(An order comes to my pharmacy for a well-known antibiotic. This antibiotic is known to smell exactly like rotten eggs, so most of us just hold our breath while we count it and try not to think about it too much. We dispense it to a woman who is picking it up for her teenage son. Everything is normal and she leaves with the prescription, but about 10 minutes later she comes stomping back into the pharmacy, pretty much shoves the person that I am currently helping out of the way, and throws the bottle of medication on the counter.)
Customer: “I want to speak to your manager right now! You guys gave me rotten medication!”
Me: “Really? Let me look at the expiration date on your bottle. Normally we don’t keep anything that has one less than a year away.”
(I look at the bottle and see that the pharmacist wrote a date of over a year away, and I go over to our stock bottle and check and the numbers correspond with each other.)
Me: “Hmm. Well, ma’am, it doesn’t look like this medication is expired but I will have the phar—”
Customer: “You are just lying! I mean, come on and open that bottle! It smells totally rotten! I can’t believe that you would ever give someone bad medication! My son is very very ill!”
Me: “Oh, that’s just because the active chemical that is in this medication has a bad smell. Trust me, I wish there was something that we could do about it back here, too. Most of us hold our breath while we count it.”
Customer: “Stop ****** lying to me. You just don’t want to admit you did something wrong! I will have your job for this, b****!
(At this point the pharmacist who has been listening the whole time walks over.)
Pharmacist: “Ma’am, while I don’t like the fact that you are calling my staff names like that I will let you know two things. One is, certain chemicals have a bad smell. It’s just a fact of life. So, while I know that smell is unpleasant, it’s just one of those side effects that come with being able to take medications that will help your sick son. I assure you it’s supposed to smell that bad. If it didn’t, it wouldn’t work right. Two, since you don’t seem to want to listen to my employees and call them awful names, this will be the last time that you or any members of your family can shop or fill any type of medication here. Maybe in the future you can learn how to treat people the way you want to be treated.”
(The woman proceeded to turn bright red with embarrassment and tried to apologize, but my boss wouldn’t hear it. That was almost two years ago and he still will not allow her or her family to fill their prescriptions at his pharmacy.)
Me: “Okay, you’ll want to begin inhaling, and then depress the inhaler as you are breathing in. Then, hold your breath for as long as possible to allow the medication to be absorbed into your lungs.”
(A customer comes to the counter with a bleeding hand.)
Customer: “Have you got a first aid kit back there? I caught my hand and it’s bleeding.”
Me: “Of course. I’ll go get it.”
(I come back with the kit and take out some antibiotic ointment and some bandages.)
Customer: “Oh, I shouldn’t need the bandages.”
Me: “Are you sure? It’s bleeding quite a lot.”
Customer: “Well, that ointment will just fix it, won’t it?”
Me: “Pardon?”
Customer: “That stuff you’ve got in your hand, that’ll just heal it up right?”
Me: “This helps it heal faster and prevents it from getting infected, but it doesn’t heal it immediately.”
Customer: “Don’t you have the stuff that just fixes it right away?”
Me: “I don’t believe they have anything that does that, ma’am.”
Customer: “They do, I saw it before!”
Me: “Where did you see it?”
Customer: “I saw it on some movie. I don’t want that stuff there. I want the stuff I saw in the movie. Just get that stuff and fix this already, will you
British Columbia, Canada, Health & Body, Pharmacy | Right | June 28, 2010
Customer: “I’m picking up a prescription for [Name].”
Me: “Okay. Just a second.”
(I check the drawer for the prescription and can’t find it.)
Me: “When did you order it?”
Customer: “Well, I saw the doctor on Monday.”
Me: “So you came in on Monday?”
Customer: “No, I went to the doctor’s on Monday.”
Me: “Okay, so when did you drop your prescription off?”
Customer: “What do you mean? I went to the doctor.”
Me: “And did he give you a piece of paper that said what drugs you needed?”
Customer: “Yeah.”
Me: “That’s a prescription. You need to bring it here so that we know what you need.”
Customer: “But I saw the doctor on Monday! Why didn’t he do it?”
Me: “That’s not his job. That’s what pharmacists are for.”
Customer: “So what, he’s a doctor but he’s not a pharmacist? Look, I saw him on Monday so he probably just did it then. You’re just not looking hard enough. Look for the things done on Monday!”
British Columbia, Canada, Health & Body, Pharmacy | Right | June 25, 2010
Customer: “Why isn’t my prescription ready yet?”
Me: “We’re trying to get in contact with your doctor because of a problem with the prescription. Your profile says you’re allergic to penicillin. Is that correct?”
Customer: “Oh yeah, that stuff is really bad for me!”
Me: “The medication your doctor prescribed has penicillin in it, so we’re trying to get a hold of him to find out what he wants you to take.”
Customer: “Oh, well, he wants me to take the penicillin. That’s what he wrote down, right?”
Me: “Yes, but you said you were allergic to it.”
Customer: “But he’s a doctor, so he knows what’s best. If that’s what he wrote, then just give me that.”
Me: “Well, we’ll check with him first to make sure that it’s safe for you.”
Customer: “Of course it’s safe for me or the doctor wouldn’t have prescribed it! He probably just cured my allergies. Check my old prescriptions; I bet he prescribed me something to cure my allergy!”
Boston, Massachusetts, Pharmacy, USA | Right | June 12, 2010
(I work as a pharmacy tech at a chain pharmacy. I am also currently in pharmacy school and will be a pharmacist one day.)
Customer: “You should be ashamed of yourself!”
Me: “I’m sorry. Can I help you with something?”
Customer: “No! I refuse to be helped by a high school dropout! You should be ashamed of yourself for working where children can see you! You are going to make them think that it is okay to not have an education!”
Me: “Ma’am, I am not a high school dropout. I have a high school diploma and I am currently in pharmacy school working towards a Doctor of Pharmacy. I am going to be a pharmacist one day.”
Customer: “Stop lying! I have never heard of a pharmacist before. You are a high school dropout!”
Manager: “Can I help you?”
Customer: “Yes! Your employee is lying to me! She says she is going to be a pharmacist! That job doesn’t exist!”
(The manager looks at our pharmacist who is near tears from laughing so hard.)
Manager: “Ma’am, see the man over there? He’s the one who filled your prescription. He is a pharmacist.”
Customer: “No he isn’t! He just counts pills! You don’t need school for that!”
Health & Body, New Jersey, Pharmacy, USA | Right | April 19, 2010
(My phone number is one number off a nearby pharmacy. We get a lot of misdials. My father happens to actually be a pharmacist but he doesn’t work there.)
Me: “Hello?”
Caller: “Hello? You just say Hello? How dare you be so rude! You should say “thank you for calling”!”
Me: “Oh, you must be looking for [pharmacy]. You have the wrong number.”
Caller: “Liar! How would you know what store I’m looking for? You’re just trying not to get in trouble. Give me your manager.”
Me: “Ma’am, I don’t have a manager. You’ve called a private residence. The number for the pharmacy is close to our number, so we get a lot of wrong calls.”
Caller: “This is outrageous! Give me your manager! I will not be treated this way!”
(At this point the caller was rambling and being rude so I hung up the phone. She called back, and my father answered it.)
Father: “Hello?”
Caller: “Is this the manager? Thank god! I want to know if [drug] can be taken with food! And you should fire that girl that answered before, she was very rude to me! I want to file a complaint!”
Father: “Ma’am, this is not the grocery store pharmacy. You just told off my 14-year old daughter. I happen to be a pharmacist. That drug does not need to be taken with food. However, you should see a doctor about your ears, as you clearly can’t hear a word anyone says.”
Alcohol, Party, Pharmacy, Police, Teenagers | Right | August 20, 2009
(While waiting in line, I overhear a conversation between a teenager and a police officer, both of whom are also waiting. The boy has red plastic cups and ping pong balls in hand.)
Officer: “Can I ask what those are for?”
Teenage Customer: “No, no questions.”
Officer: “Where’s the party?”
Teenage Customer: “No parties.”
(The kid checks out, and as he’s walking out the door yells “SODA PONG!” and flicks his wrist.)
Officer: *to me* “Yeah, I’ll get the call in a couple of hours
Criminal & Illegal, Great Stuff, New Jersey, Pharmacy, Physical, USA | Right | July 31, 2009
(A teen approaches my cash register very slowly.)
Me: “Can I help you?”
Customer: “Give me all the f****** medicine!”
(The teen pulls out an airsoft pistol with orange tip still glued to the front.)
Me: “The pharmacy is in the back of the store.”
Customer: “Oh… okay.”
(He holsters the airsoft gun in his belt and darts down the aisles to the back of the store. My manager comes out of the back room because of the commotion.)
Manager: “Who was that?”
Me: “Some kid looking for drugs. He went back to the pharmacy.”
Manager: “Why didn’t you call the police?”
(The teen runs screaming from the back of the store, out of the front door, followed closely by the pharmacy technician, a 35-year-old boxer built like a fridge.)
(A forty-something year old woman comes to the counter with her purchases. Amongst them is a box of condoms, which have security stickers on them. Before I scan the item, I swipe it a few times over the scanner to deactivate it.)
Customer: “Is it not scanning?”
Me: “No, I’m just deactivating the security sticker. I don’t want you to set off the alarm on the way out. Especially over condoms!”
Customer: “Oh I’m not embarrassed! They’re not for me, they’re for my son. I can’t even get an erection!”
(A customer comes in with a prescription for a narcotic pain reliever. He says that he was at the hospital with his wife and the hospital stole his pills, which is why he needs to get this prescription filled, even though his last prescription was just filled a few days ago.)
Me: “OK, sir, I talked to your doctor and he says I can fill your prescription.”
Customer: “Great, can I wait? I have no pills left and I really need it.”
Me: “It’ll be about 10 minutes.”
(10 minutes later.)
Me: “OK sir, your prescription is ready.”
Customer: “Hey, are those pills the same as this?” *holds up pill*
Me: “I thought you didn’t have any pills left, sir.”
Customer: “Well…I bought this off the street, to be honest with you.”
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