Pet Peeves

Those Doggone Treats.

A patient in the drive-through asks for dog treats. I tell the patient that the pharmacy is not stocked with dog treats at the moment. The patient then threatens to transfer all of her prescriptions to another pharmacy if we are ever out of dog treats again.

Impatient Patient.

When a customer calls in their refills and they ask you how long it will take to get 13 refills ready...only to hang up and see them walking in the door hanging up with you on their cell phone. Why bother to call in “ahead” and ask when they will be ready if they are going to walk in, stand at the counter, and stare at you till you are done?

Please Hold.

Calling the Pharmacy Help Desk phone number on an insurance card and having to listen to an advertisement for the insurance plan’s mail order pharmacy. It is bad enough they try to steal my patients with lower copays, now they rub my nose in it as well when I am trying to get help.

Card Tricks.

Every time I turn around, someone is bringing a new prescription discount card that they neither purchased nor requested. I receive such discount cards from e-scripts from physicians intending to “help” their patients. When will there be cards we can give to “discount” copays at physicians’ offices?

Are You Serious?

A customer asks me to recommend an antihistamine eye drop. After seeing the price, the customer asks if I know any place that she can buy it cheaper!

It’s Not a Handkerchief.

When patients sneeze into their written Rx and then hand it to you and say, “Fill this.”

What’s bothering you?

Bossy patients, abandoned prescriptions, drive-throughs? Pharmacy Times wants to know. Send your pet peeves to PetPeeves@pharmacytimes.com. We’ll add them to our ongoing published list. Share your Pet Peeves with Pharmacy Times today!