Maturity

They say "with age comes wisdom". I don't necessarily believe that. I believe you must first have a foundation on which to build.
I also believe that High School never ends.
Did you ever notice that many times our most argumentative patients act like spoiled brats? Can't you just picture them as your high school bully? Or the leader of the popular clique? Did you ever play the "what group were you in in high school" game? Hey, here comes Johnny Quarterback.

I bring this up because it is this mentality that keeps these people from maturing. It is this attitude that frustrates the pharmacy people in retail. I think these people act like spoiled brats for the attention. These are the patients who like to complain, then run to the front end manager and tell on you like a 5 year old. "I'm telling mom on you!"
Can't you just see them charging up front, then standing behind the manager while the manager berates you for poor customer service? All the while the customer makes faces at you like a younger sibling taunting you. They stick out their tongue at you, then act all upset when the manager turns back around and hands them a gift card, politely, quietly thanking him for correcting the behaviour of a rogue pharmacist.
I had this interaction over the weekend that made me realize this is all so true.

My technician and I were discussing a patient and her profile while the patient was on the phone. The patient had a concern and we were trying to address it. In the middle of our conversation, an impatient dude walks up and shouts "anybody here?" even though he walked right past us.
ID: Hello?
CP: We'll be right with you, sir.
ID: Well I ain't got all day.
CP: Well we're busy helping someone else. We will be with you as soon as we are done.
ID: Wow. You're a sarcastic bunch back there.
CP: Really? How was that sarcastic?
ID: <mumble mumble mumble>

The whole time my tech is ringing him out, he stared at me. Did he think I was going to do tricks? Sure, maybe I whistled the theme from "Bridge on the River Kwai" while pulling hydrocortisone cream with my back to him. Then he walked by and stared me down the whole way past my window. It was as if he walked in slow motion. I politely stared back, gave him a little wink, then said "Have a Nice Day, sir!".
Now that's sarcastic.