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Friday, May 15, 2015

Expectations

Expectation: At a fine dining establishment, perhaps the maitre'd or manager will approach your table at some point during or after your meal and inquire as to the quality of your visit. He will ask about the food and wine and thank you for your visit.

That's awesome. I feel as if that is part of the atmosphere I seek when I choose to spend a lot of cash at a really expensive, high-quality restaurant.

In today's society, especially in the me-first United States, it is expected that customer service is a priority above all else. Pharmacists are expected to write action plans if their customer service scores are low or dropping (low according to randomly established baselines set by the whore company). Ideas outlined in these action plans often include:
"I will smile more.",
"I will make eye contact with all 'customers' as they approach the counter...or even if I am walking to the bathroom and have the look upon my face of having held it too long.",
"I will kiss little babies and offer them suckers." (Not a good idea, but corporate is a sucker for babies.),
"I will offer random performances behind my glass wall, reenacting Tom Cruise's scenes from Cocktail...except with medication bottles instead of liquor."

All of this made me think of my restaurant experiences and this analogy: Forcing a pharmacist to smile and offer fake sincerities (we are genuine professionals, after all!) is like asking the manager at McDonald's to walk around the dining room asking if everyone is enjoying their meals and thanking them for "dining with us" today. It's a little out of place.

We are, by nature, caring individuals. That's the reason we chose the profession we love so dear. Corporations cannot try to deliver high-quality experiences whilst simultaneously offering a fast-food atmosphere.

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