Man wants to call cops for refund

A man was arguing and telling my assistants off because they wouldn't refund baby formula and baby bottle without a receipt. Which is true. No receipt, no exchange or refund. He was yelling so I had to go out and escort him to the side. 

Me: "Sir let me show you something." I tell him to come over. "This is our store policy. Have a read."
Him: No exchange on baby formula. Fine! But you must refund the baby bottle.
Me: Read down the bottom here. Exchange only with a receipt, purchased within 7 days and item/packaging is not damaged. You've got no receipt.
Him: You don't know anything. You can just scan your product and it will come and tell you where i've bought it from.
Me: You haven't worked in retail before? This is just a barcode. Big W sells these products too. You can go and check their barcode its the same.
Him: Well when I got to Big W, they will exchange it for me without a receipt.
Me: As you've said that's Big W. We are not Big W. Each store have their store policy.
Him: No this is YOUR policy. Fair trading says you have to refund even without a receipt!
Me: Where do they say that. Show me. I don't have to refund anything without a receipt because a) you can't prove you got it from us and b) when you bought it. 
Him: I can tell you when I got it!
Me: You can tell me any date you want. You can say today even. But that's what a receipt is for. 
Him: Are you saying that if I walk into Big W, they will accuse me of stealing because I don't have a receipt and I bought it somewhere else.
Me: Yes exactly. They will and they will have to investigate if you are telling the truth otherwise they will call the cops. 
Him: What a joke. Where country are you from?
Me: That's none of your business and its got nothing to do with thisw.
Him: Which country are you from?
Me: As a matter of fact, I was born here. You got a problem with that? 
Him: .....................
Me: What about you?
Him: Me too! (in a strong indian accent) 
Me: Oh realllyyyyy, I couldn't even tell coz you seem so clueless about store policies and legislation and you think that you can simply yell at me and my staff and expect us to help you when you don't even have a receipt. 
Him: Fine its my fault. I lost my receipt. 
Me: Well its certainly not our fault.
Him: I'm gonna call the cops.
Me: Yeh the police station is just across the road. Go tell them and see if they will do anything. Good luck. 


If you want us to help you, you are suppose to be nice to us. Don't demand this and that. Makes you look very hostile and arrogant and we don't like to help those type of people. Policies can be bended and broken as our discretion but when you act like that, policy is policy. 

Lady overly worried by a simple small rash

A lady comes in with a script from the doctor for Elocon Cream. Before I start dispensing, she asks me all these questions about the cream:
"Is it for 'broken capillaries' 
"Will it work?"
"What's the strongest cream you have to treat the same thing?"
"What else can you use for pigmentation?" 

I write down hydroquinone for her. She asks me: "What strength does it come in?"

Me: "The doctor decides the strength suitable for you and then writes a script before we make it into a cream. Its tailor made."

"What does it do?"

"Its a peeling agent for pigmentation and blemishes?"

"So it will help with this?" and then she proceeds to point to her face or nose area where a small rash is there...... 

Me: "That's just a rash. Dermatitis. That's not pigmentation."

She: "Its not?

Me: "No its not. Pigmentation is different to a rash. They're not the same."

She: "So you think the doctor won't prescribe me hydroquinone?"

Me: "No why would they? Its not pigmentation. Its just a rash. So his prescribed you Elocon cream which is for rashes. Use a thin layer and it will go away in a few days. You've got the right cream ok?" 


She seemed so worried. And she thinks its pigmentation. Its not! Just get over it. Its just a rash, cortisone cream will help, though I think Elocon may be a bit strong for the face. 

Pharmacists furious with Chemist Warehouse dodgy Medscheck practices

http://www.pharmacynews.com.au/news/latest-news/chemist-warehouse-s-medscheck-push-sees-store-do-3

http://www.pharmacynews.com.au/news/latest-news/pharmacists-furious-with-cwh-medscheck-push

Chemist Warehouse (CWH) is at it again! News recently broke out about how one CWH store claimed 319 Medscheck in 2 weeks. And bragged about it. Head office pushing their stores or actually their underpaid pharmacists to do low-quality Medschecks. Easy $20,000 in their pocket.

This news made a lot of pharmacists in the industry furious. Furious because CWH is clearly doing a dodgy and getting away with it. One Medscheck should take about 20-30min to do. If you do the math, the pharmacy would have to be open more than 24 hours and employed a lot of pharmacists to do this.

I recently met someone who works at CWH and that's what they told me too. They had KPI they had to meet - they must do 10 Medscheck PER DAY. Wow, that's probably what I do in a month! Don't understand why Medicare still paid CWH without even auditting them. Its so suspicious but its like noone's doing anything!

Honestly, I think the the pharmacy industry is screwed and here's why:

• Medscheck has no benefit to us pharmacists. It only benefits the pharmacy owners. It just means more work and pressure for the average pharmacist. Not like they get paid anymore. Same wage. 
• CWH paying their pharmacists only $24 per hour. Casual rate, long hours, night and weekend shifts. Cityrail ticket person at the train station gets paid $60,000 per year salary with paid annual leave, sick leave and other benefits. 
• Pharmacists don't even get a proper lunch break. On call means we eat while we work. And some stupid law stating they must close the store if there is no pharmacist on the premise. 
• Employers talking about generics all the time. Lying to patients that we don't keep the brand anymore, made in Australia when its made in India, better quality not necessarily, less expensive when we charge them the same price as the original. Must have 80% generic conversion or your job is on the line. 
• Employers talking about Medscheck. Doing 5min Medscheck, and them getting the patient to sign. They don't even know what they are signing for.
• Discount chemists charging so little for medications. Amoxil Syrup is $6.50 at CWH. That's cheaper than the concessional price. Dispensing FEE zilch! Patients thinking other pharmacies are ripping them off as CWH charging so low. 
• Customers expecting everything in pharmacy is free. Free blood pressure checks, Free blood glucose checks, free weighing scales, free medical advice, free Webster packs........ We don't get paid by Medicare for each consultation we do. 
• Abused by customers who don't want to pay a surcharge for original brands coz other pharmacies are not charging me. Either they are lying or they really do that we don't know for sure. Patients think the pharmacies set PBS prices. Its Medicare but they don't believe us. 
• Very weak governing body The Guild. Hasn't done much. Their negotiations are crap. They don't know how to negotiate. Lets Medicare and government step all over us. Just not powerful enough. Look at the nurses union. They walk out on their job, protest and government gives them a payrise. What about us? The Guild puts out a stupid petition, gets everyone to sign it and gives it to the government who chucks it in the bin. No change. Problem is still there. Just forget about it and move on. 

Hycor ointment 0.5% and 1%

Lost-case doctor does it again.

She writes a script for Siguet Hycor Ointment 0.5% which was discontinued like 5-6 years ago. So I give her a call

Me: Dr, the hycor ointment 0.5% was discontinued 5-6 years ago. Only the 1% is available.

Dr: Are you sure? He said he only got it a few weeks ago. He showed me the old packet. 

Me: I'm looking at the old packet he is holding...... it says 1% 

Dr: Oh change it to 1% then.

Does she not know it was discontinued? Its been so many years. Especially when the patient has brought in an old packet, where you can actually LOOK at it. She can't seem to differentiate between 0.5% and 1%. 

Again, its another example that she is a doctor that prescribes whatever the patient tells her to prescribe without thinking or questioning. We need to get rid of doctors like that. *sigh* 

Most easiest Medicare paid consultation ever

A man comes into the pharmacy and gives me a piece of paper written by a doctor.

He went to see the doctor to ask what he can use to get rid of his wrinkles on his face. Guess what the doctor wrote on the paper?

"Anti-wrinkle cream"


Yep what a genius!

Customer thought I was ripping him off only to return later in defeat

A customer got really angry at me as I was not able to price-match the Diprosone OV ointment 30g he wanted. We sell it for $31.50 and he says he usually gets it for $25 at the chemist down the road.

I checked our cost-price, which was way above the $25 so I just couldn't match it. I told him we are the cheapest in the area and if we can't sell it for that price, don't know how other chemists can. I said the prices have gone up over the years.

Then he continues on and curses me for overcharging him and that he won't ever come here again coz we are ripping him off etc etc....

Well guess what. The same man came back today and I dispensed the script for him.

I cheekily said: Oh you know its not $25 right? We sell it for $31.50.
Him: Yeh what can I do? I need it so I'm gonna have to buy it.
Me: Oh you said you could get it at the other chemist for $25, you didn't end up getting it? Why's that?
Him: (getting frustrated) coz the prices have gone up and they can't do it for $25 anymore.......
Me: Is that so? Yeh I wasn't lying when I told you we're the cheapest in the area. Now you know.

Petitions don't work and gives a false sense of hope

Sick of those organisations who decide to start a petition every time there's a change that affects the industry. Stop being fake and optimistic. Petitions is not the solution to our problems. We need ACTION and STRATEGY and good LEADER. That we lack. We don't have a union (i think we do but not many members and they don't do anything). We got money-hungry governing bodies like PSA, The Guild who have ridiculous membership fees and they don't really fight for our benefits.

At times when needed, they come up with this wondrous solution, namely a petition, grab our names and our signatures then end of story. No follow-up, no solution. Change goes ahead. Because you know why? The change went ahead without our consultation, so why would a petition of our say change their mind?

Be realistic. Petitions just don't work. Gives fake hope and its a form of action that those organisations do just to fake their concern. They don't give a crap about us.

Don't waste your time signing it. I'm not.