First post, but I have to rant a little. Sorry for the wall of text. I work hospital pharmacy and am thankful every day that I don't work retail because I don't have a lot of people skills or patience at times. A phone call today just cemented that even more. A little background, being an inpatient pharmacy, we usually just get in-house calls from nurses and doctors within the facility, but phone calls from outside have a special double-ring to let us know the call isn't from an extension. Unfortunately, unlike the nursing floors, we have zero caller ID. Also, unlike some hospitals, we do not have any outpatient capabilities for billing, and as such we don't fill outpatient prescriptions. I answer the phone on a double-ring (unsuspecting). The person on the other end starts telling their sad story about how they were a patient in the ED last night and they got a prescription, but is was too late to fill it last night when they left ED (not true, there is at least one 24 hour pharmacy in town). I tell them (as we usually do) that we don't fill outpatient prescriptions, we only serve the patients in the hospital. Instead of accepting this, she proceeds to say, "But you're a pharmacy right?" I say yes, we are a pharmacy, but only for the hospital. I get a repeat of, "but I was a patient there last night! I fell down some stairs, I'm in a lot of pain!" I apologize again, but then try explaining that there is a Walgreen's next door that can fill their prescription. "They told me that, but why can't you fill it? You're a pharmacy right? This is a prescription from your doctor!" I asked if they were directed to the 24 hour pharmacy across town. "That was way to far to drive! I was in too much pain!" Third try to explain that we don't fill paper scripts, just fill orders in the computer for patients there. "So I have to be dying in a bed there or something to get this?!" I'm sorry. We won't fill your prescription. The person finally seems to get what I'm saying. "So, you're a pharmacy, but I can't bring this prescription to you to fill even though I was a patient there because I'm not a patient there anymore. That doesn't make any sense at all." All I can say is I'm sorry. The conversation finally ends.
I hang up, and see several of my fellow pharmacists looking at me with intense curiousity. I asked if I sounded calm. I was informed that I seemed close to cracking at one point, but calmed down. I had to step away and take deep breaths. I should not have to explain one thing four times in three different ways to a person, all of them amounting to "NO!" But dammit, I wasn't rude! Upon further thought, I'm thinking this person had probably been turned away from several pharmacies and was just really wanting some narcs filled and figured we'd eventually cave.