Work

Pharmacists are clearly idiots.  If they weren’t, we wouldn’t have 33 pages of stores that can’t get their outdate and recall items sent back on time.  (And that’s down from 45 pages last week…)  Most of them apologize when I call, promise to call FedEx immediately.  They explain the delay and fall over themselves to be helpful.  It’s a power trip but I’m pleasant and helpful in return. I solve problems, answer questions if they’re having trouble, and offer my direct dial phone number if they need more help.  One pharmacist who needed a lot of help asked me today if I was also a marriage counselor (he was joking, I think).  

But every now and then, there’s one who makes me want to scream.  I can’t scream of course.  I can only remain pleasant and helpful; just because they’re rude doesn’t mean I can be.  They vent their stress at me, claim to be too busy to send the transfer back to our processor.  How would I know, right?  I’m just at corporate and not in the stores.  But seriously, how long does it take to call FedEx?  And I force myself to smile so there’s a smile in my voice.  Thank them for their time. 

Then, I call their district manager and explain that one of his stores has an issue.  I feel like a kid tattling to mom.  I can’t really do anything (sometimes, I think they know it) but he can.  The boxes will be sent back within a few days and next time I have to call that store (if there is a next time), they’ll be polite and helpful. 

Today, the district manager I called made me smile.  We had a recent rearrangement of authority and this is one of the stores that is new to him.  He said that if they were one of his old stores, they’d know better.  He made dire threats and then assured me that he meant them in the nicest way possible.  He’s one of the district managers that almost never has a store on my list, rarely needs to be called.  He was cheerful with me, annoyed at the store.  And I definitely like him a lot.  Very helpful.  He’ll get the problem store fixed.