Ever felt sort of screwed by one of those big chain pharmacies? Karen Dempsey can so relate.
9 comments:
Anonymous
said...
It is so frustrating when people don't do their job well. I remember having jobs that weren't my calling, but I still did them the best I could and helped customers as much as I could. Simple things - this doesn't compare to your situation at all - but come on recycling guy - if you drop the bin, pick up the papers and bottles that come out of the blue box and put them in the freakin' truck!
I'm a pharmacist for a drug chain and feel your pain. From my side of the counter it's just so busy and hectic and we're expected to multi-task to the point of an ulcer- or a bladder condition! I blame the directors, managers, ceo's etc of these CVS's and Walgreens, etc but I also blame the customers who have chosen to patronize these drug factories instead of being loyal to their neighborhood pharmacies. We can't have it both ways, I know you did decide to send your business the way of the independents, but most don't and it only exacerbates the problem. Thanks for your honesty, Lola
This is excellent! We went through similar painful times with our son, who is 9 now, and over the reflux, but now needs other medications that are hard to fill. After switching from one large national chain to a grocery store that still can't fill allergy meds., I'm going to check a local owned pharmacy!! Thank you for sharing that experience with such detail (I can still remember the sleeplessness and the dread of going out) AND humor! Great job and hang in there.
I am a pharmacist and mother of 2. I wish more people understood what a difference the pharmacy and pharmacist you choose can make. We are well trained (I have a doctorate and 8 years of higher education), have access to all kinds of medical information, and most of us *want* to help. I don't know why most people go to chains over independents. If you have prescription insurance, the cost will be the same regardless, and the level of service is, as the article detailed, much higher. There is just no way that a pharmacist in a chain store who has to fill 500 scripts a day, works 15 hr shifts with no lunch break, and just had to fire one of her technicians because corporate told her personnel costs were too, is going to be able to offer much service. Most chains operate like a overseas sweatshop, and burn out young pharmacists quickly. I am a hospital pharmacist, FYI, and I use a small independent for myself and our kids.
When we moved to our small town in 2000, my husband and I were going through infertility treatments. Our independent neighborhood pharmacy (two blocks from my house!) did a wonderful job providing everything we needed – meds, directions, insurance support, and friendly faces. We ended up adopting, and one of my greatest pleasures was bring our daughter into the pharmacy where they always made a fuss over her, as well as continuing to provide excellent care for all our family’s needs. Then the pharmacist decided to retire, and despite a year of searching, he could not find anyone willing to buy his business. We have moved over to another independent pharmacy – a few blocks away, a little bigger, one of two stores – but the service is spotty, and I no longer look forward to picking up prescriptions – so independents are not always great either. However, our other options are worse – a regional Wal-Mart-type store with a pharmacy with equally spotty service that I would have to drive to, or, 20 miles away, any of the big pharmacies. So, as I read the article, I was terribly jealous that the writer still has her wonderful neighborhood pharmacy, and I wonder how long those kinds of places will exist. I plan to pass on her article to my former pharmacist so he will know just how important he was to us.
I am a severe asthmatic, with many drug allergies. I no longer use any pharmacy in a box grocery store. Neither do I use any large chain pharmacy...ever. The things I have seen, heard and have happen to me personally in both of those venues is nothing short of frighting. From a box store pharmacy treating those on public assistence like gum on his shoe..to a box chain pharmacist not noticing sulpha (which will kill me in 10 minutes) as an inert ingredient. The pill was about to go into my mouth, when my ex-husband started yelling "don't take that!!!" from the kitchen, where he was reading the forms that came with the script. It would have killed me. To big grocery store chains not having scripts done, losing a pain med script for post surgery for a friend. We did not get her script down her in time, and she spent hours in unneccasary pain. I waited 45 min for them to refill it, with me being a pain the whole time..loudly. Small, local pharmacies are the only ones I trust my health too. And trust me, I have tried all of the big guys.
Thank you for your article. I'm a hospital pharmacist for a Children's Hospital which is part of a major teaching center. I try to teach our students and pharmacists that what they are doing is more than just lick, stick, count, and pour.
If you are looking for tour&travels related information, you can scan the resource page of herbsncures.com and get travel related links on the resource section of the website.
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9 comments:
It is so frustrating when people don't do their job well. I remember having jobs that weren't my calling, but I still did them the best I could and helped customers as much as I could. Simple things - this doesn't compare to your situation at all - but come on recycling guy - if you drop the bin, pick up the papers and bottles that come out of the blue box and put them in the freakin' truck!
I'm a pharmacist for a drug chain and feel your pain. From my side of the counter it's just so busy and hectic and we're expected to multi-task to the point of an ulcer- or a bladder condition! I blame the directors, managers, ceo's etc of these CVS's and Walgreens, etc but I also blame the customers who have chosen to patronize these drug factories instead of being loyal to their neighborhood pharmacies. We can't have it both ways, I know you did decide to send your business the way of the independents, but most don't and it only exacerbates the problem. Thanks for your honesty, Lola
This is excellent! We went through similar painful times with our son, who is 9 now, and over the reflux, but now needs other medications that are hard to fill. After switching from one large national chain to a grocery store that still can't fill allergy meds., I'm going to check a local owned pharmacy!! Thank you for sharing that experience with such detail (I can still remember the sleeplessness and the dread of going out) AND humor! Great job and hang in there.
I am a pharmacist and mother of 2. I wish more people understood what a difference the pharmacy and pharmacist you choose can make. We are well trained (I have a doctorate and 8 years of higher education), have access to all kinds of medical information, and most of us *want* to help.
I don't know why most people go to chains over independents. If you have prescription insurance, the cost will be the same regardless, and the level of service is, as the article detailed, much higher.
There is just no way that a pharmacist in a chain store who has to fill 500 scripts a day, works 15 hr shifts with no lunch break, and just had to fire one of her technicians because corporate told her personnel costs were too, is going to be able to offer much service. Most chains operate like a overseas sweatshop, and burn out young pharmacists quickly.
I am a hospital pharmacist, FYI, and I use a small independent for myself and our kids.
When we moved to our small town in 2000, my husband and I were going through infertility treatments. Our independent neighborhood pharmacy (two blocks from my house!) did a wonderful job providing everything we needed – meds, directions, insurance support, and friendly faces. We ended up adopting, and one of my greatest pleasures was bring our daughter into the pharmacy where they always made a fuss over her, as well as continuing to provide excellent care for all our family’s needs. Then the pharmacist decided to retire, and despite a year of searching, he could not find anyone willing to buy his business. We have moved over to another independent pharmacy – a few blocks away, a little bigger, one of two stores – but the service is spotty, and I no longer look forward to picking up prescriptions – so independents are not always great either. However, our other options are worse – a regional Wal-Mart-type store with a pharmacy with equally spotty service that I would have to drive to, or, 20 miles away, any of the big pharmacies. So, as I read the article, I was terribly jealous that the writer still has her wonderful neighborhood pharmacy, and I wonder how long those kinds of places will exist. I plan to pass on her article to my former pharmacist so he will know just how important he was to us.
I am a severe asthmatic, with many drug allergies. I no longer use any pharmacy in a box grocery store. Neither do I use any large chain pharmacy...ever. The things I have seen, heard and have happen to me personally in both of those venues is nothing short of frighting. From a box store pharmacy treating those on public assistence like gum on his shoe..to a box chain pharmacist not noticing sulpha (which will kill me in 10 minutes) as an inert ingredient. The pill was about to go into my mouth, when my ex-husband started yelling "don't take that!!!" from the kitchen, where he was reading the forms that came with the script. It would have killed me. To big grocery store chains not having scripts done, losing a pain med script for post surgery for a friend. We did not get her script down her in time, and she spent hours in unneccasary pain. I waited 45 min for them to refill it, with me being a pain the whole time..loudly. Small, local pharmacies are the only ones I trust my health too. And trust me, I have tried all of the big guys.
Thank you for your article. I'm a hospital pharmacist for a Children's Hospital which is part of a major teaching center. I try to teach our students and pharmacists that what they are doing is more than just lick, stick, count, and pour.
Thank you for this.
My grandfather was a pharmacist in an old-fashioned drug store. He looked after his customers with TLC.
This essay reminded me of him, and it's so good to see some pharmacists like Robert and Joe keeping up the TLC tradition today.
If you are looking for tour&travels related information, you can scan the resource page of herbsncures.com and get travel related links on the resource section of the website.
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