Funny looks at the chemist's !!!

Hi All.
I know chemist/pharmacy staff have to ask clarifying questions etc...
But its when the questions can turn into intrusive interrogations and some questions are a bit
embarrassing and even 'barmy' at times! They can be too - as had them asked to me!
Worse is when other people are standing "right" behind you listening in with amused interest too
and the questions just keep being asked...
So uncomfortable and embarrassing for the person being asked all the questions
You would think staff would be trained with person sensitivity awareness - of persons feelings whilst asking
the questions.
Had to mention this point as it is a valid one here...
This is why my own perception is there should be a place of privacy available in ALL chemists
and pharmacys. [ and NOT in a cupboard either! ]
So then they can ask all the questions they want to the person concerned in private, and if
we disagree or have anything we need to say its said in confidence and private (without the bashing
them ! sanober) :lol:
Anna.

Am doing my own monitoring by testing..and as I am not allowed strips...I buy on a popular auction site etc.

What bugs me...is on the popular site..you can find what are clearly goods supplied on script..openly on sale.

OK..its a free choice by those choosing not to test and retain some sort of good health (!).

Someone say something to make me feel better....

Oh as an aside....have seen order for goods (through a popular high st pharmacy)..600 times too large.
Without my staff spotting error...could have supplied all of a small town...what a waste.
These people deal in dangerous drugs.....
With best wishes

I buy mine from Abbott Diabetes Care. they give WONDERFUL service.
Hana

These stories about difficulty in getting strips on the NHS - I guess in England - are so depressing. I am glad that all I need to do is call the surgery and pop in to pick up a repeat prescription for two 50 strip pots the next day which I get dispensed free within 20 minutes at the Co-op next door. I suspect it could be quicker but you then have 20 minutes to kill in the Co-op supermarket and travel agency next door........

Next time you feel embarassed, just fill your basket with a jumbo box of condoms, a big pot of vaseline, some rubber gloves, and a length of industrial strength hose pipe, and see who is blushing then...

Can anyone answer these impossible requests I ask my local pharmacist:

Please can I have my cough mixture without the elderly-proof lid?

Please can I have left-handed nail scissors?

borofergie said:

Next time you feel embarassed, just fill your basket with a jumbo box of condoms, a big pot of vaseline, some rubber gloves, and a length of industrial strength hose pipe, and see who is blushing then...

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Boots don't sell industrial strength hose pipe - I have to go next door to Robert Dyas for that .

I am on a diet and exercise plan with Diabetes and when I asked the pharmacist in Boots for strips he said I did not need them as the blood sugar goes down eventually after eating !!!!!!!!!!!! Yes there is a lot of ignorance about Diabetes but one does not expect a pharmacist to have so little knowledge. I shall get them by going on the internet in future.

lizmartin said:

I am on a diet and exercise plan with Diabetes and when I asked the pharmacist in Boots for strips he said I did not need them as the blood sugar goes down eventually after eating !!!!!!!!!!!! Yes there is a lot of ignorance about Diabetes but one does not expect a pharmacist to have so little knowledge. I shall get them by going on the internet in future.

Click to expand...

:shock:

When I was first diagnosed, I almost had a fist fight with someone in Boots because they tried to refuse to sell me Ketostix in case I was on the Atkins diet.

borofergie said:

When I was first diagnosed, I almost had a fist fight with someone in Boots because they tried to refuse to sell me Ketostix in case I was on the Atkins diet.

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What does that have to do with the chemist? I did Atkins initially and it's great for diabetics. I got my ketostix no problem, and no questions asked either.

Of course you are allowed to buy them and you are unlikely to get them on prescription
I buy mine direct from the Supplier; Abbott Diabetes Care. their service is exemplary and prices fair. they supply a couple of brands of meter and strips. Check out their website. I used to assume thqat all meter suppliers provide the same service, but i discovered that Bayer don't. Iwatned to get y Mum some more strips after she ran out, but Bayer were not a lot of help.
Whichever meter you have check out the supplier's website.
Hana

anna29 said:

Hi All.
I know chemist/pharmacy staff have to ask clarifying questions etc...
But its when the questions can turn into intrusive interrogations and some questions are a bit
embarrassing and even 'barmy' at times! They can be too - as had them asked to me!
Worse is when other people are standing "right" behind you listening in with amused interest too
and the questions just keep being asked...
So uncomfortable and embarrassing for the person being asked all the questions
You would think staff would be trained with person sensitivity awareness - of persons feelings whilst asking
the questions.
Had to mention this point as it is a valid one here...
This is why my own perception is there should be a place of privacy available in ALL chemists
and pharmacys. [ and NOT in a cupboard either! ]
So then they can ask all the questions they want to the person concerned in private, and if
we disagree or have anything we need to say its said in confidence and private (without the bashing
them ! sanober) :lol:
Anna.

Click to expand...

Oh those 'cupboards' have to be the funniest addition to the local pharmacy. My local has one that you can just about fit two people into, and it's used mainly for people wanting weight loss advice. What they forgot was to make sure the partition walls go right up to the ceiling! You feel as if you have privacy but actually everyone in the damned shop can hear every word you're saying. Honestly, I sometimes wonder where some people leave their brains. I've got brain fog but mine works better than the average 'professional' I think. :wink:

Hi GraceK...
This fact is sooooo true though isnt it...
My own chemist that do actually offer me a fantastic service.
Have a small section at the bottom os the stairs with just 2 shutter doors
screwed onto the wall.
A tiny table with just 1 chair and the pharacist has to stand leaning propped
up against the wall 'or' he/she can sit on the bottom step of the stairs!
Its comical when I am sat in the chair and they are either leaning bolt upright on wall
or sat on the bottom step of the stairs.
Hardly proper or formal or professional is it :roll:
Its private away from main shop floor of the chemist's but too tiny to be classed
as a room if you see what I mean ?
I do still refer to it as a cupboard yet!!!!
Anna.

anna29 said:

Hi GraceK...
This fact is sooooo true though isnt it...
My own chemist that do actually offer me a fantastic service.
Have a small section at the bottom os the stairs with just 2 shutter doors
screwed onto the wall.
A tiny table with just 1 chair and the pharacist has to stand leaning propped
up against the wall 'or' he/she can sit on the bottom step of the stairs!
Its comical when I am sat in the chair and they are either leaning bolt upright on wall
or sat on the bottom step of the stairs.
Hardly proper or formal or professional is it :roll:
Its private away from main shop floor of the chemist's but too tiny to be classed
as a room if you see what I mean ?
I do still refer to it as a cupboard yet!!!!
Anna.

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My other pet hate is public toilets that contain a row of about 25 separate toilet booths that you have to be about 4st to be able to fit into and close the door behind you. I wouldn't mind but they're never even in places where lots of people use them. Do the people who design these facilities actually ever LOOK at the general population these days or do they just use guesswork? Or is it just a case of 'We've provided toilets, whether you can actually use them or not isn't our concern."

My best one at Boots was when I asked for a bottle of contact lens Comfort Drops.

I was told most firmly by the lady behind the counter that on NO ACCOUNT should I put anything in my eyes when wearing contact lenses. I was so surprised that I shut my mouth and walked out; it was either that or get arrested.

The only reason I had gone in there was that they had a great big display of them in the window!

Having said that, a pharmacist once saved my mother's life; the surgery had got the prescription totally wrong, and he phoned up to query the combination of drugs. What was on the script was lethal, but my mum would have taken them, no question.

Viv 8)

viviennem said:

My best one at Boots was when I asked for a bottle of contact lens Comfort Drops.

I was told most firmly by the lady behind the counter that on NO ACCOUNT should I put anything in my eyes when wearing contact lenses. I was so surprised that I shut my mouth and walked out; it was either that or get arrested.

The only reason I had gone in there was that they had a great big display of them in the window!

Having said that, a pharmacist once saved my mother's life; the surgery had got the prescription totally wrong, and he phoned up to query the combination of drugs. What was on the script was lethal, but my mum would have taken them, no question.

Viv 8)

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This doesn't actually relate to funny looks at the chemist but I couldn't resist adding it here.

I recently nipped into my local Tesco Express for a few bits which included tomatoes. A very bored looking male cashier beckoned me and so I placed all my items on the counter, there were about 10 items in total. He picked up the two packs of tomatoes first and went to put them in the carrier bag and so I stopped him and asked if he could please put the other items in the bag first as they were heavier and I didn't want the tomatoes to be squashed.

From the look on his face and the way he slammed down the tomatoes I thought he was going to jump over the counter and smack me. He slammed the tomatoes back down on the counter, rolled his eyes upwards and stood still and said very loudly "Well ... what dya WANT me to put in the bag FIRST then?" At the same time he gave me a look up and down that made me feel like I was something he'd just stepped in and couldn't scrape off his shoe.

So I said "It's OK, if you haven't yet been on a training course for Bag Packing, I'm sure HR will be contacting you after they've arranged your training course in Customer Relations. Good luck when your next Mystery Shopper comes in."

I'm never rude to shop assistants, cashiers, or public service employees and I've come across a lot of really helpful and friendly cashiers who obviously enjoy the job and the interaction with the public. But now and then I come across one who clearly isn't cut out of the job and decides to take it out on me, in those cases I DO bite back! :wink:

Good for you, GraceK!

As a friend of mine used to say, "The thing about common sense is that it's not very common."

Tomatoes on the bottom, indeed!

Viv 8)

I put things on the conveyor in the order I want to pack them.

IanD said:

I put things on the conveyor in the order I want to pack them.

Click to expand...

So do I in a regular supermarket but this was a Tesco Express petrol station with a tiny space to put your basket on top.