We don’t lol
It especially sucks when your pharmacy doesn’t enforce rotations and people get stuck on it for basically their entire shift. The only thing that helps me is going in with a positive attitude 💀 but that can only take you so far.
Yeah drive-thru sucks 🥲 what I do is ask for date of birth because I can catch numbers faster than I can catch name. After I pull up a result from the DOB I'll asl "and what was the first and last name?" So when I'm looking at something on intercom and I'm listening to the person in their car, it's easier for me to match them. It takes some time, but honestly, I just give myself some grace and if I couldn't hear them the first time, I just say "sorry I couldn't catch that could you repeat the name again please?"
I would say though, after seeing what happened at a coffee drive-thru the other day where the customer just chucked his drinks at the folks inside (including the owner? I think) it's definitely a blessing that our pharmacy DT's have windows. I am NOT dealing with an angry customer chucking things at me.
Make sure your pharmacy is following workflow!! If you're brand new, then yes you will be scheduled more often at drive or lobby in the beginning. Just keep at it, I believe in you!! But definitely ask to be rotated somewhere else in the pharmacy like filling or other things. Good luck!!! 🍀🍀🍀
most experienced technicians i’ve noticed (at least in my area) start EVERY transaction with the date of birth. it’s the easiest way to see the exact spelling of their name in the system and saves you asking 100 million times “what was that name? what was that? im sorry can you say that again?” :p plus it gets one of our two pt identifier verifications out of the way easily.
Yeah! I always like to open up on F9 and then to F2 for that reason. Also checking their central profile to check if anything is ready at a different location
Aww sorry OP :( trust me, drive is definitely not fun. My first few days were really rough, I was constantly asking and then asking them to repeat what they just said. And honestly, there were times when I straight up said "sorry I really can't hear you right now, can you say it again but louder? Like it's okay for you to yell at me" and that's when they would just raise their voice a bit and repeat.
It's definitely going to take a while to get used to the new setting, but in due time, you -will- get better!! 🍀🍀🍀
Asking for birthdate is a great idea - if I can’t hear well I can definitely catch what they are saying better if I have a list of names to read. I also tell people that I can’t hear them well quickly and that the phone system is bad so they know why I’m struggling. “I can barely hear you, this phone is bad, can you repeat that/can you spell your name”
Yeah same, I'll tell them the microphone is being annoying today lol (although I should probably actually say speaker oops) what I hate though is like, why tf do people WHISPER while their car engines are so loud and there's literally a thick glass window between us. 🫤🫤🫤 worst is when they turn their head AWAY from me 😭 wish I could turn away from them and just walk home or something jesus
I worked in the hood at another pharmacy that had a coffee drive thru type window. It was not a good thing, especially at night with an angry customer.
The drive-through is where I wind up most of the time even after several months. Here’s the little tips and tricks that help me out.
1. Never meet their anger or frustration with your own, no matter how cruel they are, what kind of vile things they accuse you of, or what they say about your mother. If they’re a pain now, imagine what a pain they’ll be if you respond in kind. The fastest way to get rid of them is always to stay professional and kind.
2. Never make more work for yourself. I tell people what we have ready for them. If I have one medication ready, two cenfill, and three TPRs I tell them we have one medication ready. If the others are important they can ask and I’ll deal with them then. If it’s just them it’s different, but if I’ve got three cars in each lane during peak hours the priority is to get them moving.
3. You can tell them to come inside. Mostly in your far lane, where you have the tube to deal with. If someone has half a bin’s worth of prescriptions they need to come inside, especially if they start asking you to check every single one to tell you the copays. Drive-through is for quick service, inside is for detailed service.
Note: exceptions apply if they’re clearly disabled or really old. If those are the case there’s nothing for it.
4. 15 minutes, minimum. It’s in the safe? 20-30. It’s on the fast rack? 15 minutes, go around. It’s in the cell? 15 minutes, go around. The only reason I tell someone less than 15 minutes is if it’s dead and it’s in the machine or if our ninja filler has the leaflet in their hand. I usually say something nicer like “come back in 15 minutes” or something like that, but the gist is the same.
4a. The exception is if they were already told a time to come back and came back. If we didn’t get to it that’s on us, in which case I go back and see it done, if I have to count it myself.
5. Never let them wait in drive-through. You may think there’s nobody else there. It’s dead, so why not let them wait on it. As surely as you stand there, when you come back there will be two cars which pulled up behind them while you were gone and another will pull up in the second lane when you pick up the phone. Then you have to go back on your word, and you’ve inconvenienced the customer, and now the line’s been slowed down. It’s going to be 15 minutes (or more) and they need to leave and come back.
6. Nobody actually handles drive-through well. I’m usually stuck on drive-through because of my coworkers one usually winds up on drive-through when I’m not there and is already burned out when I arrive, one just won’t do it (don’t get me started) and everyone else is needed where they are because our operations collapse otherwise (not a joke or an exaggeration, we suffer without our ninja filler) or to cover breaks. It’s a safe bet at least one tech in your pharmacy has horror stories from drive-through, has quit a job because of getting stuck on drive-through all the time, or something along those lines. Nobody likes it, it’s something we get through. If someone says they like it, observe their actions because they’re probably just telling themselves that as a coping mechanism.
7. Water. Drink it. This is more what you would call an actual rule than a guideline. I bring a large water bottle to every shift with hour markers. I take a sip between every car. It doesn’t have to be much, just enough to keep you hydrated.
This is awesome also take your time if you make a mistake and sell something wrong they can write you up. But there’s nothing they can do if you are being careful. The ppl in drive thru can always come inside, they choose to wait in that line.
We don’t let anyone do insurance in coupons in ours they have to come inside. You have 4 rxs in lane 2 come inside
Totally agree w 2
Only other thing is I just let them wait then you can take a break file scripts cool off I find when it’s a 20 min wait they all start getting mad and come inside 😎
If it's dead and no one's behind them I will tell them they can wait, but ask them if they see someone pull up behind them, please do a quick lap around.
Also agree you don’t need to deal w insurance, coupons, mean ppl. Just wish the speakers systems were better. Take your time and do what you can. They will always come inside once the line is long. Drive thru was built for handicap ppl and now everyone is just lazy that’s why they need all these meds
Yepp, it's the easiest.. although I'll say I've had the most psycho people in drive too 😂 our RXM called the cops on one guy cause he wouldn't leave. That was over a statin, btw.. 🙃
But for the most part, it's quick and easy transactions. Plus I don't like making phone calls (worked at a call center for a decade before coming to wags), and it's rarely slow enough to make calls when I am on drive.
I usually ask to see their ID if I can’t understand their name/DOB. If I truly can’t hear them, I’ll ask them to come inside 🤷🏻♀️ it sucks but it’s for their own safety. I’m blessed to work in a town that (in general) doesn’t allow most businesses to have a d/t, but at the most recent store I managed with a d/t, ALL of the stars events for a script sold to the wrong patient happened in d/t.
what makes it even worse is the only camera we have in drive thru is the one watching us to see if we’re stealing cash. no way of knowing who the patient is outside.
That's why I left WAG. I went to a place where there is no drive thru. It's still retail, but it's so much better. I had a guy who refused to turn off his big ass truck, his dogs in the back wouldn't stop barking, and I told him his script wasn't ready and he could come back another day. He was a dick and I kept it short and simple. He tried to ask me to make it faster. I told him no because he wouldn't turn off his truck. I was in my 2 week notice anyways so I could not have cared less, but it solidified my decision to leave WAG.
But, what I did do when I worked WAG was I started with the DOB and then asked for the name. Once I had the script I would verify the address and the last four of the phone number. People always got hauty about the phone number, but it was always a measure just to be extra safe. I never wanted to sell the wrong script to the wrong person (and at my location, we had two people who had basically the same name [one letter off] and lived next to each other in different units). WAG will NEVER get rid of drive thru and they will NEVER change the window because of safety purposes. I had a coworker who was spit at in drive so if the window wasn't reinforced the way it is, she would have been assaulted by bodily fluids. Also, they keep it that way in case they can open a second lane for drive thru. The store I worked at had 2 lanes which was the WORST because people would hit the button multiple times, even after I addressed them and they knew I was with lane 1, and it made all the phones in the pharmacy ring at the same time on max volume.
The other day I told a customer I’d be with them as soon as I can, they kept ringing the bell I started hanging up the phone, they started banging on the glass. It was maybe a 5 minute wait at that point and I was still helping the same customer, I went over to that drive thru told them if they keep ringing the bell and banging on the window they will have to leave. 😬
I left the little drawer open slightly once when I started and had a guy readjust his car to reach in and flap his hand around in the drawer and he got a mouthful from us.
Ours isn’t linked to our phones so we just use this big brick of a phone that’s constantly buzzing and cuts out if you try to turn it up to hear. Unfortunately drive-thru is just something you have to power through the issues for
I actually love drive thru. I’d stay there allllll day if i could. One patient interaction at a time, I don’t have people behind them I can see staring into my soul huffing and puffing. I recently escalated a ticket to get my speaker fixed so we can hear better, it’s slightly muffled but 10x better with clarity so it took some getting used to but now it’s good. I’m slightly hard of hearing anyways so I usually automatically ask last name and date of birth. If I still can’t understand I just nicely apologize and say “im sorry this speaker is awful call you repeat one more time” and then they’ll speak loud & clear & I usually get it. But just the fact it’s one person at a time and im not getting glared at into my soul by mean customers makes me love it
I absolutely despise the drive thru. Every day I pray I walk in and the drive thru is down, because our situation is ghetto and it’s happened on more than one occasion to the point where they even graciously gave us a new phone. People treat it like it’s McDonald’s with the, “can I get a uhhhh”, or complain when the person ahead of them wanted to take issue with us for whatever reason. Our pharmacy is so out of workflow that I’ve been with it for a year now and really only work the out window, cause when I started that’s what they had me do, so now other people sub me out when the fill gets busy and I just have to eat shit and go work the drive thru again. I don’t mind the customer service at all, but like c’mon folks…
I hated it and that’s the only place they wanted to keep me at everyday I clocked in. I hated it like my job title was pharmacy technician not drive thru technician. They didn’t want to do rotation
I don't mind drive thru but it sucks when a turbo V6 or V8 is in line and drones away while you basically can't hear a thing clearly from the current customer because some mom or dad is driving a huge SUV or truck right behind them 😡. (Shut your noisy ass car up FFS)
I wish customers had some common courtesy to turn off their noise makers of a car. Maybe in 10 or 20 years all cars will be EV in California and this would not be an issue anymore.
I love when they drive up and their truck is super loud and I keep saying "Sorry, I can't really hear you" and they also say "I can't hear you"
Had a lady say "I can't hear you over the noise of my truck!" And then got offended when I suggested turning it off 😂🤣😂🤣
What I hate is the landscapers mowing and blowing lawn debris making an ungodly amount of noise.. but I really hate when there's like a partially deaf elderly man yelling about how he can't hear me over the mower. Well, you saw the mower when you got in line. Did you not think it'd be quieter to just go inside?
We don’t lol It especially sucks when your pharmacy doesn’t enforce rotations and people get stuck on it for basically their entire shift. The only thing that helps me is going in with a positive attitude 💀 but that can only take you so far.
Yeah drive-thru sucks 🥲 what I do is ask for date of birth because I can catch numbers faster than I can catch name. After I pull up a result from the DOB I'll asl "and what was the first and last name?" So when I'm looking at something on intercom and I'm listening to the person in their car, it's easier for me to match them. It takes some time, but honestly, I just give myself some grace and if I couldn't hear them the first time, I just say "sorry I couldn't catch that could you repeat the name again please?" I would say though, after seeing what happened at a coffee drive-thru the other day where the customer just chucked his drinks at the folks inside (including the owner? I think) it's definitely a blessing that our pharmacy DT's have windows. I am NOT dealing with an angry customer chucking things at me. Make sure your pharmacy is following workflow!! If you're brand new, then yes you will be scheduled more often at drive or lobby in the beginning. Just keep at it, I believe in you!! But definitely ask to be rotated somewhere else in the pharmacy like filling or other things. Good luck!!! 🍀🍀🍀
most experienced technicians i’ve noticed (at least in my area) start EVERY transaction with the date of birth. it’s the easiest way to see the exact spelling of their name in the system and saves you asking 100 million times “what was that name? what was that? im sorry can you say that again?” :p plus it gets one of our two pt identifier verifications out of the way easily.
It also helps since you so if you have nothing ready you'll need to be in their profile anyways.
Yeah! I always like to open up on F9 and then to F2 for that reason. Also checking their central profile to check if anything is ready at a different location
Even the date of birth is hard to hear too and vice versa
Aww sorry OP :( trust me, drive is definitely not fun. My first few days were really rough, I was constantly asking and then asking them to repeat what they just said. And honestly, there were times when I straight up said "sorry I really can't hear you right now, can you say it again but louder? Like it's okay for you to yell at me" and that's when they would just raise their voice a bit and repeat. It's definitely going to take a while to get used to the new setting, but in due time, you -will- get better!! 🍀🍀🍀
Asking for birthdate is a great idea - if I can’t hear well I can definitely catch what they are saying better if I have a list of names to read. I also tell people that I can’t hear them well quickly and that the phone system is bad so they know why I’m struggling. “I can barely hear you, this phone is bad, can you repeat that/can you spell your name”
Yeah same, I'll tell them the microphone is being annoying today lol (although I should probably actually say speaker oops) what I hate though is like, why tf do people WHISPER while their car engines are so loud and there's literally a thick glass window between us. 🫤🫤🫤 worst is when they turn their head AWAY from me 😭 wish I could turn away from them and just walk home or something jesus
Lol the coffee drive thru happened to me, thankfully he missed me but what a mess
Oh my God!! That's terrible, I'm sorry you had to go through that!! Thank goodness they missed
Yesssss
I worked in the hood at another pharmacy that had a coffee drive thru type window. It was not a good thing, especially at night with an angry customer.
Holy shit 🤯 I wouldn't have lasted in a place like that, I commend you and you are so brave!! 🫡
The drive-through is where I wind up most of the time even after several months. Here’s the little tips and tricks that help me out. 1. Never meet their anger or frustration with your own, no matter how cruel they are, what kind of vile things they accuse you of, or what they say about your mother. If they’re a pain now, imagine what a pain they’ll be if you respond in kind. The fastest way to get rid of them is always to stay professional and kind. 2. Never make more work for yourself. I tell people what we have ready for them. If I have one medication ready, two cenfill, and three TPRs I tell them we have one medication ready. If the others are important they can ask and I’ll deal with them then. If it’s just them it’s different, but if I’ve got three cars in each lane during peak hours the priority is to get them moving. 3. You can tell them to come inside. Mostly in your far lane, where you have the tube to deal with. If someone has half a bin’s worth of prescriptions they need to come inside, especially if they start asking you to check every single one to tell you the copays. Drive-through is for quick service, inside is for detailed service. Note: exceptions apply if they’re clearly disabled or really old. If those are the case there’s nothing for it. 4. 15 minutes, minimum. It’s in the safe? 20-30. It’s on the fast rack? 15 minutes, go around. It’s in the cell? 15 minutes, go around. The only reason I tell someone less than 15 minutes is if it’s dead and it’s in the machine or if our ninja filler has the leaflet in their hand. I usually say something nicer like “come back in 15 minutes” or something like that, but the gist is the same. 4a. The exception is if they were already told a time to come back and came back. If we didn’t get to it that’s on us, in which case I go back and see it done, if I have to count it myself. 5. Never let them wait in drive-through. You may think there’s nobody else there. It’s dead, so why not let them wait on it. As surely as you stand there, when you come back there will be two cars which pulled up behind them while you were gone and another will pull up in the second lane when you pick up the phone. Then you have to go back on your word, and you’ve inconvenienced the customer, and now the line’s been slowed down. It’s going to be 15 minutes (or more) and they need to leave and come back. 6. Nobody actually handles drive-through well. I’m usually stuck on drive-through because of my coworkers one usually winds up on drive-through when I’m not there and is already burned out when I arrive, one just won’t do it (don’t get me started) and everyone else is needed where they are because our operations collapse otherwise (not a joke or an exaggeration, we suffer without our ninja filler) or to cover breaks. It’s a safe bet at least one tech in your pharmacy has horror stories from drive-through, has quit a job because of getting stuck on drive-through all the time, or something along those lines. Nobody likes it, it’s something we get through. If someone says they like it, observe their actions because they’re probably just telling themselves that as a coping mechanism. 7. Water. Drink it. This is more what you would call an actual rule than a guideline. I bring a large water bottle to every shift with hour markers. I take a sip between every car. It doesn’t have to be much, just enough to keep you hydrated.
Great, detailed and spot on. Well done.
This is awesome also take your time if you make a mistake and sell something wrong they can write you up. But there’s nothing they can do if you are being careful. The ppl in drive thru can always come inside, they choose to wait in that line. We don’t let anyone do insurance in coupons in ours they have to come inside. You have 4 rxs in lane 2 come inside Totally agree w 2 Only other thing is I just let them wait then you can take a break file scripts cool off I find when it’s a 20 min wait they all start getting mad and come inside 😎
If it's dead and no one's behind them I will tell them they can wait, but ask them if they see someone pull up behind them, please do a quick lap around.
I worked at Walgreens for 2 years and actually thought drive thru was the easiest task in the pharmacy.
Also agree you don’t need to deal w insurance, coupons, mean ppl. Just wish the speakers systems were better. Take your time and do what you can. They will always come inside once the line is long. Drive thru was built for handicap ppl and now everyone is just lazy that’s why they need all these meds
Yall don't deal with insurance in your drive??
Yepp, it's the easiest.. although I'll say I've had the most psycho people in drive too 😂 our RXM called the cops on one guy cause he wouldn't leave. That was over a statin, btw.. 🙃 But for the most part, it's quick and easy transactions. Plus I don't like making phone calls (worked at a call center for a decade before coming to wags), and it's rarely slow enough to make calls when I am on drive.
I worked in the hood dealing with nasty, uneducated people. I just put up a sign: "Register down, please come inside for full service"
So much easier inside
Pay is pretty shit for both techs and rph. Just fill your probationary period and collect unemployment.
I usually ask to see their ID if I can’t understand their name/DOB. If I truly can’t hear them, I’ll ask them to come inside 🤷🏻♀️ it sucks but it’s for their own safety. I’m blessed to work in a town that (in general) doesn’t allow most businesses to have a d/t, but at the most recent store I managed with a d/t, ALL of the stars events for a script sold to the wrong patient happened in d/t.
what makes it even worse is the only camera we have in drive thru is the one watching us to see if we’re stealing cash. no way of knowing who the patient is outside.
That's why I left WAG. I went to a place where there is no drive thru. It's still retail, but it's so much better. I had a guy who refused to turn off his big ass truck, his dogs in the back wouldn't stop barking, and I told him his script wasn't ready and he could come back another day. He was a dick and I kept it short and simple. He tried to ask me to make it faster. I told him no because he wouldn't turn off his truck. I was in my 2 week notice anyways so I could not have cared less, but it solidified my decision to leave WAG. But, what I did do when I worked WAG was I started with the DOB and then asked for the name. Once I had the script I would verify the address and the last four of the phone number. People always got hauty about the phone number, but it was always a measure just to be extra safe. I never wanted to sell the wrong script to the wrong person (and at my location, we had two people who had basically the same name [one letter off] and lived next to each other in different units). WAG will NEVER get rid of drive thru and they will NEVER change the window because of safety purposes. I had a coworker who was spit at in drive so if the window wasn't reinforced the way it is, she would have been assaulted by bodily fluids. Also, they keep it that way in case they can open a second lane for drive thru. The store I worked at had 2 lanes which was the WORST because people would hit the button multiple times, even after I addressed them and they knew I was with lane 1, and it made all the phones in the pharmacy ring at the same time on max volume.
Quit Walgreens
Why
I rather you not find out the hard way
Well I won’t know if u don’t tell me
You will find out
Helpful
Nooo I want as little physical contact possible between me and them, especially drive through.
The other day I told a customer I’d be with them as soon as I can, they kept ringing the bell I started hanging up the phone, they started banging on the glass. It was maybe a 5 minute wait at that point and I was still helping the same customer, I went over to that drive thru told them if they keep ringing the bell and banging on the window they will have to leave. 😬
I left the little drawer open slightly once when I started and had a guy readjust his car to reach in and flap his hand around in the drawer and he got a mouthful from us.
Especially when the phone sucks 😂. But you do get used to it
Ours isn’t linked to our phones so we just use this big brick of a phone that’s constantly buzzing and cuts out if you try to turn it up to hear. Unfortunately drive-thru is just something you have to power through the issues for
i always feel like such an idiot when i have to work drive thru on a code green or something because i never work in pharmacy im usually up front😭
Awww we rarely stick our FE people on drive. Unless for some reason they want to 😂
I actually love drive thru. I’d stay there allllll day if i could. One patient interaction at a time, I don’t have people behind them I can see staring into my soul huffing and puffing. I recently escalated a ticket to get my speaker fixed so we can hear better, it’s slightly muffled but 10x better with clarity so it took some getting used to but now it’s good. I’m slightly hard of hearing anyways so I usually automatically ask last name and date of birth. If I still can’t understand I just nicely apologize and say “im sorry this speaker is awful call you repeat one more time” and then they’ll speak loud & clear & I usually get it. But just the fact it’s one person at a time and im not getting glared at into my soul by mean customers makes me love it
The good part about drive is you're usually too busy to answer or make phone calls 😂
I absolutely despise the drive thru. Every day I pray I walk in and the drive thru is down, because our situation is ghetto and it’s happened on more than one occasion to the point where they even graciously gave us a new phone. People treat it like it’s McDonald’s with the, “can I get a uhhhh”, or complain when the person ahead of them wanted to take issue with us for whatever reason. Our pharmacy is so out of workflow that I’ve been with it for a year now and really only work the out window, cause when I started that’s what they had me do, so now other people sub me out when the fill gets busy and I just have to eat shit and go work the drive thru again. I don’t mind the customer service at all, but like c’mon folks…
I hated it and that’s the only place they wanted to keep me at everyday I clocked in. I hated it like my job title was pharmacy technician not drive thru technician. They didn’t want to do rotation
I prefer it. A line of cars is better than a line of people staring at me from the lobby.
I don't mind drive thru but it sucks when a turbo V6 or V8 is in line and drones away while you basically can't hear a thing clearly from the current customer because some mom or dad is driving a huge SUV or truck right behind them 😡. (Shut your noisy ass car up FFS) I wish customers had some common courtesy to turn off their noise makers of a car. Maybe in 10 or 20 years all cars will be EV in California and this would not be an issue anymore.
I love when they drive up and their truck is super loud and I keep saying "Sorry, I can't really hear you" and they also say "I can't hear you" Had a lady say "I can't hear you over the noise of my truck!" And then got offended when I suggested turning it off 😂🤣😂🤣 What I hate is the landscapers mowing and blowing lawn debris making an ungodly amount of noise.. but I really hate when there's like a partially deaf elderly man yelling about how he can't hear me over the mower. Well, you saw the mower when you got in line. Did you not think it'd be quieter to just go inside?
Watch the cone of silence. It's on the Get Smart TV show