Spent over half an hour on line at CVS yesterday to pick up medication

[conuly]

Unfortunately, we were all out, so I didn't have the option to come back in the morning.

The guy behind me would not stop whining about how "they need to open a new line" and "it's not moving, I don't know why they don't open a new line" and so on. Which, I get it, I do. I like to complain. I have, in fact, complained about this line now four separate times. But not to the same person over and over again!

And eventually I turned around and said, very carefully, "They can not open a new line because they'd need a new pharmacist. Which they don't have, so complaining doesn't make this line move any faster. All you're really doing here is irritating me". He got a bit pissy for a moment about not seeing how his incessant complaints irritated me, but then he did at least shut up.

And again - I really understand the urge to complain. I really do. What else am I doing here, after all, other than making my fourth complaint? But omg, if the other people in the same situation are not chiming in, just shut up already. You're not making things better, and you can complain just as well in your own mind as aloud!

Comments

[spiffikins]

I totally agree! And seriously - it seems reasonable to understand that the pharmacy is kind of specialized? They can't just pull in anyone who can run a till, to open a register?

[conuly]

And OMG they were so short-staffed. I've never seen it that bad, even at less crowded times of day - exactly four people. One on the register, one on the drive-through, and two people handling everything else. I'm not sure what everything else is, actually, but I know they usually have more people doing that than handling the registers + drive through, so you know it's bad.

[movingfinger]

I've noticed this at the chain drugstore locally too---they are down a pharmacist from pre-pandemic and it appears to be permanent. They have cut back hours as a result and now there are long always queues inside and at the driveup. I don't know whether it's cost-cutting (trained pharmacists should be paid and paid well) or that people burned out in pharmacy and are doing other things, or different types of pharmacy work.

After half an hour waiting in the driveup line, I transferred all my scrips to the nice local pharmacist we still have.


(There is no 24-hour pharmacy anywhere west of the Sound, afaik; there used to be one, the chain closed it, and the pharmacies all sport signs telling you to go across the water. Which doesn't always work out, because at the times one needs 24-hour pharmacies, the boats aren't always running and it's a very long drive).