It's Not That Hard. . .

. . . that's what she said.

CP: Thank you phor calling CP, Purveyor of Phine Pastilles and Pauper of Pills. How may I assist you this phine morning? 

So Perfectly Obvious It's Literally Easily Discerned: Urine idiot!

CP: I do need to pee, but I phail to understand how that makes me an idiot. 

SPOILED: No. You are an idiot. 

CP: Thanks. I think. Though it would be more helpful if you would enunciate. Easier to understand your insults. Hey, guess what Tessalon is used for? 

SPOILED: What? 

CP: Fuh Cough!

SPOILED: Excuse me?!

CP: Anyway, you were insulting me? 

SPOILED: Yes. You left me a message that my medication is on backorder. 

CP: I did. It is. How does that make me an idiot? 

SPOILED: Why did the CVS and Walgreens have it? 

CP: Not sure. Can I . . . 

SPOILED: See! Idiot. 

CP: Allow me to hazard a guess. 

1. They have a warehouse that has vast quantities of inventory. Think Sam's Club. If a smaller retailer runs out of product, these stores will likely have more and may weather the backorder without interruption to their sales. 

2. My store uses more of this product than they do. Even stores separated by less than 3 miles have entirely different inventories and dispensing habits than each other. Sometimes, one store may carry it while the other does not. 

3. Volume. Your CVS or Walgreens could have received the last bottle from their warehouse's shelves. If those stores do not dispense it with any frequency, they could still have it. 

Unfortunately, just because they currently have it in stock does not mean they will receive more before I or anyone else does. 

SPOILED: That's ridiculous. I've never heard of such a thing. 

CP: Have you ever run out of something in your kitchen? 

SPOILED: Of course. 

CP: Have you ever tried to buy it at a store, only to discover that, like Old Mother Hubbard, their cupboards too, were bare? 

SPOILED: Certainly. 

CP: Have you ever run to the neighbour's to borrow a cup of sugar for a recipe? 

SPOILED: Yes. 

CP: This is much like that. When a product goes on backorder, it means the company cannot keep up with demand, or there was a recall. This means. . . 

SPOILED: Right. You don't know how to order. 

CP: This means, when its supply is interrupted, we have to find who may have it. Your neighbour, another pharmacy, etc. 

SPOILED: That doesn't make sense. Why did they have it? 

CP: Did you see Avengers, Infinity War? 

SPOILED: Yes. 

CP: Remember how, at the end, 50% of everything died? 

SPOILED: Yes. 

CP: Backorders are not at all like that. When a product goes on backorder, the current supplies do not instantly evaporate. Just because you ran out of milk and had to borrow from your neighbour does not mean that her supply instantly vanished. Could you imagine walking to her house, her opening the fridge, and both of you watching the milk disintegrate into ash? 

SPOILED: Well, no. 

CP: It'd' be rather silly if every time YOU ran out of something, everyone else who had it had to watch their stock evaporate. Just like me, those who have it will continue to have it until they don't have it, whether due to a recall or an inability to resupply. 

SPOILED: I'm going to the other pharmacy. 

CP: <snaps fingers> 

SPOILED: What was that? 

CP: Just trying to see if I could have saved some time and made you disappear earlier, like my inventory. 

#JustBecauseTheyHaveItDoesNotMeanICanGetIt

#JustBecauseTheyHaveItDoesNotMeanTheyCanGetMore