MY LIFE - OCTOBER

Monday, October 16, 2000

I worked both at my store and at Berea today, a decision that I'm feeling right now. I'm tired, I don't feel good, and my head is killing me. It's only about 12:30am right now while I write this, about two hours after I got home. I worked 12:30-5 at my store and 6-10 at Berea, a decision that was made because my store's pharmacy closed at 5 because we didn't have a pharmacist.

I also agreed to work 12-8 on Friday, a decision that I'm sure I'll regret at some point, although I didn't say so when I agreed to it. I may also be working Wednesday and Thursday nights as well, but that depends on whether we close or not at my store. That decision to work Friday may be a mistake though. I don't really know yet, but I'm going to regret it for sure.

I'm just like my mom though. We're both stupid enough to agree to help because we just can't help it. I know they need help, they know I need all the money I can get. So I agreed to do so and it should be an interesting day. It is supposed to be my day off, but I might as well take advantage of any opportunity that comes along. If they want me to work Sunday, I'll be willing to.

Just don't expect me to keep doing this after I transfer. I'll work six days when needed, but not seven. I do need a day off every now and then.

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Some interesting moments while at Berea though. I had one customer call asking if a prescription had been called in. It was going to be under one of two last names, one beginning with an S, another beginning with a K. Somehow I heard K as C and was looking for the name there, but eventually found it in the need info bin. I got back onto the phone where I told her it was called in under the new name and that I needed info. She spelled the other name again, which I heard correctly this time with the K. I immediately told her that I was just stupid and didn't hear that right. She told me it was okay because it was a Monday. I responded by saying I'm stupid everyday, but Monday at least gives me an excuse.

At least right now, I'm much more pleasant towards the customers in Berea, probably because I don't know them very well to make any kind of judgement. Most of them are people I've never seen before and they don't know my tendencies either, so it's like a fresh start. I don't know who's going to ask stupid questions and I seem to care more about what they might need. I guess the change of scenery helps in that area. I'm more compelled to help them out than I would the customers at my other store.

It's just a chance to start over with my customer service I guess. But they seem to appreciate my honesty and my attempt to help them out. Even if there's a problem, I don't get upset over it or let it get to me like some people might. I think the other employees are noticing this too. I've been very composed and capable of handling the rushes. I don't complain when the scripts stack up. I just get to work and fill them a little bit faster and try to keep things moving.

If the phone rings, I answer it and try to help the person out. This is what happened last week when one of the techs was complaining that I was moving too slow. I told her that I had just handled to different situations and if she wanted to take care of them herself, she could go ahead. One was involving an insurance card that I had to call on and verify the information. That took fifteen minutes when it should have only taken five.

The other was trying to figure out some questions from a customer that had me tied up for about ten more minutes. I was doing all that I could do, but sometimes that isn't enough I guess. In any case, the tech was fine with me tonight and she didn't give me any trouble. If anything she talked to me and made it clear that there wouldn't be any problems in the future, unless she gets too weird.

The other techs are the same with me too. No one's trying to make trouble for me. It seems like I'm wanted over there by all the techs and pharmacists, something that will make life that much easier for me when I do go over there. If anything, they've been helpful acclimating me to the environment and making feel at ease.

I think I'll be just fine over there, thank you very much. I guess Lenny and Tom don't know me as well as they thought they might.