During my freshman year in high school, my science teacher assigned us to interview people in the community about how they use science in their careers. Although I don’t remember most of the people I spoke with, I can tell you that I spent meaningful time with a local community pharmacist who changed my life.
What I saw was a man who loved his career and truly cared for his patients. In an instant, I knew that I wanted to become a pharmacist, and I never wavered from that goal throughout high school.
Knowing what you want to be when you grow up at age 14 is unusual, but it is very liberating. I simply had to work backwards to figure out how to achieve my goal of becoming a pharmacist.
After high school, I chose to attend Ohio Northern University (ONU) because it had a unique pharmacy program. Rather than attending college for 2 years and then applying to the pharmacy program, ONU students were admitted to the College of Pharmacy from day one.
Although it was expensive, being in pharmacy school from day one and avoiding the risk of rejection made it worthwhile for me.
In college, I spent a lot of time in the library. Although the classwork was difficult, I did well with one exception: organic chemistry.
I did fail organic chemistry—a notorious “weed out” course—but I successfully retook the class over the summer and graduated on time with the rest of my classmates. Failing a course is a difficult stumbling block, but I stood strong and persevered.
Today, I’m thankful for the wonderful pharmacy profession for so many reasons.
First, I’m thankful that community pharmacists are the health care professionals most accessible to the public. If my local pharmacist wasn’t accessible to me, then I likely would have taken a different career path.
Second, I’m proud of the work we pharmacists do, the diversity of our career options, and the relationships we share with our patients and fellow health care providers.
Pharmacy is a profession that makes a real difference in people’s lives. It certainly has made all the difference in mine.
Pharmacy | San Francisco, CA, USA | Right | January 24, 2015
(Last year I dyed my hair bright red, and by October it was starting to fade out to a pink-orange. I was used to getting a lot of comments about my hair and most were positive so I was taken by surprise when I was ringing up an older customer a few days before Halloween.)
Husband: “Is that your real hair?”
Me: “Yes. it is.”
Husband: “Well. I like it. It’s nice. You look very pretty.”
Me: “Thank you.”
(His wife looks at him with a face that says she doesn’t appreciate him complimenting me.)
Husband: *to his wife* “Well, she’s Halloween pretty, anyway.”
Me: “…here’s your receipt. Have a nice night…”
(My manager and I still haven’t figured out if I should take that as a compliment or insult, yet.)
Customer: “Don’t laugh at me! GIVE ME THE F****** COUNTER THING!”
(It escalated from there. She refused to leave the shop or take her methadone, and we had to call the police and stand there whilst she trashed the store. We ended up staying an hour late to clean it all up. The pharmacist rang her doctor and asked for her to be sent somewhere else for her methadone and possibly be given a stronger dose.)
Pharmacy | Hampshire, England, UK | Right | December 30, 2014
Customer: “I’m allergic to tree pollen, but I don’t have hay fever, so don’t try to sell me any hay-fever medication!”
New Colleague: “Sir, an allergy to tree pollen is hay fever. If you take these it will help.”
Customer: “It say’s trainee on your badge. You don’t know what you’re talking about! I’d like to speak to a more senior member of staff!”
(The new colleague fetches me. I am 20 years younger than my colleague.)
Me: “What seems to be the problem, sir?”
Customer: “I asked to speak to a senior member of staff! Why are you getting involved?!”
Me: “As I’ve been here the longest. I am more than capable of answering any problems you may have.”
Customer: “This is ridiculous! You’re a child. You can’t possibly be able to deal with the responsibility! Get me someone more senior!”
(I go and get the pharmacist who has been listening to the whole thing.)
Customer: “Finally, an adult who knows what they’re doing! How can you leave a child in charge of your chemist counter?”
Pharmacist: “Well, sir, [My Name] has passed all of her courses with the highest mark we’ve ever seen in this store, so I’m perfectly happy to let her deal with any queries, but as I’m here – what’s the problem?
Customer: *looking sheepish* “I’m allergic to tree pollen and want something for it.”
Pharmacist: “That’s called hay fever; try an antihistamine.”
(I work in the mail order branch of a popular pharmacy chain. On my way to work I stop by a local retail branch of the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. I happen to be wearing a company t-shirt which, while having the variant of the company name used by the mail order branch, is nothing at all like the uniforms worn by retail employees nor is it at all professional-looking. A woman comes up next to me while I’m waiting at the pharmacy counter.)
Customer: “Excuse me, where are allergy medicines?”
Me: *looking around* “Over there, I think.”
Customer: “What, don’t you know where things are in your own store?”
Me: “Oh, I don’t work here. I actually work at [Mail Order Branch] on [Road].”
Customer: “Oh, ok. So, which kind is safest for my son to use?”
Me: “Sorry?”
Customer: “Which allergy medicine is safest for my son? He’s ten.”
Me: “You would really have to ask a pharmacist.”
Customer: “But you said you work for [Company].”
Me: “I just package orders. I’m not a pharmacist.”
Customer: “So why are you at the pharmacy counter?”
Me: “I’m picking up a prescription…”
Customer: “So you can stand here but you can’t help a customer?”
(The pharmacy tech tells me my prescription is ready. I get it and pay, all while the woman stares at me. As I walk away the tech notices the woman standing behind me.)
Pharmacy Tech: “Can I help you?”
Customer: “I don’t know. Apparently no one else around here can!”
Pharmacy | Summit, NJ, USA | Right | November 21, 2014
(I work at a small mom and pop pharmacy. We are having a buy-one-get-one sale on some collectible dolls. A middle-aged female customer is browsing the collectibles. There are six different dolls, each a different color. I happen to be at the counter where they are displayed.)
Me: “Hello, I see you are interested in these dolls.”
Customer: “Yes, but I’m unsure which one to get.”
Me: “Well, we are having a sale on them.”
Customer: “I see.”
Me: “Well, just inform me which ones you decide on.”
Customer: *eyes light up* “I can get more than one!?”
Me: “Yes.”
Customer: “How much for one?”
Me: “$14.50.”
(The customer starts counting on her fingers, then sighs.)
Me: “What seems to be the problem?”
Customer: “I only have enough money for three of them.”
(I am confused.)
Customer: “Even with your sale, I would only get be able to get four.”
(I figure out what is the misunderstanding in her logic.)
Me: “How about this, you buy three and I’ll give you the other three on the house?”
Customer: “You will won’t you get in trouble for that?”
Me: “I won’t tell if you won’t tell.”
(I got her dolls and rang her up. She kinda skipped out of the store.)
(We are the busiest pharmacy in the area, and this day is no exception. To make matters worse, we are short-staffed and our delivery truck is several hours late. I am running the drive-thru at about 6 pm, which is about 10 cars deep.)
Me: “Hi, how can I help you?”
Customer: “I’m here to pick up a prescription for [Name].”
Me: “It looks like we were out of stock of that medication, but let me check to see if it arrived on the truck.”
(I check the delivery record and we did receive the medication. However, because none of the boxes are put up, and it is the middle of the evening rush, we won’t be able to fill the order for a few hours.)
Me: “Ma’am, we did receive the medication on the truck, but we haven’t had a chance to unload the boxes yet, so if you would like to check back this evening…”
Customer: “I was told it would be ready this afternoon!”
Me: “I apologize, ma’am. Normally we would have it ready then but our truck just arrived less than an hour ago and we haven’t been able to put away the medication yet.”
Customer: “Well, someone should have called me to tell me it wasn’t ready! I drove all the way from [20 minutes away] to get my medicine and it’s not even ready!”
Me: “Are you signed up for our automated calls and text messages?”
Customer: “Yes!”
Me: “…and you got a call or text telling you your prescription was ready?”
Customer: “Well… no…”
Me: “…”
(The customer gave me a dirty look as she angrily drove away.)
(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.)
Pharmacy, Retail | Canada | Right | September 9, 2014
(I work as a cashier and am finally at the end of a long, frustrating split-shift. About 10 minutes to closing a group of guys in their early 20s come in and head straight for the confection aisle. They seem to be having a hard time deciding, and become panicked when my supervisor makes the closing announcement. They shove their candy, chips, and pop into the arms of one guy, and push him toward the cash. They leave the store, leaving their friend to pay. He places the items very slowly on the counter, blinking with confusion a number of times, swaying a little on his feet. I ring his items through.)
Me: “That’s $14.59. How will you be paying?”
Customer: “Uh… debit?”
(He slowly pulls out his wallet and fumbles for his card. He finally places it in the debit machine, and then stares at it, unmoving. The machine times-out, so I reset it. He manages, with some difficulty to make it through the rest of the transaction. When I place his bag in front of him, he looks confused.)
Customer: “Is this mine?”
Me: “Yes, it is.”
Customer: “These are the things I bought?”
Me: “Uh… yes. Are you all right?”
Customer: “Huh? Oh, yeah, don’t mind me, I’m just really fried.”
(He pulls a 2 dollar coin out of his pocket and puts it on the counter.)
Customer: “Don’t tell; my parents know the owner.”
(He left, marveling at the automatic doors as he did. He has been back to the store a number of times, in the same state, and makes my day whenever he shows up.)
(The pharmacy that I work at has a very standard closing time of 7:00 pm. We’ve had this for years, much longer than I’ve worked there. If a customer comes in around 6:58 or so they usually purchase their items quickly and leave. This customer comes in at 6:59.)
Customer: “Whoo! Made it in the knick of time!”
Me: “You certainly did! You picking up a prescription today?”
Customer: “Yes, it’s [Name].”
(The transaction goes smoothly and he heads for the door. It’s 7:01 pm and he turns and goes to the blood pressure machine which usually takes a couple minutes to finish the measurement. My boss tells me to turn the lights off because we’re technically closed.)
Customer: “Hey! Can you turn the lights back on? I can’t see my reading!”
Me: “The display is LED; you don’t need the lights on, sir.”
(I’m out with my parents, running some errands. During one stop, my dad picks up a prescription while my mom and I wait in the car, since it’ll be quick. She cracks the windows, though, since it’s warm. Two women exit the store.)
Pharmacy | Beaverteron, OR, USA | Working | May 25, 2014
(I’m in the pharmacy picking up my prescription for insulin.)
Pharmacy Tech: “We are currently out of the insulin pens, so we’ve substituted a bottle of insulin that you can use until we get the pens back in stock in a few days.”
Me: “That’s fine, but I don’t have any syringes at home any more so I’ll need to buy some.”
Pharmacy Tech: “You’ll need to get a doctor to send us a prescription for the syringes.”
Me: “So, you are saying you don’t have the insulin pens. So you are giving me a bottle of insulin, but you won’t give me the syringes to use them?”
Pharmacy Tech: “We can’t give you syringes without a doctor’s prescription.”
Me: “Can I please talk to the pharmacist?”
Pharmacy Tech: “She’s very busy right now, and she’s going to tell you the same thing.”
Me: “I will wait.”
(The pharmacy tech huffs, and I go sit down in the waiting area. About 10 minutes later, after I’ve seen the pharmacist give several consultations, I walk up to the consultation window.)
Pharmacist: *very pleasantly* “Hi. Do you need a consultation?”
Me: “Actually, the lady at the register said that you were substituting a bottle of insulin instead of the pens because you are out.”
Pharmacist: “Oh, you need to know how to use the syringes?”
Me: “No, I know how to do that, but I don’t have any syringes.”
Pharmacist: “Oh, no problem. We’ll give you some since we are out of the pens.”
Me: “The lady at the register is refusing to give them to me without a prescription.”
(The pharmacist looks towards the registers and glares.)
Pharmacist: “She’s been doing that all day. I don’t know why I have to keep explaining it to her. At least she goes home in half an hour.”
(The pharmacist rang me up and I was on my way with syringes. I never saw the pharmacy tech there again.)
Pharmacy | Frankfurt/Main, Germany | Working | May 2, 2014
(I get a call on the first of April, one day after a job interview.)
Caller: “HEY! HEY! Guess what!”
Me: “Who is this?”
Caller: “It’s [Name] from [Company] from yesterday! You’re hired! All the other applicants were total f****** idiots! That’s why we want you!”
Me: “Uhm, thanks? That’s—”
Caller: “You know what I did? Do you want to hear it?”
Me: “What did you do?”
Caller: “I called all the other applicants and told them they’re hired! And when they got all excited I screamed ‘April Fools!’ Haha, I would have loved to see their faces. The first guy told me he’d sue me! Isn’t that funny?”
Me: “So… is this a joke? Or am I hired?”
Caller: “You’re actually hired. As I said, all the others were total f****** idiots! Welcome to [Company]!”
(I am the cashier at a convenience store that also has a pharmacy on the back. It is a slow day and my pharmacy coworker asks me to watch his station for a minute. A mustached, gallon-hat wearing cowboy (boots and all) comes up to me and asks in a very deep voice
Cowboy: “Do you carry generic Viagra?”
Me: *stunned* “I’m sorry. If you could just wait for a minute?”
(Thankfully my coworker heard him and took over. I went back to my station and then the same customer appeared. His purchases? Generic Viagra, a tequila bottle, and a 25-pack of lollipops…)
Please Keep Customer Interaction To A Condominimum, Part 2
Pharmacy | FL, USA | Right | April 29, 2014
(It is a Friday late afternoon. I am mechanically ringing up sales adding “have a nice weekend” to my normal “here’s your receipt” spiel. I realized after saying this to a male customer that he is buying several high-quantity boxes of condoms. I also remember he had a work shirt on with his name sewn on it. I stepped into the pharmacy and talk to my coworkers.)
Me: “Oh, my God!”
Coworker: “What is it?”
Me: “I just told a customer to have a good weekend, before noticing he was buying nothing but condoms! He obviously has plans to do so!”
(About thirty minutes later the phone rings, and the pharmacist picks it up.)
Coworker: “[My Name], you have a phone call.”
(I answer.)
Caller: “Hi, I’m [Customer With Named Shirt]. I’m calling because I want to go out with you this weekend!”
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