Pharmacy/Chemist SC's

[Supertech]

Sorry but I did pinch the idea for this thread from one i've just read (Canonical list of SC's).......

I've recognised a few nicknames/types in the above thread. So, if you are fortunate (or unfortunate depending on your views) enough to be working in a Pharmacy AND you have to deal with the a******* that come in everyday, then think of a suitable nickname/type and tell us some stories about what these shockingly awful "people" do and say when they pop in to the local pharmacy.

Don't worry if you repeat names or types, we just want to hear your healthcare moans and groans.

Here's a couple to start us off:

LOL (AKA Little Old Lady): Really annoying regular customer. She comes in a few times a day, everyday, every week, asking the same questions, rarely buys anything, presents difficult prescriptions each week expecting the items to be ready in two minutes and always calls you "luvvie"....


Scrounging scumbag: The "between" jobs layabout who comes in weekly and insists on being served 10 minutes ago as he is so busy doing nothing but watching day time TV all day. He gets especially irate when he can't get everything free on his many prescriptions.


Earth Mother: The SC who thinks it's her right to bring her 10 manic offspring into the store as it's really a kids creche and not a Pharmacy. She finds it impossible to discipline "Tarquin, Chardonnay, Brooklyn, Porche, Holliee etc" and refuses to keep her eye on them. She also enjoys having a go about the fact pharmaceutical products are tested on animals blah, blah, blah even though her huge offspring all have regular prescriptions for eczema creams, asthma products and antibiotic mixtures.....

[Pagan]

How about the "Contractions"? These are the same people that come in, without fail, once every two weeks for the buying of the 12-hour nasal decongestant. None of them apparently have a driver's license as they present us with the state-issued ID cards, pay with cash (unless they've figured a way to scam a store or Visa gift card), and think we don't recognize them.

Why do we call them "contractions" you ask? Because they all come in, one right after the other, about 5 minutes apart.

BTW - There is a CS Pharmacy Techs "support" group that I started over in Social Groups a while back!

[Supertech]

Hey Pagan
Is that a nasal spray with pseudoephedrine in it?? They are restricted here too.

[Pagan]

No, it's the store brand of Sudafed and is one of the prime ingredients in meth. It's been so bad a few times that we've sold out of the store brand.

I pwned a couple of 'em last night. They wanted the store brand of the 24-hour Sudafed. But, they don't make one. You could see that lonely little brain cell trying to wrap itself around that while the cows in the rest of their empty little heads continued to mooooo.

Then they gave up and left.

[VComps]

Earth Mother: The SC who thinks it's her right to bring her 10 manic offspring into the store as it's really a kids creche and not a Pharmacy. She finds it impossible to discipline "Tarquin, Chardonnay, Brooklyn, Porche, Holliee etc" and refuses to keep her eye on them. She also enjoys having a go about the fact pharmaceutical products are tested on animals blah, blah, blah even though her huge offspring all have regular prescriptions for eczema creams, asthma products and antibiotic mixtures.....

Tarquin? Doesn't he have a friend named Sheridan?

[hobbitt97]

pharmacy manager

My Dad was a pharmacist and he had his own pharmacy in a small rural town in upstate NY. When I was in college I would manage his store on Sundays. One Christmas season I was hanging out at the register when one of the town down-on-his-luckers came in and was 'shopping'. He had had a few cocktails to many. Now my Dad used to tie down his electronics with speaker wire and put said items in easy view. I watched as the inebriated genius picked up a small ghetto blaster and secreted it under his coat. He attempted to walk away with it and was very surprised when he found it attached to the display. I suggested he put the radio back and told him that he was now banned from the store. He tried to argue with me and said that the regular pharmacist during the week was a good friend of his and that he would see me fired. I told him that the pharmacist is my father and that he should leave before I called the police. He beat a hasty retreat

[Supertech]

Pagan: Sounds like it's such a big problem in the states. Not so much in the little community pharmacy I work in....

VComps: There was a woman who came in and her kids are called Tarquin and Chardonnay!!! I thought it was a joke. She wondered why I was crying with laughter.....

Hobbit97: Love the story. Drunks in Pharmacy do provide endless hours of amusement.....

[Ellain]

I once had a guy come in and buy Sudafed. As soon as he was out of sight, the sheriff came up and asked for proof of what he bought. Seems he was in the store with a known meth dealer!

Ok, I don't have a name, but here are a couple I see pretty regularly:

"I just left my doctor's office, you should have a new one ready for me" Just because the Dr faxed it in does not mean we have received it yet, let alone have it ready.

Parents who over medicate their kids instead of actually parenting

Women on Public Aid with freshly manicured nails and a new name brand bag every week

And my all time favorite, "You shorted me 5 pills on my (controlled substance)" Sorry, we double count all controls. Not likely that 2 people made the same mistake on your meds. Oh, wait, its a conspiracy- we short you 5 and take them ourselves!

Oh, I forgot to mention- the guy who is proud of his injuries. In recent memory, guys have shown off accelerant burns, a slit throat, and stab wounds in the gut. Just what I want to see, thanks!

[Supertech]

We get the occasional person on CD's who tries the old "you only gave me 14 tablets when I should've been given 28"!!!! And as you said, these drugs are never given out until all the checks and counts have been done and then done again.....It always makes me laugh when they try that crap....

[radiocerk]

We have a local clinic, five minutes away, that is always telling it's patients that their meds will be ready when they get to the pharmacy. This drives me up the wall.

One, they have no idea how busy we are, and two, the stupid faxes don't even get to us for 15 to 20 minutes. But the patients come right over and tell us 'the doctor said it'd be ready'

Yeah, but it's not. Haven't even gotten it yet. Come back later.

Stupid doctors.

[Pagan]

Pagan: Sounds like it's such a big problem in the states. Not so much in the little community pharmacy I work in....

Yes, yes it is. So much so that they have to show ID and we enter it into a computer. Unfortunately, this database is only linked to other stores in our chain. I think it would work better if there was a national all stores were linked. As it stands, they can buy their max from us, go over the Walgreens in our parking lot and buy their max from them, etc.

lol:"I just left my doctor's office, you should have a new one ready for me" Just because the Dr faxed it in does not mean we have received it yet, let alone have it ready.

I think I talked to her last night. Hello, you're not the only getting something filled. And getting huffy and bitchy makes nothing go faster!

Women on Public Aid with freshly manicured nails and a new name brand bag every week

Her, too.

We have a local clinic, five minutes away, that is always telling it's patients that their meds will be ready when they get to the pharmacy. This drives me up the wall.

One, they have no idea how busy we are, and two, the stupid faxes don't even get to us for 15 to 20 minutes. But the patients come right over and tell us 'the doctor said it'd be ready'

Yeah, but it's not. Haven't even gotten it yet. Come back later.

Stupid doctors.

Sometimes, I wonder if they actually tell the patients that. Mainly because a lot of offices around here wait until about 4-6pm to call in new prescriptions.

What gets me is when the doctors tell them it'll only be $4 without knowing what the hell is on our $4 list! Sorry, but a drug that doesn't even have a generic available yet is not going to bee $4.

[Ellain]

Hmm, you get to deal with the $4 Rx stuff too... Do you get a lot of people getting, say 60 of something and complaining when it comes to $8? I know I do.

[Iris Kojiro]

I sometimes get the "but the doctor told me that (insert Rx here) would cost XXX".

To which I tell them in no uncertain terms that the doctor doesn't know his stuff about medicine costs in comparison to pharmacies...well, told in a slightly nicer tone at least.

[mattm04]

Hmm, you get to deal with the $4 Rx stuff too... Do you get a lot of people getting, say 60 of something and complaining when it comes to $8? I know I do.

we do that at my store. I have seen customers argue with the Pharmacist over that. Even showing them the list doesn't help.

But really arguing over getting cheap drugs that you need legally. Give me a break.

[Pagan]

Hmm, you get to deal with the $4 Rx stuff too... Do you get a lot of people getting, say 60 of something and complaining when it comes to $8? I know I do.

Oh yeah. They also seem to think that all generics are $4. Sometimes it's only certain strengths of a drug that are $4. Plus, they completely miss that a 90-day supply is $10.

And of course, there's the line "Well, she told me it was XXX" but, they can never tell you who she is....