It seems like everyone/store has stories about rude/hostile customers. How often have we heard the term “role model” used on a daily basis. Role model can be anything from a movie/TV star, sports star and others. Today’s role models generally have little resemblance of the role models of a generation or two ago. Think …Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver and other similar shows..
Today, we have all of these “reality shows”.. showing sorts of hostile/rude behavior… and it is now coming out that these reality shows are really SCRIPTED.. how many people watching these shows… really understand that they are basically watching a “soap opera ” type show. Think HOUSEWIVES of whatever !
I don’t watch these shows, but have seen clips.. When you watch TV.. just pay attention to all the rude and hostile behavior that these role models display on a regular basis.
Do these same people come away from watching these shows or news report.. that what they see on these shows is acceptable social behavior ?
We Pharmacists tend to be passive pleasers and with some of the corporate employers offering gift cards to people who complain.. no matter how nebulous the reason or concern… they are just reenforcing that this type of “bad behavior” is acceptable… and that whatever the person expectations are.. we should be able to meet/exceed at every encounter.
Has it become the time for us to start educating/training pts what is acceptable behavior toward the Rx dept staff ? What would be worse than encouraging this few per-cent of a store’s pt to move their business to a competitor… Because the “good pts” at your competitor will not put up with all of these distruptive pts and will be looking for a new pharmacy maybe yours ?
Filed under: General Problems
Y’know Steve, I’ve been reading a few blogs/pages where employees rant and complain about their customers and I have to be honest-it makes me sad. The perceived decline in societal decorum is one thing…but I gotta be honest here, listening/reading the complaints of these educated professionals talk about the general public the way they do makes me sick to my stomach. I grew up in an independent phcy. Those customers, whether they were a pain in the ass, or sweet as pie, getting their meds on the state dole or wealthy enough to buy a private island…those customers were treated with respect-they were the reason my dad was able to put meat on the table and six kids through college. We would laugh at Mrs. X’s quirks or complain in private about how bossy Mr. B was…it was always understood that without them, we wouldn’t have the live we had.
Fast forward to today, I am married to and living with the sweetest Pharmacist alive. He is considered a ‘legacy’ pharmacist, practicing for over 25 years on a PharmD that he earned before it was a requirement. he too grew up in an independent pharmacy. He NEVER comes home complaining about his customers to the degree that I am reading on social media. He knows that without customers who value him, his livelyhood is at risk. I am appalled reading some of these blogs where techs and Rph are blasting their customer base on social media, acting like they are somehow above the ‘lowly customer’ because they are at the bench…screw that. These kids need a lesson in decorum, in respect and in humanity. Your degree doesn’t make you better than the people you serve. Your degree doesn’t give you the right to go to a public forum and talk about people, even if you aren’t using their names, as if they are the scum on the bottom of your shoe. I wish these kids had an opportunity to work with people like my Dad or my husband of my father-in-law…men who knew the value of a customer, treated each and every customer as if they held value.
They keep talking about ‘we are not fast food workers’…well, if you don’t want to be treated like one, stop acting like one.I’ve walked into some of these chains and have been treated like CRAP by the young new grad at the counter. They act like my walking up to the counter is a huge interruption….but remember, without me, you would have nothing to do. Look me in the eye when you talk to me…you don’t know if I have a higher degree than you do, more money than you do, or if I just buried my Mom that morning…don’t treat me like I’m there to order a burger and cold fries and maybe you will find some joy in your work. There is no ‘bed-side manner’ You’ll catch a lot more flies with honey than you will with vinegar….
I am surprised at the number of posters who so freely bash their customers publicly, especially in light of the abundance of pharmacists today. I would encourage each and every one of these kids, tech or PharmD alike, to know that if I can find your rants, your boss can too and I bet you they are watching…and if your boss isn’t watching, your customers might be. You’ve got your profile pictures up on FB, and you are easy to find. If you were my pharmacist or the tech at the store that I frequent, I would transfer…whether you are talking about me or not. I don’t want my meds handled by highly educated professionals who act like entitled little brats. Furthermore, I would like each and every one of you to understand what it’s like to go 11 months without a paycheck after 25 years at the bench because you’ve been replaced by someone who will do the job for less money…..and kids, If you’re going to insist on looking like a brat and blast your customers on social media, at least learn how to spell and use proper grammar so that your smarts show a little bit. Whether you realize it or not, it’s not always the customer who has devalued your degree, by taking your rants to public forums you are degrading what used to be the most respected profession in the US.
Maybe we just need to be honest and as respectful as possible in the face of worsening society. We cannot control others
I watched the very first Survivor and part of the next and never watched it again.
Then all this other crap came out, American Reality Crap its really sick and disgusting ,my point of view anyhow, what a waste of time to sit there and watch this junk. Reality is your a idiot to watch this junk, Reality is our Country is slipping away from US here in the U.S. and we don’t see it, why because some people are too busy watching fake Reality junk. Big Brother ,,, my butt ,,, Bachelorette , give me a break, people must be bored out of their mind to watch this junk.