I Feel Cheap - Very Cheap

Well, I would have done the same thing, I would not have given him any extra money back, but to take care of a good customer goes a long way with a lot of people. If he were someone that filled on Rx every 3 months and was non-compliant with it, what is the big deal if he is pissed off and transferrs it out…oooo scare me.

Reminds me of a guy that was in today and he demanded that I match the price of his lisinopril 40mg rx to another pharmacy. Now, my price is $14.99, the other pharmacy is…you guessed it $4.00. Now anyone who would come in and ask nicely to help save them some money and if I could PLEASE match the price from the other pharmacy, I will gladly do it. But to come in and demand that I give him the price….sorry cannot do it, let me transfer it over there for you, will be the answer I give you! Keep in mind he had filled this rx for 30 tabs 4 months ago…ooo I would lose an average of $2 per month…bite me!

Also angriest another way to look at it is the fact that he is now a diabetic….bring on the drugs…within a year he will have at least 3 diabetes meds, and ACE, a statin and whatever else they will throw at him.

In his defense as a new diabetic he may be testing 5 times per day to get an accurate idea of how his blood sugars are running through the day and how he is responding after meals. A lot of physicians around here will do this for a week or two, then add a drug or two based upon these readings, keep up the 5 time checks for another week, if it is all good, tjeu then back them down to BID testing and check an A1c in a couple months.

Okay enough for me for one night, you did the right thing, you saved a patient and gave him a good feeling about you and how you handled the situation. It was not spineless, it was in the interest of keeping business.

Angriest

A couple of thoughts -

First, he probably didn’t know what he needed and didn’t know which lancet to ask for, when he was in your store. When he heard your brand was < 5 bucks, that’s probably *all* he heard, and probably didn’t realize that it was the wrong one until he got home. That’s why he got all “…you’re gonna’ fix this for free” in - your - face’ish. He messed up - he was embarassed about it - and he made it out to be you (and keystone tech’s) fault.

My problem is with how he dealt with the story - had he called you up and admitted he had asked for the wrong thing, you probably would have felt a lot better about doing him the favor. He burned some “good karma” points at your store today - and he probably realizes that he’s been a good customer and felt that he could walk on you that way.

My second point is this: Did you do what is “right”? Well, from an absolute right/wrong perspective, I would say “no”. He blamed YOU and DEMANDED that you fix *his* mistake for free. Now, there is “absolute” right/wrong, and “business right/wrong”. And (unfortunately, sometimes), business right/wrong is a whole different set of rules than what I learned in Sunday School. Business right/wrong is all about the repeat business and the (total) profit. That means that a business owner needs to “suck it up” and “kiss —” to remain successful in business. You definitely did the right buisness thing today (IMO) - and we must all remember, that no matter how much we may hate it, those in retail must serve their company’s bottom line in the end.

He may have burned some “good karma” points (in that you are now upset at him, and the note you put in his profile), but you are savvy enough to realize the “good karma” points you earned your store via the word-of-mouth express. Good on you. ;)

My .02. Hope your tomorrow is better!

Grrr I hate people who tell me what I am GOING to do. I have a “friend” like that @@
That was nice of you!! I know if I had a pharmacist that helped me like that, I would tell everyone and their brothers about them and tell em to go there :)

Wow…No offense on the following, but I didnt expect that from you. I know he’s a regular, he’s been a customer a long time, but you work for a chain store, right? I could understand it if you’re an independant and his business is integral to your well-being, but in a chain setting, they are expendable. If I were in your position, I would withhold from him and make him see how in err he is, just to make sure he doesn’t get a sense of superiority.

I can’t remember who said this quote (Either you, TAP, or the Drugmonkey), but it’s something to live by:
“Treat your pharmacist as if he were your drunken stepfather holding his belt, and you just broke something expensive. That’s the respect they deserve.”

i know how you feel angriest one….i had to make peace with that feckin surgery because they provide most of our scripts and hence income….
what a big bitch buisness is….and people today dont respect a pharmacist; for in my first blog, they feel they are always right-bastards……

WoW, Angriest. I’m so glad I’m the temp! I would have told the patient that it’s illegal to return things for resale on items that are already opened, especially if blood products might possibly be involved. I would have showed the guy the script and told him that it had been ascertained by Keystone in a discussion that the product that had been filled was what had been discussed. I would have apologized that we were not able to make the patient happy, but that there was no reason to believe that we’d filled the prescription incorrectly. Depending on my degree of assertiveness that morning, I might have done other things, but it’s my firm belief to make sure I stand up for the techs, and what is correct. I would have made that patient admit his mistake at the very least. Depending on Keystone’s personality, I probably would have gone along with supplying the Multiclix and had the patient come back when the manager was there to straighten out the charges. I don’t believe in losing scruples in business, but then again I’ve never taken managerial classes and have never had aspirations to that rank.

Angriest — Kudos for the restraint you showed in handling the matter. I’m sure Keystone understands that we all must “live to fight another day” regardless of the asswipes we encounter daily.

Dude, this kinda shit happens to me all the damn time. I once had a similar customer not able to come get her Rx on Christmas Eve, so after work I delivered them to her fucking unmarked apartment complex. Only to have this same patient four months later call me back all pissed off after her caregiver got home without all her meds (they were in a different bag in the will call). I told her to take a hike, that it was not my responsiblilty to make sure all her Rx’s are picked up that it was her responsibility or her agent’s that picks them up. She tried to argue this point with me too!!! That was the boiling point and I told her to go somewhere else. Sometimes enough is enough.

Anyways, if you get a chance to read the 4/12/08 edition of Drug Topics, make sure you read the viewpoint article on page 72. It’s about an RPh in Wisconsin who got fined by the board for some pretty petty ass shit.

congrats on holding your tongue.
present a photocopy of the offending prescription to the patient and ask him where it says “accucheck multi clix” on it.
I had my own moment: Dr wrote a bunch of diabetic supplies on one rx. VERY SPECIFICALLY, down to the gauge and lenght of the needle tips. He showed up about 2 hours later with his bag and wanted to return/exchange the needles. He used ‘mini’ tips and not the ones the dr wrote. I gratefully declined to refund/exchange the Now-opened package and told him that had we made the mistake then I would refund, but the dr was specific about what she wrote and I filled it correctly. he could either buy another box or use these (they do fit) and get the other ones next month. He chose the latter. It was the dr’s (or the patients mistake) when the rx was written.

@Bluetech: It was me… http://www.theangriestpharmacist.com/2008/01/06/a-retards-guide-to-visiting-a-pharmacy/

Sigh.. I understand why you did it, but honestly, I wouldn’t have done it, but I’m just a damn Irish-Italian Tech who would have told him to stick it where the sun don’t shine!

But yeah.. good job..