Professional Complaint

Professional Complaint. As a pharmacist, you should be sympathetic to your own ilk. As this page has continued to prove, there are many like us and we are not alone. We all understand what each of us goes through day in and day out. (For those non-pharmacy fans, thank you for tuning in and learning about the other side of the counter.)

My rant consists of this: Why do some pharmacists feel the need to treat other pharmacists like any of the other people they deal with on any given day? I understand the loathing we feel towards transfers and coupons. If there were no coupons the transfer thing would be a footnote in our days. I hate them as much as anyone (I received 14 last night from 5 different people in less than 1 hour and had to call 7 separate pharmacies so I get it). That was only from 6-7pm. It does not mean I have to hear you complain about how they're ruining your life. Your company either promotes coupons or it does not. The fact is your job requires you to do transfers. Just like flu shots, just like filling prescriptions, just like counseling patients, it's part of your day-to-day routine. Don't take it out on me.
I try to get to the transfer line a little quicker because I know there is a pharmacist waiting to talk to me. She deserves my attention and I have a fellow professional with whom to converse. I'm not complaining about a little professional kidding. That is quite different. The people I don't understand are the ones who are treating my call as if I just asked them to administer an additional 50 flu shots tonight or they couldn't go home. Again, just like it's not every customer that is a problem, not every RPh is a problem.
I had a pharmacist tell a patient that he would match a price on a prescription for him. I told the patient we have to verify the price. He told me the other pharmacist told him he automatically inflates all of his prices by $10 if he knows a pharmacy is calling. Why? Because you're an independent? I don't care if that's truly the case. I find it unprofessional, especially being so open and flippant about it.
Again, I remind you that this page has served to prove we are not alone. We were a strong fraternity or sorority in college. We are still today. We should figure out how to harness this on a national level and bring about the change we are all clamoring for in the retail world. Even our non-retail brethren would benefit.