The pharmacy environment

It's admittedly a difficult job to do sometimes.

Between people demanding things that you can't do, medications being out of stock, seven different phone lines ringing while you're stuck at the drive-thru, and an unhappy pharmacist, retail pharmacy can suck the life out of you real quick.

Especially if you work at a busy store like mine.

Closed door pharmacy offers its own challenges (especially given the environment I'm working in), but the stress level pales in comparison to retail.

Part of this is because retail is just so much more business orientated.  You're taught to bring in business, bring in scripts, get them in and out as quickly as possibly, and oh, if they do happen to have a question, try to wrap it up neatly.  We're graded on how long they have to wait with no consideration for circumstances that are beyond our control.

They aren't patients in retail, they're customers.  They have money, you want that money, and you are expected to do whatever it takes to bring them in so they can spend that money.  The store I work in would do half the business without a pharmacy simply because people shop around while they wait.  Quite frankly, I'm amazed at how much people can find in a store to buy in 15 minutes while we're talking about it.

There's a level of separation though.  You don't get to know the customer as well because you don't have time.  It's more of an assembly line than a patient care facility.  In the few instances where I've seen someone take up more than 10 minutes of my pharmacist's time, someone else is pissed off because it's taking so long.  God forbid it be on the phone even.

Retail has made people impatient, but worse, it caters to that impatience.

Then it was decided that we needed to be telemarketers too by having us call people five days a week to tell them they need to get their refills filled.  Automatic refills, okay.  Then you're giving people a choice.  You want me to fill your amlodipine every month so you don't have to call in?  That's fine.  I mean, I know the refill line was difficult to use (putting the time in is something that some have never figured out), but don't worry about it.

Then there are the people who are mad because we didn't call the doctor 37 times after their refill ran out, nevermind that we did call every day and fax twice.  Don't be proactive (god I hate that word now too) and call your own doctor after YOU notice on your label that the refills are out.  No, yell at us after the doctor hasn't had time to get back to us because 7 other pharmacies are also requesting refills for customers just like you.

Yet I still like what I do and it's easy to explain why.

For every 5 pain in the ass customers we have, there's at least one who's nice, understanding, and has a sense of humor.  The best customers are the ones I can joke with about how things are going, who understand they just watched 4 people demand to wait in front of them, who won't get mad when I say it might be 20 minutes to get this ready.  They are the kind of customer who smiles, says don't worry about it, and will be back in a couple of hours.

They are the ones that make it worth it.

The other job, we actually have five minutes to discuss what's going on.  I had a 15 minute conversation with someone the other other day and actually didn't feel rushed like I usually would.

This isn't me slamming retail and saying it's the worst thing ever.  It's not.  There are far worse jobs that you could have.  All I'm saying is with a few minor changes, everyone's lives could be much easier, less stressful, and a little more productive.  Those changes will never come, but it's nice to dream about them.

In fact, I might write about some of those things I'd like.

First on that list, no more damn gift cards. Or waiting in the drive-thru.  Hell, a lot of things could go first on this list.

Hope everyone has a good weekend if I don't post again today.  I will not be back online until Monday since I won't have internet set up in my apartment for a couple more weeks.