Then this is it.
About that time, the asset protection guy (who works for WalMart and looks for thieves at the store etc.) comes behind the pharmacy counter and ask the customer if he can help him.  (This is weird because the asset protection guy never comes and helps me give pharmacy advice to my costumers.) It is then that I notice that this man has no less than 30 cans of Similac in his buggy.  It's like, "I don't know if I have the right thing, but I am buying every single can in the store, thanks."  Apparently formula gets stolen like hotcakes around here. Who knew?  I think the guy knew he was being watched and was trying to look like he was going to buy the stuff.  On a side note, we have to lock up condoms and pregnancy tests in little clear boxes and keep baby formula behind the counter because it gets stolen so much. Again, who knew?


Then... later that SAME day I am working behind the computer when a customer at the register with his wife catches my eye.  He is an older gentleman and he smiles at me and asks if I am staying out of trouble.

Me:  I am trying to.  Doing pretty good today.
Customer: As long as you stay back there behind the counter.
Me: Yes sir, I am usually ok back here.
Customer: Have you had a good laugh today?
Me: (thinking back to the Similac guy) Yes sir, I actually have.
Customer: You seem like an open minded person.
Me: I try to be. (At this point his wife walks away and he moves down to the "consulting" end of the pharmacy counter. Keep in mind that I am the only pharmacist at the store.)
Customer:  Come here a minute.
(He motions for me to come talk to him and I think he is about to ask me a question, perhaps about a natural supplement or something.)

I walk around my counter and go to the front counter where he is standing.  When I get there he takes off the hat he is wearing and lowers it to where I can see it.

Customer: Read my hat.
Me: (reading a pin that this man has pinned on the front of his hat) "Discover Nude Recreation dot com"
nervous laughter ensues. I think this must be a joke. An old man just trying to be cute. He looked normal. I laugh it off.
Customer: I am looking at your eyes because that is where your brain is.  There are over 240 resorts worldwide. When you are there people talk to your eyes because that is where your brain is.

Realization hits me.  This man is not joking.  This man is a nudist. I have no idea how to respond to this.


Me: Ohhh. Interesting.
Customer:  Yes. It's great.  They don't judge you for what's on the outside or what you have on. They judge you by who you are.  You are only nude in the sauna, hot tubs, and pools.  The ladies where little sarongs.  I have been going there since the mid eighties.  I just got my wife involved about 6 years ago and she loves it!

Me: Well, a good thing is you don't have to pack much! (I mean, what am I supposed to say??)


Customer: Well, you need something to carry your change around in and a towel or something to sit on if that's what you want.... but you don't need much.

Me: That's nice. (Keep in mind that there are customers waiting on me to check their prescriptions. I am thinking, "how do I get out of this conversation?" I start slowly backing away....the nudist continues...)

Customer: You should really check out the website.  I think you would like it. (Do I put out a nudist vibe I am not aware of??) It doesn't show any nudity, just tells you where the resorts are.  You are only nude in the sauna, hot tub, and pool.  You probably are used to that with a hot tub anyway.

Me: I make a random noise, practicing active listening, trying to be polite, nodding my head, wondering if I should be offended by this conversation and how do I get out of this??


Customer: Yeah, I can tell you know what I'm talking about. winks 


Me: what the...??


Customer: You know that's what causes bubbles in the hot tub anyway, don't you? Clothes. It's the detergent in your clothes.  No washing machine made can get all that soap out of your clothes and that's why you get bubbles in the hot tub.

Me: I continue nodding and slowly backing away. Huh, wow. Learn something new every day! Again, what am I supposed to say?


Customer: Well, go check out the website.

Me: hurrying back behind the counter to safety...Ok, thanks. BYE!!


Story Number Four: "Porno"
Upon filling a man's prescription, I tell him: Sir, this cough syrup is going to make you sleepy."
He responds, "Well, if it makes me too sleepy I will just pop in one of those porno videos and that'll wake me up." eh? huh? seriously? This was only a couple of weeks post nudist.


Story Number Five: "NO Lady!"
A woman is pitching a fit because her medicine isn't ready.
"I left it here Tuesday! It was ready but I didn't have enough money so the lady sat it right there by the counter and she said it would be here today when I came to get it! It was a white lady. She told me I could come back and get it! (I was the only white lady at the store on Tuesday and I had never seen that lady before.) The technician tries her best to help the lady. "Mam, we haven't filled anything for you in months."
The lady goes on. "What? I ain't stupid. I KNOW what I am talking about! It was ready and it was sitting right there!!"
The technician gets exasperated and calls me to the window to help the lady.  I get on the computer and try to figure out what is going on. I look at the other stores and see that she has had some prescriptions filled a couple of days ago in Greenivlle*. I say, yes mam, I see some prescriptions you had filled at another store.
The woman replies,"NO LADY. (She called me "lady.") I know what I am talking about!"
Me: Well mam, I just see some filled the other day in Greenville.
Lady: This ain't Greenville?
Me: No mam.
Lady: Where is this?
I inform the lady where she is.
Lady: I thought this was Greenville.

Please note: Greenville is an entirely different city over 45 minutes away.
*Location was changed.


And I think that should be enough for one evening morning.... I will try to get Mason's 2,3,4, and 5 month pictures up here one of these days!!  Time sure flies.

If Fast Food Was Pharmacy

AKA "Why We Can't Just Get a Z-Pak Off The Shelf and Slap a Label on it"

AKA "Why it Takes 'SO LONG' to Fill Your Prescription"

by Katie Lassiter, Pharm D

So, it is 4:30 am, I can't sleep, and the thoughts from the two previous days at work are running through my head. Sunday at work was the day from you-know-where including every complaining customer you can imagine, not to mention I caught a forgery which is a whole other issue in and of itself. I had the store manager called on us twice with a follow up from my district manager today (or, uh, yesterday?). I am extremely thankful that our managers understand the stress and pressure that we are under and come to inquire as to what actually happened instead of assuming we deliberately did something wrong. Even though my job is not on the line and I am not "in trouble" for said complaints, it is really hard for me to get past when things like this happen because a feel that it is unfair to me. I am not behind the counter watching a movie and having a good ole time and delaying people from getting their medications just for kicks. Contrary to popular belief, I hate it when I have a whole line of customers staring at me and continually checking to see if their prescription is ready. I know it sounds fun, right? Long story short, I have had this little synopsis brewing in my head for a long time in order to fully explain to people " your prescription is not back here sitting on a warmer ready to go" and "this is not fast food" and to ask, "why do you people think you deserve for your medication to be ready in 15 minutes or less?" and "why do you think you are the only customer at the pharmacy when you wouldn't expect this at any other public place such as a restaurant that requires WAITING for a table?" and "why do you think you can walk up to a counter and yell to the pharmacist behind the computer who is diligently checking people's prescriptions for errors and ask 'HEY! Where are the cotton balls?" So, thus brings us the story that follows.....

If Fast Food was Pharmacy

Setting: a fast food burger joint

A customer walks up to the counter with their order in hand. Please keep in mind that the customer ordering the food did not actually pick out what they wanted to eat, someone else wrote it for them. In fact, the customer has no idea what the order is, nor are they familiar with what is on the menu. The customer hands their order to the cashier who proceeds to take down the customer's personal information before scanning in the order. (I could go into a million things here such as, the customer refuses to give their birthday, does not know the birthday, argues about giving the information, or asks 500 questions about what their "order" is because they have no idea what it's for, but that would take all day. Just keep in mind that the "cashier" is delayed from doing other things because the customer is clueless.) Several minutes later, the order has been placed.

Next, the manager (pharmacist) has to check the order and assure that it was put in correctly by the cashier. The manager is the only person in the fast food place who can check orders because of their special knowledge of the menu. So, the manager sees that the customer has been ordered a double cheeseburger and a fry with a medium beverage. Uh OH! The person who wrote the order didn't put WHAT SIZE FRY the customer should have!!! The manager cannot just assume what size of french fry was to be ordered so they must make a phone call to the person who wrote the order. And guess who is the only authorized person to make the phone call??? THE MANAGER.

Oh wait... The Manager has to take a phone call because someone is calling in an order. Who is the only person who is authorized to take order call ins??? THE MANAGER. So, customer number 1's order is being delayed a bit because the manager is tied up on the phone taking orders.

Now, back to the order. The manager calls the person who wrote the order for customer number 1. After pushing 15 different prompts, manager is finally asked to leave a voice mail. Ok. Manager leaves the voice mail and continues to check the rest of customer number 1's order. Now, this may come as a shock to some, but the manager isn't just responsible for making sure the order is put in correctly. The manager must also check to see, does this person always get the double cheese burger or is this a new order? Is this double cheese burger going to cause any issues when eaten with the other things on the order? Is the medium beverage going to contain too much sugar for the customer? Calculations may have to be made.

But before the manager can fully check the order, they have another phone call. It is another burger joint calling to transfer an order. Who is the only person authorized to transfer orders in and out of the burger joint?? The Manager!

Finally, the manager is free to finish checking customer number 1's order.

Oh wait.... the customer's credit card (insurance card) that was stored in the computer that pays for the order is EXPIRED and the customer didn't think to give us the new one. Customer number 1's order is held up yet again. So, the cashier tracks down the customer, the customer digs out the new card for the cashier, and the cashier enters it into the computer. The burger joint submits the order to the credit card for them to pay for it. OH NO! The credit card won't pay for a double cheese burger! They will only pay for a regular cheese burger. So, the cashier informs the customer. The customer gets mad. The Manager then makes another call to the person who wrote the order to inform them of this situation. Customer number one can only get their beverage at this point. The cashier makes the beverage. The Manager checks to make sure that the correct beverage has been served (only the Manager can do this) but before the manager can check this, a customer has come up to ask the manager a question and is telling the manager their life story. The manager clearly has nothing else to do. So, the manager is finally free and can check the beverage. The beverage is good to go. The receipt prints out. The cashier rings up customer number one (we will have to wait for the person who wrote the order to call back before we can continue with the rest of customer number one's order).

Oh wait!!! The customer has a coupon for the beverage that he forgot to give the cashier!! However, these coupons cannot be scanned at the register. They have to be entered into the computer using codes, all of them different, and the whole entire credit card claim has to be redone. OH WAIT!! The customer forgot to "activate" the coupon by calling the number on the coupon that clearly states that the coupon must be activated. The cashier's time has been wasted yet again.

All the while there is a long line of customers waiting to pick up their orders and drop off new orders. All the while other orders are getting faxed in. All the while the phone is constantly ringing. All the while orders are being left on the voice mail. All the while customers are lining up to ask the manager random questions.

Now, that was just one customer's order. Just one! They do hundreds and hundreds of orders a day. Now, say a customer was accidently given a quarter pounder when they had brought in an order for the chicken sandwich.. not a big deal, right? But if a person is actually given medication for diabetes when they were supposed to receive seizure medication, it could be detrimental. That actually happened at a pharmacy (not mine). Or, say a child has been given a prescription for a drug that children are not supposed to take (I have actually seen this before) and the pharmacist doesn't catch it, that could be serious. Or what if the patient brings in a prescription for a drug from one doctor when they are already on a similar or interacting drug from another doctor? These issues are serious. They might not be happening on YOUR prescription, but they very well could be happening on any of the other 300-500 that we are working on that day. We cannot for-see these issues so we give the estimated wait time to the best of our ability. However, you never know what problems will arise. I didn't even touch on half of the things that could actually go wrong.

So please, cut us some slack people. Our job is serious and just because your Z-pak isn't ready in 5 minutes doesn't mean we're back there delaying it just for fun. We don't want you in our faces any more than you want to be in ours.

That being said..... you can expedite the process by calling in your refills 24 hours in advance, not the day (or hour) you need it. Also, make sure your insurance card is up to date. Also, realize that doctors often have no idea how much a medication costs or if it is on your insurance formulary. The pharmacy deals with your insurance as a courtesy to you. It is not our fault if your insurance changes or will not pay for something. The customer is responsible for knowing what medications they should be taking and how they are to be paid for.

Now, I have vented long enough. I am just really down about the issues I had to deal with this past weekend. It can be very discouraging when you are working really hard to do your best and serve people the best you can and people lie and act unfairly (yes, lie). I wanted to be a pharmacist so I could share my knowledge with others because I feel that knowledge is useful and beneficial to people. It is disheartening to find that all many people care about is themselves. I have been shocked and amazed at the types of people and attitudes I have encountered in the last 2 years. If people are treating complete strangers with utter lack of respect and sometimes even hatefulness, how are they treating their family members?

I also have to say that I do encounter some very sweet and gracious people from day to day. I just wish there were more people like them.

AND if you are still reading this, thanks for making it to the end! :)

A Random Post About Work

There have been multiple times at work that I have had to look around and ask, "Am I the only one seeing this??!" For example, when the lady walks up to the counter with 100+ gold safety pins in in her hair, or when a 70+ year old stick skinny lady walks past with hair that is composed of one giant white dreadlock. Usually I have to do this because what I am seeing is so completely bizarre that I need confirmation that it is, in fact, real. For example, yesterday I am at my computer making the regular checks and I hear "PRAISE JESUS I AM DOING GOOD TODAY!! GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN! GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN! THANK YOU JESUS! THANK YOU JESUS! GET BEHIND ME SATAN!"

Huh? Really? I sink down behind my computer, which is standard practice when we want to hide our reactions from the people out front, and turn around to confirm that I am not hallucinating. The shouting continued in the same format. It was coming from a lady who was in line at the register. After her purchase was made she yelled to us, "Be Blessed Children!" We said, "You too, mam." And then had someone follow her to her car to make sure she arrived home safely. I tend to think most of these people are insane, which many of them are, but the general consensus was that this lady was drunk. This is not a rare occurrence either, I just have a hard time telling the difference.

While it took me nearly 2 full years on the job to stop feeling like I was going to cry every time I had to enforce a law and a customer didn't like it, I don't think I will ever cease to be amazed by the crazy things people say and do. Don't get me wrong, my skin isn't super thick yet. I still get upset when people cuss at me and I get really mad when people argue and I get really aggravated when people are complete idiots but act like I am the one that just doesn't get it. Sometimes it makes me want beat my head on the counter. However, people like the safety pin lady, the dreadlock lady, the people with bugs in their ears, weird rashes, bizaar clothing, and random shout outs to Satan really keep my job interesting. I can honestly say that I rarely have a dull day. I can also say that there are many days when I just want to go home and sit on the couch and just stare at a wall.

It's a crazy world out there. If you are usually surrounded by pretty normal people and don't get much excitement, I invite you to visit my place of work. I promise, you will not be disappointed.