MY LIFE - MARCH

Friday, March 9, 2001

I woke up with a headache today. That's not normally a very good thing for me because that headache doesn't typically go away after any amount of time at all, and today was no different. The headache's still with me right now and it's going to lead to an early bedtime for me.

I also didn't look like I felt good either, at least that's what Darlene told me. And at one point I did feel like complete shit and was getting ready to say that I really needed to go home because this was getting bad, but I didn't and I felt a little better after a while. Besides, we were already short one person with the schedule (Jim ran out of people to schedule so it was just Linda and me).

We were busy too. It was crazy at one point because I still had to scan the outs and A-K in our inventory as part of a pilot program we're on (every week we have to scan items that are out of stock that we carry so that in theory we might get them in the following week; if it worked, that would be great but it doesn't). I finally got that started around 6:30 after Elizabeth told me it was in everyone's best interest that I get it done since it wouldn't get done tomorrow by the 4pm cutoff (I don't go in until 4pm).

Elizabeth got the drive-thru and front in between checking scripts and Linda did the same while filling scripts. Jim, who was working the midnight shift, typed and occasionally filled and checked. When things got absolutely nuts, I told Linda to just catch up filling and I'd get the drive-thru, which helped out a little more than what we were otherwise doing.

Of course, the telxon wasn't working right and it took me two and a half hours to scan everything up that was required. I didn't finish everything I wanted to get done, but that will just have to wait until tomorrow night when I can possibly catch some time.

Before all that, there was a store meeting too. I basically found out that at any given time, there are cameras inside the store. Where they are, I won't tell. That would be pretty stupid since the idea is that they're hidden and you're not supposed to know where they are. I also found out my manager isn't exactly pleased with the people in the front of the store who had a score of 64% compared to the pharmacy, which was at 86% (a very good remark all things considered).

Unfortunately, the one thing that need to be discussed, the bickering going on between people in the pharmacy and the bickering between certain front store individuals and pharmacy individuals, wasn't discussed. This is a serious issue because the problems in the pharmacy have led to a lot of bad words towards certain people. Some people during the day have a problem with some of the people at night and vice versa. It's all completely stupid and has been going on since I got there. I've been writing about it almost just as long.

There's also been the occasional snap comment made from someone up front to someone in the pharmacy and vice versa. Where this comes from, I might have an idea. Typically, when we get a call asking about something that's in the store, especially if it's up in the front, we pass it along to the front register. We're just too busy to get a chance to look up whatever the customer wants. Some people in the front of the store seem to think that we're doing this because we're lazy (which is absurd given our volume of scripts).

So what happens is they get a little snappy with someone in the pharmacy, that person gets snappy with them, and before you know it, all sorts of bad things are being passed around the front and pharmacy. I've never been involved in any of this and I get along with everyone up front. They get busy too and I can understand where they might be coming from.

However, the bickering is useless. It gets no one absolutely nowhere and makes you look like a whiner, and we all know how attractive that is. I just think people need to get over all of it, and that definitely includes the bickering among us pharmacy staff.

Too often a pharmacist is complaining about another pharmacist or a tech, or a tech is complaining about another pharmacist or a tech. We all work our asses off and do the best we can with a schedule that's short two people.

I also found out that we really can't hire anyone because there aren't any hours for another person. That's perhaps the stupidest thing I've seen this company do. We're doing 3400 scripts a week, need two people, and they can't possibly give us more hours? It's stupid because then two or three of us have to pick up an extra shift giving us six days, and thus, overtime. Then they bitch about the overtime.

I don't know what they expect us to do. We need to have the shifts covered because we get intensely busy and it can get that way at any point during the day. Last night was a great example of why we need at least one more person. The company doesn't get it though and continues to squeeze hours.

I don't know how they expect us to work efficiently when we're all stressed out. This just confuses the hell out of me at times.

I really am tired tonight. I'm going to attempt to eat and then I'm going to try and read myself to sleep since I don't think I'll be talking to Raychel (aka JJ) tonight. Then I work 4pm-12am tomorrow and 1-9 on Sunday.

So there goes another weekend down the drain.

As much as I'd love to (and I really do have a whole lot I could talk about), I'm just too tired to keep writing now. Tonight I might actually get some decent sleep.