CVS = Hell

Reflections of an Un-Supervisor

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:54:58 GMT

People here, I'm sure, have stories about bad bosses and managers and supervisors not treating them well.

Well, tonight, was the the bad one--and I feel like crap about it.

Last overnight my cashier, a wonderful lady and the rare sort that will actually work her entire shift and look for more stuff to do, showed up for work despite being excused for recently having major surgery. She had only one task to perform and she did that quickly and was looking for something else to do, so I delegated facing for her--just until she felt ready to leave--she was cleared to leave early.

Well, she faced the entire store, which left me some free time to get some off-list things done. One of them was get some photolab assessments done on the office computer. I was stuck at 90% on one test, so I was reviewing the material when she called me down about 4:00AM and proceeded to tell me she was disappointed in me. I rarely here that from anyone at the store and so I immediately became defensive. Basically, she though I was in the office a long time and ignoring her when she wanted to go home. Also, she thought I didn't do any work all night and basically sat on my backside.

Not the best thing to say to the Nightmule.

I had, in fact, worked all night, but doing things in the stockroom and coolers and "behind the scenes", like taking out the trash to the dumpster, things she didn't see me doing on the sales floor. For whatever reason, I let it get to me and I lost my temper. Very bad. I'm so used to working alone I don't deal with confrontation well and I either "whimp-out" or become the worst kind of schoolyard bully. Unfortunately it was the latter, pushing my title in her face and everything. Worse, in the heat of the moment, she dropped the "sexual harrassment" bomb threat on me and that nearly provoked me to throw her out of the store!

Still, she stood her ground and after a few moments I calmed down too and somehow, we started joking around about our absurd behavior towards one-another and managed to come to accords again. She was sorry and I was too and she seemed to be satisfied enough when she left about the situation.

That left me alone to brood about the situation. She deserved better than that. After almost two years, I get the best overnight cashier I could hope for and nearly get her to quit. Well done--idiot! We did work it out, but it's my responsibility to keep a cool head. I'm the example to follow and shouldn't need to nearly cost our store two valued employees over my stupid ego and temper! I think too much of the work and value I have at that store and too little about the position I'm in. I admit I'm not a good supervisor. Sometimes I feel I'm only in the position because there was no one else able or willing to do the job overnights. That's no excuse for behaving like the proverbial ass-hole boss.

At least I realized what I was doing and put a halt to it.

I'm still sorry and told her so, and she's fine with things, but now I am full of doubts as to my ability to do this job. I was never comfortable being "in charge" and tonight was an example of why I feel like I do. If this happens again I may just put in my two-weeks for the benefit of the store and try to look for a job where I'm working alone or just as a plain-ol' cashier. I feel I'm doin more harm than good otherwise.

Thanks for reading the thoughs from someone who for one night was the villain.

One Flew into the Cuckoo's Nest (with Extra Care)...

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:13:08 GMT

Ah well, they schedule me on the weekend overnights for a reason I guess. Both the manager and assistant manager scheduled themselves off for two straight days and are letting the inmates run the institution. It's medication time!

As soon as I clock-in at 9PM Friday night the young and very blond shift-supervisor can hardly wait to get out the door. No debriefing, just some quick comment about there being "not much to do and a tiny list left by the manager" and out the door she flies with her little hot-pink razorphone in her hand and her ride waiting. Okay, I still have the evening cashier for two more hours, right?

Well, he's haunched over in the corner of the photolab on his cellphone having some kind of break-up arguement with a girfriend or whatever and then screws up a photolab order in the process, "cheating" on the work orders by closing them before he finds out how many prints each one has (that happens a lot and I hate that because it either cheats the store or the customer to guess--especially if the film isn't completely developed). Anyway, he has a "breakdown" and I have to let him go an hour and a half early to deal with his adolescent, right-of-passage, Malcom-in-the-Milddle relationship angst and drama because he's no good to me sitting on the floor crying (and he's supposed to be promoted to shift on his 18th birthday?).

So here I am flying the store solo with a messed-up photolab on a busy Friday night with none of the evening tasks done except for the cash drawers, which are barely useable because of poor change setups.

Typical.

Time to get to work!

As I'm ringing up the photolab order, I realize the work-order codes are not right and one was duplicated, so I couldn't ring up all the pictures. I try to void the sale, but of course ol' fumble-fingers here completes the sale instead, so I put my register 23 bucks in the hole with one mis-tap on the stop touching me!-screen. Post void had to wait 'till after midnight because the drawer was already completed for the day and there's no access to the next day's electronic journal 'till after midnight. All hail to CVS head-end software!

Nice to see Loonsackett was nice enough to take-in those ex-Enron programmers...

Fortunately the customer is a professional photographer and is patient in helping me handcount her 99-picture order and I just create a new work-order in the photo work order screen and ring her up right. So the work-order history will be 77 prints off? I can't unsell them--and maybe the post-void will resolve that. Modifying messed-up photo purchases is always a delight.

Next I get the photolab in order while waiting on customers (the developer machine runs out of chemicals of course and the ear-splitting alarm makes the customers wonder if the store's ready to blow up--). Of course I can handle almost any problem with the photolab out of necessity. since our photolab supervisor was promoted to shift and our store no longer even has one--it's photolab supervisor-by-committee now! Done.

When my overnight cashier arrives--an hour late--he tells me he's given his two-weeks but he'll do what he can--and what he does best--smoke outside and complain about how tired he is from his "main" job, and then cut-out two hours early. If Napoleon had such lions in his Grande Armee, Waterloo would have been a cakewalk!

Anyway, all I needed was a warm body to turn me loose and turn over the bulk sale items for next week: CVS toilet paper, Gain/Tide big-bottles (not even enough to fill an endcap!), and Gold Emblem Water. We're still stuck with a pallette-and-a-half of Poland Spring in the stockroom wtf? Who orders this much? That's okay. Heaving about 100 cases of 24-packs of water is a good workout--especially with only one U-Boat available (the other lost a wheel). Facing and vacuuming was a picnic compared to that.

Oh yeah, being short-staffed and busy doesn't keep me from doing some extra things, like pushing checkout candy, backfilling the walk-in cooler, and the snack/food aisle and a virtually wiped-out incontinence aisle for good measure and putting a fresh bottle of water on the pharmacy Deerpark cooler base because it seems I'm the only one in the store that can lift one of those. Sheesh.

For fun I sang "Fly Me to the Moon" over the store paging system and got applause from the three customers I didn't know were in the store at the time--oops! Yeah, I know, but I work hard at that store and I will have my fun as much as allowed. The store sucks up most of my waking life and it'll be my playground for a few brief moments in-between partings of the Red Sea (or at lest the diaper aisle for an apt analogy).

Glory to the Nightmule!

Next miracle: another nine-hour shift, sale tags tonight with a cashier that works two other jobs, and is a single mom with teen-age kids.

Pretzels

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:55:58 GMT

Just out of curiosity, for anyone who knows, what did y'all get for week 1 SP10K for the upsell contest? I'm just curious to see how many stores actually come close to the winning stores (the first-place store in my area, for example, is at about $1500). We did $500 the first week, which is the highest I've ever seen by any store in my district, and yet we aren't even close to winning. Anyone actually doing well?

You Know It's Going to Be One of Those Nights...

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:33:02 GMT

I'm working 9pm-6am on a Friday night with someone that put in his two-weeks and will probably be a no-show and no one to call for backup.
If this is "CVS Hell", then I should fit right in!
I'm going to need some Extra Care...

"Pardon me, do you carry RED BULL?"

(The Bovissaur © me q.v.)

Greetings from the Nightmule

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:37:52 GMT

Hello there. New guy in the group here!

My name's Paul and I'm an overnight shift-supervisor for a 24-hour CVS in Southeastern Pennsylvania. My nickname at the store is t"Nightmule" because I am the beast-of burden that handles all the hard chores that usually fall upon the backs of the night crew; "byzantyn" is a much older nickname I've had for internet messaging that predates my job at CVS and has nothing to do with it, but it's how I'm generally known by my friends.

I've been with the company just starting my fifth year (and my fifth max-raise--yay!). I started out as a clerk/cashier for a small hole-in-zee-wall CVS in the local shopping mall that went defunct two-and-a-half years after I got hired. I showed promise early, but there was a personnel issue that held my promotions back (not enough business and too many with seniority above me at the tiny store). When the mall store went under, the DM offered me the third shift at a much, much, MUCH larger new store that came with both a promtion to shift and an additional raise for working overnight--so in one fell swoop I got a 50% raise in pay, plus my hours jumped from around 32/week to 40. Major lifestyle upgrade!

Until I found out how much fun working overnights can be. Basically, all the stuff that's left undone during the day is dumped on my plus the ignomious tasks that come with the "slow" times, such as pushing bulk paper and heavy beverages, facing/recovering, general cleanup, and maintenance of the photolab. Yes, they cross-trained me in almost all store operations just in case I'd have to run the store by myself--which has happened too-often. I'm supposed to have at least a cashier with me for backup, but more often than not they call out (or just no-call-no-show), or burn-out around 3-4 AM and I send them home. Yeah, that's an LP issue, but they seem to be very understanding and forgiving in our store's situation, as it's the only 24-hour store in the area.

It took awhile to get used to the overnight lifestyle and I can understand the reason for the "incentive" pay: you're effectively giving up your social life! You work 10-6/9-5, so there goes your evenings. You come home and maybe stay awake 'till noon if you don't fall asleep, but who else is awake or available at that time for fun? Afternoons and evenings I sleep because you can't get involved in anything you'd have to just drop to go get ready for work. Being a single male with no local family and no relationships made me ideal for this postion--and my manager knows it--so I'm pretty-much locked-into graveyard shift. At least it pays well. There are only two quailfied full-time overnight shifts at my store, and the other one has a family, so when they call out or need re-scheduling sometimes, I have to cover and usually means lots of overtime--a mixed blessing.

I do have nights off and vacation time, but to keep from crashing when I get back to work, I keep my same sleep/wake patterns, which usually means surfing the web, taking in a late-show, or sometimes just going for a long drive on dark, empty, highways with the tunes going on the radio to keep from slipping into slumber. After almost two years of this, I'm still not used to it and there are still nights I struggle to get off the blocks.

Fortunately, I have a manager who really likes me and cuts me a lot of slack, because he knows I always catch up on things and do extra to compensate. I've been given a lot of leeway on customer issues and bend the rules a lot to keep a potential problem customer appeased--probably much more than some of the issues I see here. LP's never messed with me and the DM knows me and is supportive because the alternative would be a peacemeal staffing overnights, and so I sorta get my way in exchange for a consistent and reliable service.

Actually, I'm something like Hawkeye on the old tv show M*A*S*H: I'll goof around, joke and have a little fun with the customers and the overnight crew and pharmacists, but when there's work to be done, the serious face appears and I'll hustle to get it done and do it well.

I'm also allowed to do amature art for the monthly upsell promotionals. The store crew enjoys it and even the DM likes it, as long as I keep it clean--just kiddin'! I started doing it at the mall and it got lots of favorable comments by the customers there. Here's the most recent I did for the August upsell of peanut butter pretzels:

The idea is to create the art in-store in my spare time and not make it too fancy, then scan it on the pictures-in-seconds machine and run it off on an 8-10 sheet and attach it to the display--usually a checkout area barrel. I'm told it does help and it keeps me happy too--and that seems to be the important thing to my manager. I'm lucky to have a good one.

Now things aren't all happy-go-lucky at my Shangri-La, and yes, there are some hellish anecdotes yet to be related here, but suffice it to say there are some small islands of serenity amid the turbulent seas of humanity that frequent my store, and this is just my way of saying "hi" to you all--

Hi!

I asked for your CVS card for a reason...

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:19:44 GMT

So the other day I had a customer come up to my register and put down a box of benedryl and an extra bucks coupon. I asked him if he had his CVS card and he pointed to the coupon. The following madness ensued:

M= Me
SC=Stupid customer

M: "Sir, I need to scan the card before I can scan the coupon"
SC: "I don't have it with me"
M: "I can try to look it up by your telephone number"
SC: "That has never worked, it isn't linked up right or something. Can't you just get my card number off of the coupon?"
M: "No sir, I can't. I need your card or a phone number for that coupon to work"
SC: "Can't you just use that bar code or something to get it?"
M: "No, the bar code is for the coupon amount. There is no information on it that will get me your card number. I can't use the coupon without the card."
SC: "Why do I have to have the card to use the coupon?"
M: "Because that is how this works."
SC: "Does it say that anywhere on the coupon?" (looks at the coupon and reads that it does in fact state that the card must be presented at the time of it's use.)
M: "You had the card in order to get the coupon, now you need either the card or the phone number attached to the card to be able to use it"
SC: "I can give you someone else's phone number"
M: "Sir, I can't do that- it has to be this card in order to use this coupon"
SC: "Well, I don't have it and the number doesn't work. Isn't there a way for you to update that?"
M: "Actually there is..."
SC: (interrupts me) "But you don't know how to do it."
M: "... but I would need your card to do it."

He eventually paid and left in a grumpy huff...

I don't mind entering in customers' phone numbers... I actually use that as a selling point when people complain about having too many store discount cards to keep up with... but the fact that he was trying to get around the rules and he insulted my job knowledge really irritated me.
If he had been nicer, I might have just used the store coupon button, but he was acting like an entitled jerk and I didn't feel like giving him that option. (besides the most recent LP quiz was on coupon stuff...)

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:28:52 GMT

This was my laugh for the day yesterday...

Our state's fair is this month...it actually just started. So all last month we were selling gift packets for the it. We do this every year...we partner with them and sell packets that include admission, ride tickets, and food tickets for four people and the package costs $50.

So...we stopped selling them Wednesday and my manager took the remainder of the tickets and the money we made to be turned in. So this guy comes in yesterday morning while I'm doing the deposit and tells my cashier that he bought a pack like a week ago and accidentally threw it away and wanted us to replace it. WTH! She called me in the office and explained the situation and I literally LOL'd. I told her to tell him that we no longer had the tickets and there was nothing we could do. She told him, he got mad and made her call back and wanted to know if there was anything at all they could do...I guess he wanted cash if we coudln't give him tickets. Um...no? Once you buy any type of merchandise, as soon as the money is exchanged, it's on you...even if you're still in the store...it is YOUR responsibility. That would be like me going and buying something from another store for $50 and then coming and saying I lost it and wanted a new one. You just can't do that. So he got mad and said he was going to contact the State Fair and stormed out. Yeah...good luck with that buddy. Sorry, but that was your responsibility, dude. Not to mention, how do I know he even bought a pack in the first place and isn't just lying to try to get a free pack?

I just thought that was so stupid. I was telling some people in the pharmacy about it and they said they get people doing that with prescriptions all the time...saying they lost them and wanted to get a replacement or partial replacement.

Why do customers think we owe them something for their own carelessness?

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:35:51 GMT

Question!

Lately, we've had this guy frequenting our store pulling what I believe to be a scam. He comes in with high priced CVS brand items, never has a receipt and manages to get cash back EVERY time.

The first time he came in with a 20 dollar 95-count CVS Acid Reducer... the Assistant saw what he was going for and managed to get him to exchange for another acid reducer--but he picked out a smaller box and thus still got 10 bucks back. Not a huge deal so I let it go. He refused the MoneyCard right out though and was like, "No, NO, no moneycard. I want cash." He knows the refund process WAY too well--when his copy to sign printed, he snatched it from the register and automatically filled it out. Assistant took one look at it when he left and was like, "All this info is probably bogus too because he didn't even give you a chance to ask for ID."

We figured we'd seen the last of him but he came in again the other night. Soon as he saw me, he veered off to someone else, who happened to be the manager on duty that night. Got him to refund a 40 dollar CVS brand item (I didn't see what it was). Now, I had warned the manager (J) that this guy pulled crap on the Assistant prior. When the guy left, I said, "J, tell me you at least put it on a moneycard."

"Nope. Gave him cash. He told me that he called corporate and because of our 100% Moneyback guarantee, we HAVE to give CVS items back in cash."

I call bullshit. Or, at least, I feel that ethically this is bullshit as it's obvious to me that this guy is shoplifting elsewhere and basically getting free cash.

Anyone else know? J told me that he could get in SERIOUS trouble if he doesn't follow the policy this way and the guy calls corporate, potentially fired. I still call BS but maybe our company really is this awful.

Lemon drops

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:33:22 GMT

You see those lemon drops over there? A funny story about them. The other week a man came in wanting to buy the one pound bag of delicious artificially flavored two for three dollar treats. He held the bag about a foot from the counter top and plopped them down with a slight thud. As I normally would I reached out with my left hand to flip the package over and with my right hand scan the barcode. Right as I barely put my finger tips on the bag, “use the other hand.” the man snapped at me. Use my other hand? “What had I done or what had he thought I done?” I wondered. He walked away to grab another bag, and would let me touch it. “You scanned that one, didn’t you?” he asked holding the bag away from me. I became self-conscious not to use my left hand. It being my own hand I don’t normally think about using it or not, I just do. But I didn’t want him to… I don’t know. I took his money with my right hand. I punch the numbers onto the screen using my right hand, and I gave him his change with my right hand. He walked a few steps away from the counter, and turned to me with an almost gleam in his eye said “I’m a little fucked up.”

I can only deduce from his actions he suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder, but how was I supposed to know that as I asked for a CVS card. You know I have my own peculiarities, and I wouldn’t have had a problem if at the start he said to me something along the lines of “oh by the way I have O.C.D. and if you would be so kind to indulge me….” Then again O.C.D. isn’t really a rational disorder.

Really cracking down.......

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:07:09 GMT

The store manager(With pressure from above I am sure) has posted "policy" in the breakroom and bathroom that has never been enforced before.

1. Must clock in exactly at time your shift starts. Example if your shift starts at 9am you can't clock in at 8:57am.

2. If you work 6 or more hours you must take a half hour off the clock break. Not 28 or 29 minutes. (5 hours if you are a minor)

3. If you get direct deposit you must pick up your pay stubs every week.

(And of course, one verbal warning, one written warning, then fired for failing these rules)

My comments on number 1. I plan to set my watch in time with the register clock. Not going to stand around watching the clock while customers bother me or listen to co-workers whine about no help.

2. At my store our shifts are broken up into 8 hours or 5 or 4 hours. The minors usually only work 4 hours unless its a Saturday then they might work 8 anyway. Notice they say nothing about the two 15 minute breaks on the clock that is policy as well.

3. Ok I do have direct deposit and I do often forget to pick up my pay stub but I could be fired for not getting them? They do make us sign for them in the office so its not like someone can just hand them to me. What a pain.

“$25 Gift Card with a transferred or new prescription.”

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:51:50 GMT

A woman gets a little over twenty five dollars worth of makeup, I don’t recall the exact amount, but it was twenty five and change, and places it down on the counter. I ask her if she has a CVS card, and she doesn’t have one. After I ring her up she hands me a coupon. Clearly printed in black and white, well white on blue background, in a bold font the coupon said “$25 Gift Card with a transferred or new prescription.” I point this out to her. She tells me it is a coupon for twenty five dollars while handing it back to me. I give it the once over, read the fine print, and tell the woman it is not a coupon—well not one she can use. Again she dismisses what I say. By this time a line has formed behind her. I start to explain it to her a third time, saying something along the lines of if she were to pick up a prescription and gave them in the back the coupon she would receive a gift card. I even showed her a gift card conveniently located on a hook above the credit card machine. Hearing this she rips apart her purse, and takes all the cards out of her wallet—of course she doesn’t have a gift card considering she still has the coupon. Since she was hoping to get the makeup for practically next to nothing, and in her eyes I denied the use of her coupon, she didn’t want to get anything. So I had to wait and get the transaction voided before I could take care of the line. Talk about a waste of my time.

OK, It's time to play who has had the most stupid customers!!

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:11:57 GMT

here is a sampling of what I have experienced in my 2 1/2 years at Condoms Vallium and Suppositories....

"I need some help. I need a camera card"
"Okay, well what kind of camera card do you need?"
"it's a 256"
"Oh, you mean an SD card? Does it look like this? *shows customer*"
*nods* "yes"

"Where are the batteries?"
"Right behind you"

"Where are the cards?"
"*points* You see that large yellow sign that says Hallmark?"
"Yeah"
"That's where the cards are"
"Ohhh"

"Where's your ATM?'
"You passed it on your way in"

*in aisle putting away re-shops*
"I'm looking for the rolly thing for under your eyes. It's green."

"Do you sell dfyhgerughefghurehguhw?"
"As a matter of fact, we do. Aisle 3 on your left, third shelf from the bottom."

"Where are staples?"
"In Aisle 12, stationary"
"Aisle 12 A?"
"Aisle 12 Stationary"
"Where is epsom salt?"
"First Aid, Aisle 16"

*infront of camera stock*
"Do you sell cameras?"
*bats eyes*

"Where's the copier machine?"
"We don't have a copier machine."

"I'd like to buy some lottery tickets"
"We don't sell lottery tickets""

"I am a cvs employee, can you give me the discount?"
"Sorry, there's nothing i can do if you don't have your card on you"
"I have a paycheck stub"
"i'm sorry, there is nothing I can do"
"i'm calling corporate."

*scans care card and rings up hallmark card *
"would you like a card bag?"
" *Looking at me like I have made up something* A what??"
"A bag for your card."
"Ohh, yes."

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 05:21:42 GMT

this normally doesn't go down at the CVS's in my town...

Howard County sheriff detectives are investigating the shooting death of a man found lying near the intersection of U.S. 31 and Ind. 26 Wednesday evening.

Emergency personnel responded to a report of an injured subject lying under a tree along the north side of the CVS Pharmacy, at the southeast corner of the intersection at about 5 p.m.

Deputies and EMS responders discovered the man, Joseph M. Ratell Jr., 50, Indianapolis, was dead on arrival, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the head.

“Our preliminary investigation leads us to believe this was a suicide,” said Lt. Greg Hargrove.

Ratell’s body was discovered by a passerby who observed him lying under the tree.

Investigators located Ratell’s red 2007 Chevrolet Impala parked nearby in the CVS parking lot. Ratell was employed as an engineer at Delphi Electronics in Kokomo.

The case remains under investigation by the Howard County Sheriff’s Department Criminal Investigation Division and the Howard County Coroners Office. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Sherrie Galloway at (765) 456-2031.

apparently, he went into CVS right before & bought some alcohol. but this town is so fucked up so who knows if that's true.

question for the RX people....

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:34:59 GMT

I'm curious about exactly what steps are required to work in the pharmacy. A few guidelines I understand are:

- 18 years or older
- Background check
- Drug Check

I'm sure those rules are strictly followed regardless of the district you work in.

However, my main question is do you have to be nationally certified to work in the pharmacy? Its my understanding that the pharmacy service associate position still exists but they prefer the use of actual techs in the RX, obviously.

But does CVS have guidelines for working in the RX and not being certified or does it vary from district to district?

Music again

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:19:30 GMT

Our music has changed again! Now its like hits from the '60s and 70's! Today I heard American Pie,(Don McLean) Born to be Wild,(Steppenwolf) Mr. Blue Sky(ELO), and When the Levee Breaks(Led Zeppelin) ! Apparently earlier in the day they played Stairway to Heaven! I certainly can't complain about this!

How weird this place is getting.....

You think you're so funny...

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:34:03 GMT

Post here burnt out jokes customers say and actually think they're funny.

For example...

"It's not scanning... so it must be free right? haha"

-OR-

(puts half empty bottle of juice that customer obviously drank from) "Someone has drank from this, I should get a discount for it. hahahahaha"

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:45:55 GMT

So yesterday, around 6:55 AM, 5 minutes before I was supposed to punch out and go home, after working the midnight shift, one of my co-workers went into the mens room. Apparently the door handle has been loose for weeks, but never completely BROKE.. until yesterday morning, when he was in there, and the door slammed behind him and he couldn't get out.

So.. we called the fire department.

10 minutes later... they got him out. Since I hardly got any sleep before my 11pm-7am shift, and worked my butt off over night, I was exhausted.. slap happy, even... so this was absolutely hilarious at the time.

Available at Checkout?

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:34:11 GMT

You know what I hate, those coupons for spray hand sanitizer which have been printing up on customers’ receipts lately. Mind you I have no inherent problem with the product as a whole; in fact I’m kind of jealous I didn’t get a coupon. As usual I wasn’t told until a customer handed me the coupon—“FREE CVS Instant Hand Sanitizer Spray Pen. Available at Checkout.” The problem they weren’t available at the checkout, and truth be told after much seaching there were only a few in the entire store. Try to tell some customers as much. Today alone I had to try and explain to a lady the store was out of them and her coupon was still good for awhile for what seems like an eternal—though it was probably more like five minutes. She wanted me to write on the coupon she came into the store, the store was out of them, and I should initial it in case whoever questioned it. That was the point I called in the assistant manager and she humored the lady.

Management and Bathrooms

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:49:15 GMT

We just had a change in management which means we have had a complete turnover in the past year. There is only one shift supervisor still there that has been there since I was hired 3 years ago. Everyone else is new to my store. The new store manager asked the DM to remodel the bathrooms. (I posted about how disgusting our bathrooms are a few weeks ago.) Well, the DM said no. I have seriously considered posting a video of the bathrooms on YouTube!! I wonder if that would make a difference??

PCI and other automated calls

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 01:45:17 GMT

Have people been complaining about all the calls they've been receiving from CVS lately? First it was the automated 6 day calls in the pharmacy, then the automated calls to tell people their extrabucks are coming, then PCI was introduced to remind people to refill their meds, and now there are even more automated calls about their scripts. Corporate is really pissing my customers off with their brainstorms. Our customers have been calling and ripping us new ones all day and now I'm pissed. I spend most of my shift on the phone for the damn PCI calls how it is. I can't imagine the number of calls people are getting. Corporate needs to back the hell off.

Music change

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:25:55 GMT

Just when I was thinking of a lawsuit to complain about the constant, overplayed, awful music being played at my store it suddenly changed this week.
Now music from Nickelback, Pink, Linkin Park, and Evanescence are playing.
Granted its not all music I'd be playing by choice but I did call the boyfriend just to say "My store is playing Evanescence!"
I asked the supervisor if they had done something since the store manager is on vacation. (If I hadn't heard the CVS commercials playing I totally would have thought she had figured out how to play a mix CD over the system) But she denied any knowledge and said they just came in one day and it was different.

So now the pharmacist is dancing and the old managers are grumbling, it has made hell a bit easier.

We may be the last CVS in the country to get them, but we finally got security cameras...

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:45:58 GMT

... Now I can't scratch my butt when it itches. ;_; I can see it now: *in the office* Manager: Lulz. Andy is scratching his butt."

Random/10.

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:25:49 GMT

A couple of stores in our area have lost large amounts of liquor. They finally caught the guy who was doing it. Since a cashier thought he was acting suspicious she notified others in their store. He had taken liquor bottles off the shelf, took the security caps off them and put rolls of paper towels around the bottles so they wouldn't make a lot of noise when he bolted out the front door. They managed to stop him but since he didn't leave the store with it they had to let him go. They think he stole one of the magnetic liquor cap removers and was using it to take the caps off in the store. Some crooks just take the caps off, pour the liquor into a small liquor cask and stick the bottle back up on the shelf. So, be sure to keep your magnetic cap openers hidden from the bad guys.

Some are even braver. A couple of weeks ago a guy walked past the checkstand while the cashier was busy. He had a cart loaded with liquor and just ran out the front door with it.

I could understand if someone was starving and needed food but this is ridiculous.

Crooks

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:45:36 GMT

We had a bunch of forgeries for the prometh w/codeine syrup a couple months back. It was always from the same hospital/low income clinic and always for a full 473mL bottle so we were suspicious from the beginning. Those crooks figured out we were on to them and we haven't seen a script like that in a while. Until yesterday.

Same script blank, different doctor's name, different patient name. I was so mad at the pharmacist on duty! Three pretty scuzzy looking people came in to pick up the forged script and the pharmacist asked for ID which they showed him. Then he said, " This prescription is a forgery. I'm keeping this (holding up the script) and this (holding up the driver's license). I have a phone call to make, but if you'll have a seat I'll be right with you."

So these people sat down in the chairs and waited while the pharmacist called the police and reported the incident. Umm...no! As soon as he picked up the phone, they were gone! They didn't run, but they were moving pretty fast on their way out of the store. I told the pharmacist that he cheated us out of drama! lol I would have loved to actually see some of these druggies get caught and arrested! ::sigh:: Maybe next time.

Is it possible?...

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 05:44:22 GMT

Is it possible to get cash back on credit? For the past two years up until tonight, I would have said no if you asked. It has to be debit. Cash back comes from one's checking account ftw. A customer came in and wanted cash back. She is a frequent customer and said she's done it at our store before. She's never been a moron in the past so I started questioning all that I've ever known. Whenever one chooses debit, once I hit CANCEL, or you hit credit on the screen, it's going to go through automatically.

She had a debit card and sometimes people say credit interchangeably with debit. She didn't know her pin number though so it had to be credit. So why would she think she can get cash back? I was able to abort the whole situation anyway because the screen said "ALTERNATE TENDER REQUIRED, BITCH."

Remember when I said she never did anything moronic? I started to become less gullible. However, I can always miss something. Sometimes things come up that I never knew before even after working there for a long time. I asked my shift manager, who has been there 16 years and she didn't know either. Was this a case of the customer making a mistake, or me just not knowing something?

Thanks! :D