Have A Heart, Use Your Brain

Unfiltered Story #194923
IOWA, PHARMACY, USA | UNFILTERED | MAY 25, 2020
(I’m a Certified Pharmacy Technician. It’s a pretty busy day at the Pharmacy. An older –but not elderly– woman walks up to pick up her prescriptions. I start taking care of her and then she explains she needs to get her insulin syringes refilled as well. I look at her profile to get the syringes refilled. As it turns out, it’s about 17 days too soon to get them refilled. I explain this to her)

Customer: No, that’s not right! I’m all out.

ME: Well, you’re using them once a day, correct?

Customer: No, the doctor told me to use them twice a day.

ME: Right, well, we need that as a new prescription from him.

Customer: But he told me..

ME: Yes, ma’am, I understand that he told you that, but your insurance won’t let us put it through until we have the new prescription with the correct instructions. So we just sent a fax requesting the new prescription from your doctor with new instructions.

Customer: Well, what am I supposed to do until he approves it? I’m all out!

ME: Well, we sell a ten pack of insulin syringes for $7 if you’d like to buy some.

Customer: Yeah, I’ll take the box then.

ME: No, ma’am, I can’t sell you the entire box without a prescription. I can only sell you a ten-pack from the box. That’s ten syringes for $7.

Customer: No! That’s too expensive!

ME: (obviously weary. shrugs)

Customer: Well, what am I supposed to do?!

MEweary smile) Buy a ten-pack for $7? (Customer leaves after paying for her other prescriptions which she also gave me a hard time about. Claiming that they needed to be paid for on separate cards even though she had not informed me of this. I’m so sorry ma’am. I must have forgotten to turn on my telepathic abilities for you!)

Pharmacist: $7 too expensive for 10 syringes?

ME: The tweakers that come in here never gripe about paying $7 for clean needles.

Five Little Cents Of Pure Evil
AT THE CHECKOUT, CANADA, JERK, PHARMACY | RIGHT | MAY 24, 2020
It’s seniors day at the drug store where I work. Usually, the worst customers are on seniors day, and this one is no exception. I am serving an older woman at the cash register.

Me: “Did you need a bag at all?”

Customer: “Do you charge for bags?”

Me: “Yes, 5¢ a bag.”

Customer: “Hmph, I knew when I saw you; some people are just evil.”

Me: “All the money from the bags goes to [Store] foundation!”

I finished serving her and she left without a bag, but she continued to rant at me about being evil as she left and as she got her stuff together on a bench in the mall just outside the store.

Sometimes People Forget Things — Like How To Be Nice
CHILE, EMPLOYEES, JERK, PHARMACY, SANTIAGO | WORKING | MAY 15, 2020
I’m at the pharmacy of an organization that sells medications for specific conditions at a slightly lower price than regular pharmacies. Most of the employees are friendly, or at least polite, but this day is a little different.

Employee: “How can I help you?”

Me: “I need to buy some medications. My ID number is [number].”

Employee: “[My Name]?”

Me: “Yep!”

Employee: “Okay, so, you need [Medication #1 ], right? That’s the only one on here.”

Me: *Thinking* “Oh, no… I forgot again!”

Employee: “Because the prescription for [Medication #2 ] is expired—”

I’m about to say, “Oops, I forgot.”

Employee: “—so did you remember or did you not even do anything about it?”

He does not say this in a friendly tone. He isn’t joking or anything. It seems pretty harsh.

Me: “Umm… Okay, I’ll come back later.”

I left and texted my doctor to get another script. She wrote it up quickly and I was able to get the medication the same day, luckily from a different employee. It wasn’t like he yelled at me or anything; I was just really surprised at how judgemental he seemed, especially considering the issues that my medications are usually used to treat. Sigh.

A Little Flu Jab Of Kindness
AWESOME, HEALTH & BODY, INSPIRATIONAL, MONEY, NON-DIALOGUE, PHARMACY, RHODE ISLAND, USA | RIGHT | MAY 15, 2020
I am seventeen, living away from home during high school. I contract the flu, so I go to the pharmacy and they prescribe me Tamiflu.

Because I am out of state, my insurance doesn’t cover it. The woman behind the counter says it will cost $100. I am already emotional because I am sick and away from home. I know my mom would pay for the medication, but it would be tight. I start crying by the counter.

The lady who filled my prescription hands me tissues and says she is sorry, but she can’t do anything about the cost. I fill the prescription and sit down in the waiting area.

A couple of minutes later, the woman comes over to me and says, “I went looking in our database, and I found a coupon for your medication. It will only cost you $40.”

I will never forget her kindness in my time of need.

The Flu Shot Isn’t Hazardous, But The Nurses Might Be!
IGNORING & INATTENTIVE, JERK, NURSES, PHARMACY, UK | HEALTHY | MAY 10, 2020
I have just had a flu shot. As I have a fear of needles, I tend to get quite dizzy and sweaty beforehand, and it takes me a couple of minutes for me to recover afterward. I’m sitting in a chair when the woman who gave me the shot comes over.

Woman: “You didn’t say you were allergic to eggs?”

Me: “I’m not.”

Woman: “Well, you are. It’s very stupid that you didn’t tell the truth. Now I’m going to have to phone for an ambulance.”

Me: “No, I’m just feeling a bit sickly. I’m not allergic to eggs.”

She is already on the phone talking to someone saying “how stupid” I am. By the time an ambulance arrives, I’m already better and trying to leave, but the woman is refusing to let me. When the paramedics come in, I’m forced onto a gurney while the woman talks over me.

Paramedic: “Okay, the pharmacist says you have an egg allergy. Did you know before having your shot?”

Me: “I do not have an egg allergy!”

Paramedic: “Are you certain?”

Me: “Do I look like I’m having a reaction? I’ve had these shots every year of my life, and if you don’t believe me, I had three eggs in the cafe next door for breakfast. Ask them!”

The paramedic checked me over just to be sure before leaving. I was left alone with the woman. She tutted at me and disappeared through a door. I’m never going back.

This Parent Is Way Out Of Line
AT THE CHECKOUT, BAD BEHAVIOR, CRIMINAL & ILLEGAL, INDIANA, PARENTS/GUARDIANS, PHARMACY, USA | RIGHT | MAY 5, 2020
I regularly stop by a specific drugstore after I get off work around 10:00 pm. I stop to get milk because it’s really cheap, and I always just want to get in and out because I’m tired.

Tonight, there is seemingly no one in the store until I go to the register, where there are five people in line. It’s a store that doesn’t really have a designated line area; you just kind of step up to the counter, so lines can form awkwardly around displays.

I wait and have to step back for a father and daughter in front of me to pick out candy for the rest of the family; no big deal. As soon as they check out, I step up to the counter and put the gallon of milk on it. Suddenly, a woman with wild, ratty hair comes bursting in the store and shoves into me.

Me: “Excuse me!”

Wild Lady: “I was here first! You cut me!”

Me: “Um…”

The cashier, a really sweet teenage girl, steps up and speaks to the wild lady.

Cashier: “No, ma’am, I’m sorry. She was here first. You just walked in.”

Wild Lady: “Shut it. You cut. Anyway, I need less stuff than you, so I get to go first!”

The cashier is ringing me out the entire time, scanning my store card, telling me to swipe my debit. We are both trying to ignore her. My transaction usually only takes a minute anyway.

Me: “Ma’am, I’m almost finished. The receipt is printing. And, anyway, it’s not possible to actually buy something and have less stuff than me. I have one thing.”

Wild Lady: “I left my car running! I should go first!”

The cashier and I exchange wide-eyed looks and just ignore her.

Wild Lady: “Well, I left my kid in the car so you need to let me go!”

Me: “Ma’am, I’m done now anyway, but this is a low-income, urban area, and it’s 10:00 at night. I would definitely never leave my car running, and I would never even consider leaving my kid in it. I have half a mind to call CPS now.”

Wild Lady: “Whatever!”

The wild lady turns to the cashier.

Wild Lady: “I need seven cartons of [Cigarettes], girl. Be quick!”

I left, wild-eyed. I checked, and there really was a three-year-old in the car with no one else, and it was running and unlocked.

Not three minutes later, as I was going through an intersection, she blazed through the red light and almost T-boned me. To come from that direction, she also had to turn left illegally at another intersection.

I followed her home and called the cops. I hope that poor child is okay.

Within Striking Distance
CURRENT EVENTS, HEALTH & BODY, INDIANA, JERK, PHARMACY, USA | RIGHT | MAY 4, 2020
With social distancing in full swing, we have spaces on the carpet in front of the counter indicating every six feet so customers can keep their distance. One customer comes up to the pickup area and squirts several applications worth of hand sanitizer on her hands to the point of dripping.

Customer #1 : “Hi. Do you have any thermometers in stock?”

Me: “I’m sorry; we’re sold out.”

The customer grumbles and goes to turn around to leave but sees another customer about four feet behind her. She waves her dripping, sanitizer-covered hands around in surprise, causing some sanitizer to fling into the face of the customer behind her, hitting her eye.

Customer #1 : “Social distancing! Social distancing! You need to stand back!”

Customer #2 : “Lady, you just got hand sanitizer in my eye!”

Customer #1 : “I don’t care! You could have killed me!”

[Customer #1 ] stormed off. [Customer #2 ] was fine but obviously confused as to why she was yelled at for basically standing there.

A Life-Long Member Of The Hoarding Club
CURRENT EVENTS, IMPOSSIBLE DEMANDS, JERK, PHARMACY, SWEDEN | RIGHT | APRIL 27, 2020
Most people are hoarding stuff they think they absolutely must have during a possible quarantine, while some people don’t seem to understand that the stores don’t have unlimited stocks.

Older Lady: “I need hand sanitizer!”

Pharmacy Staff: “I’m sorry, but we are sold out.”

Older Lady: “But I’m a MEMBER!”

Yes, lady, you and the rest of this country’s population.

Super Absorbent For Those Mentally Heavy Days
EDITORS' CHOICE, HEALTH & BODY, PHARMACY | RIGHT | APRIL 23, 2009
(An elderly man calls up to the store.)

Me: “Thank you for calling [Pharmacy]. This is [My Name]. How can I help you?”

Customer: “Yes, my granddaughter came to visit me, and she bought me a birthday gift. It’s on the kitchen table, but I’m not sure what it is.”

Me: “Okay, well, what can you tell me about the product?”

Customer: “Well, the box says ‘K-O-T-E-X’. Can you tell me what that is, honey? What it’s used for? I just can’t figure it out.”

Me: Well, sir… that’s a feminine hygiene product.”

Customer: “Feminine hygiene? What’s the product for? I just can’t figure it out.”

Me: “Sir… it’s for women on their period.”

Customer: “Why would my granddaughter buy me Kotex?”

Me: “I don’t know, sir. Maybe you should ask her that.”

Customer: “So can I still use them to stir my Kool-Aid with? Because that’s what I’ve been using them for.”

Yeah, Definitely Contraindicated
DRUGS, EDITORS' CHOICE, HEALTH & BODY, PHARMACY | RIGHT | APRIL 21, 2009
(A patient walks up to the pick-up window looking like he just came from the emergency room.)

Me: “Hello, sir, how can I help you?”

Customer: “I wanna drop this off…” *hands me an ER prescription*

Me: “Sir, this is the pick-up window. You need to drop off the prescription at the drop off window.”

Customer: “Where’s that?”

Me: “The counter at the entrance to the room with the big sign that says “Drop Off Window’.”

Customer: “Where?”

Me: “You know, you already waited in line so I’ll just take the prescription here. Have you ever had any medication here before?”

Customer: “I don’t know; have I?”

Me: “I’ll take that as a no. Do you have any allergies to medication?”

Customer: “Well, when I mix heroin and battery acid, I get a rash.”

Me: “…I’ll make a note on that.”

Bilingual Secret Shame
PHARMACY | RIGHT | APRIL 20, 2009
Customer: “Excuse me, what are diaper couches?”

Me: “I’m sorry?”

Customer: “Diaper couches.”

Me: “Ma’am, I’m not sure what you mean.”

Customer: *points to the boxes of diapers* “That box! It says ‘diaper couches’.”

Me: *suddenly understanding* “Ma’am, that box says diapers, and then it says ‘couches’. That’s the French word for diapers.”

Customer: *looks around, then whispers* “Don’t tell anyone!” *leaves*

Rip Van Winkle To The Extreme
IMPOSSIBLE DEMANDS, PHARMACY | RIGHT | APRIL 2, 2009
Customer: “Hi, I have a rather simple question to ask you.”

Me: “Sure thing. What can I help you with?”

Customer: “Hypothetically speaking, if I wanted to make someone sleep for a really long time, what would I use?”

Me: “Um, just how long are you talking?”

Customer: “Well, I was thinking somewhere around forever.”

Me: “…”

MacGyver Becomes a Dad
EDITORS' CHOICE, MEDICATION, PARENTS/GUARDIANS, PHARMACY | RIGHT | MARCH 26, 2009
(A man is picking up a prescription for his infant child.)

Customer: “How much did you say the prescription was?”

Me: “$49.99.”

Customer: “What’s the difference between this and what I can get over the counter?”

Me: “There’s no cough medicine you can give your eight-month-old, sir, other than this.”

Customer: “Well, what’s in it?”

(He picks up the prescription papers and starts rustling through them.)

Customer: “If I can buy everything that’s in it over the counter, I’ll just make it myself.”

Me: “…excuse me?”

Perhaps Multiple Choice Might Be Easier
PHARMACY | RIGHT | FEBRUARY 20, 2009
Customer: “I’m after some cold and flu medication.”

Me: “Sure, do you take any other medication?”

Customer: “Um… no… I don’t thi-… wait, yes, but it’s… actually no, no, I don’t.”

Me: “Okay then, and are you allergic to anything?”

Customer: “God, this is too hard!” *storms out

Surely, One Missed Anatomy Class Can’t Hurt…
PHARMACY | RIGHT | FEBRUARY 19, 2009
(A woman walks in with her daughter one afternoon.)

Me: “Hello, how can I help you?”

Customer: “There’s something wrong with my daughter.”

Me: “Oh?”

Customer: “Her eyes keep closing on their own!”

Me: “…ma’am, that’s called blinking.”

An Inconvenient List of Truths
HOSPITAL, PHARMACY | RIGHT | FEBRUARY 5, 2009
Me: “Hello?”

Caller: “Yeah, I need you guys to fill a prescription for me.”

Me: “I’m sorry, sir, but we are a hospital pharmacy. We only prepare medications for patients of the hospital.”

Caller: “Well, that’s simply discrimination. You ought to fill for everyone.”

Me: “You see, sir, we’re very different from a retail store. We issue individual, bubble-packed pills in one-day supplies to the nurses to give to their patients. We don’t have bottles, and we don’t do 30-day supplies like a store does. We don’t have a cash register, or any kind of means to ring up customers. We’re also located in an employees-only area of the hospital, near the morgue. You can’t really get to us that easily.”

Caller: “Well, those are all excuses.” *hangs up*

That’s Commitment
PHARMACY, RETAIL, TIME | RIGHT | JANUARY 15, 2009
Me: “Thank you for calling your local 24-hour pharmacy. How may I help you?”

Customer: “Yeah, what time do you close?”

Me: “Sir, we never close. We’re open 24 hours.”

Customer: “Well, that’s just ridiculous. How can you put up with that?”

Me: “Sir?”

Customer: “So if I show up at four in the morning with a prescription, you’d be there?”

Me: “Yes, sir, we’d be open.”

Customer: “And what time do you open?”

Me: “Sir… we never close; we are always open. Think of it like a 24-hour diner; there’s always someone here to help you.”

Customer: “Oh, man, that must stink! When do you get time to go home and sleep?!”

Me: “Er… we have cots in the back.”

Insert Butt Crack Here
EDITORS' CHOICE, HEALTH & BODY, PHARMACY | RIGHT | OCTOBER 31, 2008
Customer: “Hi, I’m having a problem with my suppositories. They’re not working at all!”

Me: “Okay, let me get the pharmacist for you so he can help you.”

(The customer decides to just yell the same question over two counters to the pharmacist in front of at least 10 other people.)

Pharmacist: “Ma’am, would you like to come over to our consultation are so we can talk about this privately?”

Customer: “No, I just want to know why my suppositories aren’t working!”

Pharmacist: “Well, okay. Are they melting before you insert them?”

Customer: “No, nothing like that!”

Pharmacist: “Are they breaking up into pieces before you use them?”

Customer: “No, no, nothing like that! They’re all in one piece and the same shape and all that stuff! I know how to follow the d*** directions!”

Pharmacist: “Are parts of the foil wrapper sticking to it at all?”

Customer: “What wrapper?!”

(Note: the suppository wrappers are aluminum foil with sharp edges. Ouch.)

After This, She’s Gonna Need An Antidepressant
IMPOSSIBLE DEMANDS, MONEY, PHARMACY, STUPID | RIGHT | OCTOBER 26, 2008
Customer: “Hi, can I have some of those allergy medications that are behind the counter? The 24 hour kind.”

Me: “Sure thing…”

(I grab one, because law mandates that the computers only allow me to check out one 24 hour medication for a certain period of time).

Customer: “Oh, I wanted four. Can I have four, please?”

Me: “Sorry, I can only give you one. There’s a law that makes me check your ID on the computer. It won’t let me check out more than one for you, at least not in the 24 hour dose.”

Customer: “Well, can you at least try? If you’d TRY once in a while, you never know what you can do!”

Me: “All right, then…”

(I scan one and sure enough, the second won’t go through.)

Me: “Yup, it won’t let me check out the second one. Your total’s gonna be about 20 bucks.”

Customer: “Okay, now try the third one.”

Me: “What?”

Customer: “If the second one didn’t work, maybe the third one will.”

Me: “Ma’am, all four of these are exactly the same. If the second one didn’t work, what makes you think if I rang up another box of the exact same thing would work?”

Customer: “JUST DO IT!”

Me: “Okay… yeah… it’s not working.”

Customer: “Okay, now try the fourth one.”

(Suffice it to say it doesn’t work; after she buys her one box, she comes back about fifteen minutes later.)

Customer: “HOW DARE YOU SELL ME THIS EXPIRED MEDICATION!”

Me: “Err… what? I can guarantee you it’s not. I checked it before I gave it to you.”

Customer: “Oh yeah? Then what’s this? It says FEB 20!”

Me: “Yes… February… of 2020. Not February 20th.”

Customer: “Uh… well, I’m older than you and I probably make way more than you anyway, so I’m right. I’m 42 and I make $[amount] an hour!”

Me: “I’ll agree with you, you’re much older than I am. I’m only 26. But, ma’am, you are talking to a pharmacist. I make twice that. Oh, wait… I’m in overtime now… three times that. Actually, in the time it took me to help you, I just made one hour’s worth of your wage. Is there anything else I can do for you today?”

Even Managers Have A Stupid Quota
BOSSES & OWNERS, HEALTH & BODY, IMPOSSIBLE DEMANDS, MONEY, PHARMACY, REFUND | RIGHT | OCTOBER 8, 2008
(A young, angry-looking woman is standing at the pharmacy counter with a small pile of white sticks.)

Me: “How can I help you?”

Customer: “Yeah, these pregnancy tests are all faulty. I want a refund.”

Me: “Okay. So, what happened? Were they broken or missing pieces?”

Customer: “No, they keep saying positive. I’m not pregnant.”

Me: “Um… okay. So, if you’re not pregnant, then why get the tests?”

Customer: “Get your manager!”

Me: *gets manager*

Manager: “What’s the problem?”

(I wander off at this point, called into the vitamins section. When I come back, security is taking the woman out of the store.)

Me: “What the…?”

Manager: “Twit. She just wanted her money back. I hope she has twins that cause a LOT of pain and are ugly. REAL ugly… and poop a lot!”