Not the only person in the world
It frustrates me that things like this happen. It frustrates me even more that for some reason I can't sleep because of it so I am typing in the middle of the night when I should be in bed with my wife and baby. I am hoping getting it out will help.
At work tonight a guy walks up to my cash register at the pharmacy and slaps down a card with the number 40 printed on it. I look in the waiter basket behind me but don't see it in there. I walk down toward the pharmacist and see her checking a different prescription, with two more waiters to go before #40 is checked. In fact, it is right next to the person processing, leading me to believe he walked straight from one end of the pharmacy to the other. I walk back and politely inform the gentleman, "Sir, your prescription still needs to be checked by the pharmacist, if you could please wait a couple of minutes, we will have that done for you". I use my nicest voice, despite knowing the tech at the other window just told him it would be 10-15 minutes before his script was ready.
He glares at he and gruffly states, "I saw that girl get the box, can't you just throw a label on there and give it to me?!"
With as much politeness as I can muster, "Sir, the pharmacist still needs to check over it and...."
"So tell her to do it, can't you see I am in a hurry!"
"Sir. There were other waiters in the line before you that need to be checked in the order they were done. We will have yours as soon as possible." He steps back and stares right at me as I help 3 other customers before his number is called, at which times he goes straight to the front of the line (not what you are supposed to do) and doesn't speak to me as I ring him up. I handled this in the only way I could.
What I wanted to do was sharply jab my pointed index and middle fingers into his sternum and say "Look you selfish, self-centered, ego-maniacal hypocrite! You aren't the only person in the whole freaking world. Other people were in line to be serviced before you, wait your damn turn. Your script isn't a cheeseburger, it might take longer than 20 seconds to get ready. A pharmacist has to check that all the information was correctly processed and that the Rx makes sense for the patient. Doctors do make mistakes. You are also the kind of person who would sue our asses off if we got something wrong. The people behind the counter are just that, people. We have to be right 100% of the time or someone could get sick or possibly die from an adverse drug reaction. It may sound melodramatic, but it happens. We have to make no mistakes for several hundred people every day and you would expect no less. That kind of precision takes longer than 20 seconds. People mistype. Doctors may be unaware of allergies or other medical conditions, so we have to err on the side of safety. I am a person too! There is no need to treat me as incompetent or insubordinate because I am doing exactly what I am supposed to do. So, kindly sit the hell down, and your script will be ready in a couple of damn minutes!"
This guy is why movies like Clerks exist in the first place. Now, I wanna see Clerks 2 more than ever.
Remember, the next time you are at a restaurant, retail store, pharmacy, or whatever, that the people working there are people too. More likely than not, they are working their butts off to serve you. Sure, that's their job, but just remember they have feelings too. There is no need to be a jerk to these people, you are not better than them.
At work tonight a guy walks up to my cash register at the pharmacy and slaps down a card with the number 40 printed on it. I look in the waiter basket behind me but don't see it in there. I walk down toward the pharmacist and see her checking a different prescription, with two more waiters to go before #40 is checked. In fact, it is right next to the person processing, leading me to believe he walked straight from one end of the pharmacy to the other. I walk back and politely inform the gentleman, "Sir, your prescription still needs to be checked by the pharmacist, if you could please wait a couple of minutes, we will have that done for you". I use my nicest voice, despite knowing the tech at the other window just told him it would be 10-15 minutes before his script was ready.
He glares at he and gruffly states, "I saw that girl get the box, can't you just throw a label on there and give it to me?!"
With as much politeness as I can muster, "Sir, the pharmacist still needs to check over it and...."
"So tell her to do it, can't you see I am in a hurry!"
"Sir. There were other waiters in the line before you that need to be checked in the order they were done. We will have yours as soon as possible." He steps back and stares right at me as I help 3 other customers before his number is called, at which times he goes straight to the front of the line (not what you are supposed to do) and doesn't speak to me as I ring him up. I handled this in the only way I could.
What I wanted to do was sharply jab my pointed index and middle fingers into his sternum and say "Look you selfish, self-centered, ego-maniacal hypocrite! You aren't the only person in the whole freaking world. Other people were in line to be serviced before you, wait your damn turn. Your script isn't a cheeseburger, it might take longer than 20 seconds to get ready. A pharmacist has to check that all the information was correctly processed and that the Rx makes sense for the patient. Doctors do make mistakes. You are also the kind of person who would sue our asses off if we got something wrong. The people behind the counter are just that, people. We have to be right 100% of the time or someone could get sick or possibly die from an adverse drug reaction. It may sound melodramatic, but it happens. We have to make no mistakes for several hundred people every day and you would expect no less. That kind of precision takes longer than 20 seconds. People mistype. Doctors may be unaware of allergies or other medical conditions, so we have to err on the side of safety. I am a person too! There is no need to treat me as incompetent or insubordinate because I am doing exactly what I am supposed to do. So, kindly sit the hell down, and your script will be ready in a couple of damn minutes!"
This guy is why movies like Clerks exist in the first place. Now, I wanna see Clerks 2 more than ever.
Remember, the next time you are at a restaurant, retail store, pharmacy, or whatever, that the people working there are people too. More likely than not, they are working their butts off to serve you. Sure, that's their job, but just remember they have feelings too. There is no need to be a jerk to these people, you are not better than them.